Released by Riot in patches 10.6 and 10.7, Wukong and Fiddlesticks were both reworked around the same time. However, these two champions find themselves in entirely opposite situations; Wukong is at the peak of power (even after being nerfed), sitting at S+ rank in both top lane and jungle, while Fiddlesticks is floundering near the bottom of the rankings with a dismal win rate of around 41%.
In terms of champion quality, Wukong is clearly stronger with his Fighter tag. Meanwhile, with Fiddlesticks, we don’t even know how to classify him; as a Mage, he is too weak in lane, as an Assassin, his burst damage is not strong, and in team fights, he heavily relies on his teammates. In short, this scarecrow has no real standout qualities in modern League of Legends.
However, this does not mean that Fiddlesticks is useless; he still has a completely new skill set along with the ability to Fear and deal damage directly. What this scarecrow needs is just a bit more durability to continuously cast Q – Terrify, which is why the new Fiddlesticks should play more as a Fighter than as a burst-damage Mage. However, the way the itemization for AP Fighters has been designed has indirectly caused Fiddlesticks to fall into his current miserable state.
Returning to Wukong, let’s list out how many effective build paths he has: one is Blade of the Ruined King + Death’s Dance, two is Sword of the Occult + Black Cleaver, three is Blade of the Ruined King + Sterak’s Gage, at least three already, and there are many other build options. This allows this monkey to adapt his itemization according to the battle situation, while Fiddlesticks has what? Still just the Zhonya’s Hourglass year after year, nothing has changed.
Compared to physical Fighter items, the number of items that increase both AP and defensive stats is very few. We only have a bit more health from Morellonomicon, if you are willing to sacrifice AP for durability, you could choose Abyssal Mask, the only valuable item is probably Liandry’s Anguish, but using it effectively also depends on champion quality.
Those items are not enough for AP Fighters to survive in team fights; you either need to have natural tankiness like Galio, Mordekaiser, or be as agile as Rumble, Kassadin to survive. When lacking both of these traits like Fiddlesticks, it becomes extremely understandable why he is so weak.
Not only does he suffer from quantity, but the quality of items for AP Fighters is also terrible. As mentioned above, the item considered to be of quality is Liandry’s Anguish, which provides additional damage based on time spent in combat, fitting with the Fighter champion type. Meanwhile, the other items are either too weak, only providing basic stats, or easily countered. Riot has neglected this class of characters, focusing only on physical Fighters, from runes to items.
Perhaps only Mordekaiser remains true to his champion identity, a true warrior, while other characters like Singed, Rumble, Galio, Cho’Gath… either have to change roles or alter their build styles to survive. The lack of necessary items has become a common issue for all AP Fighter champions, and Fiddlesticks is just an unfortunate victim of circumstance.
