Riot Games constantly applies changes to champions in League of Legends, buffering those that need it and removing those that prove too powerful. Most of these tweaks just change a few stats here and there so that the character becomes competitive, or vice versa, a little less cramped to play against. However, sometimes bigger changes are made, with a complete overhaul of at least a few skills, or even the entire kit. This is a situation no character escapes except an irreducible lich.
A graphics overhaul, but no gameplay
Karthus hasn’t evolved much since its release in 2009. The biggest changes regarding his spells have mainly taken place on his passive (which could allow him to resurrect in the beginning) and on his Wall of Pain which doesn’t reduce the armor of enemies for a few years. These changes had no major impact on Karthus’ gameplay, which remained the same. The champion has undergone certain changes ranging from a very passive midlaner to a rather passive jungler, while making a few stops in the topplane and even the ADC position. But that didn’t change the way his abilities worked.
That’s not to say it hasn’t gotten attention from Riot Games, either. Besides the fact that the Lich got a big boost with the Pentakill metal albums, the Lich also got a very nice visual makeover. The latter was not only meant to dust it off, but also to censor it a bit. To understand this, you need to know that displaying human bones in video games is illegal in some countries, and Riot Games made sure to remove them from Karthus’ footage.to standardize the splash arts across all regions (and frankly, it wasn’t a bad thing, some Asian artwork made western players salivate with envy, whose splashes have been the same since the game’s release).
Honorable Mentions
Finally, Karthus is not the only one who has changed very little, even if he is without a doubt the least changed champion in LoL history. For example, Jax has changed very little since his release, even if the disappearance of the evasion stat (available only through his passive and the old Tabi Ninja) has profoundly changed the way he is played. The goal here was to remove any part, Jax can sometimes dodge 5 consecutive attacks, or on the contrary none at all despite investing in this stat.
The other good candidate is Tryndamere, who has also changed little. While the gameplay remained the same, it went through quite a substantial change in 2011. At the time, Fury didn’t exist, and Tryndamere’s abilities cost him his life as a Dr. Mundo. Essentially, his gameplay isn’t much affected by this change, but it represents a relatively important evolution in our view, forcing him to leave the title of champion least evolved to Karthus. And by the way, isn’t death the end of evolution? (When we die, our body becomes grass and the antelope eats Simba grass…)
esport lol
With the end of the regular season of the League of Legends European Championship, the title of MVP went to Frenchman Vetheo. If he didn’t steal this reward, it’s clear that a certain position remains silent and always in the shadows.
