Riot is planning to right its wrongs with Aurelion Sol and start over from scratch in League of Legends.
This involves giving Aurelion Sol an “entirely new kit” in a similar fashion to Urgot and Sion, while making sure the champion is still “thematically cohesive with who he already is,” Riot explained in a blog post today.
The devs want to “emphasize” the champion’s “dragon fantasy” since they don’t think he currently delivers on that part of his persona. While these changes may take some time to be fully realized, Riot aims to deliver them to players “some time at the end of the year.”
When Aurelion Sol was unveiled in 2016, players were excited for the champion’s March 24 release date, according to Riot. This was reflected in his purchase rate, which was one of the highest on day one. In the weeks and months that followed, though, the champion’s play rate plummeted to one of the lowest in the game, where it has remained since.
This, Riot admits, comes down to failing to deliver on a gameplay kit that matched the excitement of a “gigantic, arrogant star dragon.” The devs didn’t think further tweaks to Aurelion Sol’s kit would be enough to satisfy players and have instead opted for a “Comprehensive Gameplay Update” (CGU).
The goal of a CGU is to update gameplay for a champion that either has “high-quality art and narrative, but whose gameplay just doesn’t quite deliver on their fantasies” or a champion with “more complicated gameplay issues that can’t be solved by changing one or two abilities.”
Aurelion Sol will be the first champion to go through a CGU. Riot will rebuild the champion’s kit while sticking to the same model, theme, and narrative. If the rework is successful and players are happy with the result, the devs may consider taking the same path with other champions in the future.