League of Legends Ahri: Mage’s Popularity Is Off The Charts After Rework

Ahri is one of the most iconic mages in League of Legends. Ahri seemingly trailed off after Riot Games introduced champions that simply had a better kit. In order to bring her back to meta, Riot gave her a partial rework of her abilities in Patch 12.3. This rework has seen success as Ahri has now become highly mobile, with better sustain in the lane.

Initially, Lead Gameplay Designer Bryan “Axes” Salvatore explained that her presence in the game had mellowed down and Riot was aiming to bring her back to life with a mini-rework.

Apart from this, she is also getting an Art and Sustainability Update (ASU) soon to keep her relatable and in vogue. League of Legends’ older champions have been getting these updates to help bring them closer to modern expectations.

How is Ahri faring now

Two weeks after the release of her rework, League of Legends’ nine-tailed fox is enjoying her time in the spotlight. Ahri is currently sitting on a pick rate of 15.2%, according to U.GG. Before the rework, she was barely picked in the mid-lane. Additionally, she has a ban rate of 17.4% and a win rate of 52.95% – a classic sign that players are finding value in her pick. She has a ranking of S+ in the game right now.

Before Patch 12.3 hit the servers, all Ahri could do was use her combos to burst down and slay enemies, but now she is swift on the rift and also has high sustain in the lane, giving her a bit of a safety net to fall back on.

Ever since the rework, the developers have been closely looking at Ahri’s performance in the game. In Patch 12.4, Riot fixed a bug around Ahri’s Passive – Essence Theft.

Ahri’s Passive – Essence Theft was updated in Patch 12.3.

[Updated] Pieces of You – Killing minions or monsters grants Ahri an Essence Fragment. After obtaining nine Essence Fragments, Ahri consumes them to heal for 40 to 120 (+25 percent AP). When Ahri scores a takedown against an enemy champion within three seconds of damaging them, she feasts upon their Essence, healing for 80 to 200 (+35 percent AP).

However, Ahri was able to collect essences from champion clones in the games. Riot addressed this issue and fixed it in Patch 12.4, which was released on 16th Feb.

Ahri in pro play

Following the rework, Ahri has been sighted here and there in pro play, slowly making her presence felt.

The vastayan found herself getting picked this year in the League of Legends European Championship (LEC) when Rogue’s mid-laner Emil “Larssen” Larssen played her in a game against Astralis on 11th Feb.

Over in the League of Legends Champions Korea (LCK), T1’s mid-laner Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok sported Ahri in T1’s series win against KT Rolster today (18th Feb).

One of the Redditors on the Ahri Mains subreddit posted her win-loss numbers in a comment.

Ahri mains can only wait and watch whether Riot will tone down her kit potential considering her win rate is over 52%. Riot is still on Ahri’s case at the moment, but from an aesthetic standpoint, as it is reworking her visuals. Ahri is expected to get a massive overhaul for her animations and visual designs later this year.

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League of Legends Patch 12.3: Ahri Rework, Zeri Nerf, and Other Big Changes