Jax with the “Fountain Diving” Ability
Jax is currently a Fighter with a playstyle that is incredibly annoying, becoming stronger as the game progresses and interacting well with items. His most iconic skill is probably his E – Counter Strike, which allows him to dodge all basic attacks, except for turret shots, for a short duration. However, this ability is now a much weaker version of itself compared to when the champion was first released.
In the first version, Jax’s E – Counter Strike was actually a passive ability, granting him 10-18% dodge chance. When he successfully dodged an attack, he could activate it to stun nearby enemies. At that time, the old runes system with Purple Runes providing dodge chance and the old Ninja Tabi boots also contributed to this stat, so when Jax maxed his E, he would have a 34.5% dodge chance, which theoretically meant he could reduce one-third of damage from basic attacks with just level 9 and one item worth over 1000 gold.
The scariest part of this stat was that it allowed you to dodge turret shots, the Nexus Turret. Not only did it significantly reduce damage, but Jax was such a nightmare at that time that even being inside the tower’s range wasn’t safe. This three-fingered lantern holder could enter the Nexus and kill you while still managing to leave unscathed. Thankfully, Riot Games removed the dodge stat and reworked Jax shortly after.
Twisted Fate’s Super Mobility
To be honest, Twisted Fate during the testing phase was essentially a mashup of many heroes from DotA Allstars when Guinsoo had just transitioned to Riot Games. Twisted Fate’s old Q ability, Seal Fate, caused opponents to lose health gradually over 7 seconds or until that target killed an enemy, very similar to Axe’s Battle Hunger from DotA.
Next, the old E – Gate allowed for teleportation after a short casting time, a different version of the Teleportation that Nature Prophet had in DotA. However, the reason why DotA heroes were balanced while Twisted Fate was not lies in the fact that he had both powerful skills combined. His W – Pick a Card even had a wide area stun back then.
So, Twisted Fate in the early days had the ability to teleport anywhere on the map and an unavoidable stun at level… 2, making every attack from the team with him almost guaranteed to succeed. Therefore, shortly after, Twisted Fate was reworked to resemble his current state, with teleportation shifting to the ultimate ability, and even had its range nerfed continuously. One wonders how much more “game-breaking” he would have been if his skill set had been left unchanged.
Irelia’s Shield Break and Disarm Rework
It’s no exaggeration to say that Irelia is the most powerful rework Riot Games has ever done; she was already strong beforehand, but after the rework, this champion became a monster with too many powerful effects. First is her Shield Break ability, which allows Irelia to eliminate opponents extremely quickly, even if they have strong defenses.
However, the Disarm effect from her ultimate, which still slows enemies, allows Irelia to win every one-on-one matchup against opponents. Even in team fights, just using this skill accurately can reduce about 50% of the enemy team’s damage. And do you know what’s even more overpowered? She also had a W that reduces ALL incoming damage while channeling, making her incredibly strong defensively.
All of the above made Irelia a true monster, dominating both top and mid lanes and capable of “smashing and feasting” on every type of champion. Therefore, Irelia has continuously faced nerfs, and mechanics like Shield Break and Disarm have gradually been removed to a currently acceptable level.