There have been many instances where Riot Games has missed the mark with a League of Legends update, and in Patch 14.3, the developers might have blundered again with Aurelion Sol.
In the game’s latest patch, Aurelion Sol was given some sweeping buffs to his kit, causing him to soar up high above the rest of the champions with the highest win rate in the game. As a result, alarm bells rang at Riot headquarters, causing the devs to apply a quick hotfix patch that left the Celestial Dragon in a worse state than he was before the original Patch 14.3 changes.
Much to the chagrin of the League player base, Aurelion Sol’s Astral Flight ability has been nerfed to surprisingly low numbers, with the bonus Q damage while flying dropping from 18-26 percent AP after Patch 14.3 to a stunning 8-12 percent. In comparison, the bonus Q damage before the patch sat at 14-20 percent, which is a steep drop in power. He also stacks less Stardust for his damage passive on champions, and his W has also gotten a cooldown nerf, increasing from 15-11 seconds to 22-16 seconds. Overall, Aurelion Sol has lost a ton of power, even when compared to his pre-patch self, and players are left lamenting his current state.
Other players are also jumping onto Riot for making mistakes with specific changes, only to run them back later on with a hotfix if they don’t land properly. For example, when Hwei was released at the end of 2023, he was given some quick buffs to compensate for his weak form on launch in a micropatch.
“Hotfix or not, how did [these changes] get past a team of people,” one user on the League subreddit questioned. “How did they all nod their heads and think, ‘Yup, this is a reasonable way to go about balancing a champion.’ Everyone knew these are crazy changes and gonna break the champion. Then why lock it in?”
Regardless, it’s looking like another tough patch for the Aurelion Sol mains out there.
