Just hours ago, Riot Games released the official trailer for the Hall of Legends movie, with the first honored character being Faker. This is a well-deserved tribute to Faker, as the “Demon King” has devoted his entire career to League of Legends and has won countless titles. Additionally, Riot has revealed that the official release date for the Hall of Legends movie is June 14th.
Another interesting point about the trailer is that it also “teases” the upcoming release of two skins for Ahri and LeBlanc specifically for Faker. These are both champion brands of Faker but have yet to have the opportunity to possess world champion skins. Perhaps this is the reason why Riot decided to create Hall of Legends skins for them as a tribute to the “Demon King.”
Not stopping there, the above trailer also reminded the League of Legends community about other iconic champions of Faker who have world champion skins. While Zed and Syndra are still valued in solo queue or tournaments, Ryze has completely fallen out of favor. In fact, according to statistics from the specialized site Gol.gg, Ryze was chosen only 21 times and banned 5 times in all League of Legends tournaments during the Spring season. If only counting in the LCK Spring 2024, Ryze appeared just once in the hands of player Karis from KDF.
It should be noted that in Riot’s media products, Ryze is often associated with Faker’s image. Perhaps fans still remember the scene where Faker transformed into Ryze in the MV Ignite to blow away the KOO Tigers or the confrontation with Ambition in the MV Rise. Clearly, the powerful image in those products is far from the current situation of Ryze. Therefore, the community has urgently requested Riot to find a way to “revive” this champion.
“Will Riot be able to revive Ryze before Faker retires? I really want to see him use this champion one more time. Even when BLG banned 5 Mid Lane champions, it was still not enough for Faker to use Ryze at the recent MSI. This is quite strange for a champion that can teleport allies, minions, and even the Rift Herald. What is going on? I can’t forget the image of Faker transforming into the final boss with Ryze in the MV Rise.” – A post requesting Riot to “revive” Ryze is receiving tremendous support from the community.
Since the season 14 update and Riot removed the Mythic Item system, Ryze has perhaps been the champion most heavily affected. The reason stems from the significant nerf to the Everfrost (the character’s key item) when it no longer grants movement speed. Moreover, with the removal of the Mythic passive that increased skill cooldown reduction, this item has become extremely weak. The consequence, as mentioned above, is that Ryze has become too weak, and players (including Faker) are also not choosing him.
Nevertheless, looking back at Faker’s career, Ryze indeed played a very important role. Combined with the fact that Ryze is currently not performing well in terms of gameplay and power, reworking this champion seems reasonable. If Ryze is actually reworked in the future, it would also be a wonderful tribute from Riot to Faker.