Kayn
Designed with an incredibly attractive appearance and a storyline closely connected to Zed and the Darkins, Kayn is perhaps the perfect champion if only considering the game’s aesthetics. However, the balancing of this champion is undoubtedly one of Riot Games’ most unusual failures, as they have buffed Kayn countless times yet he still fails to rise as a strong or even viable champion.
The clearest evidence of Riot Games’ failure in balancing Kayn is seen in their latest announcements, where they attempt to add more damage to minions in the lane for this champion. However, Kayn is a jungle champion; he was designed for this role, so isn’t that change quite pointless? The issue with Kayn lies in the overwhelming power of the Rhaast form compared to the Shadow Assassin. Instead of balancing this, Riot has focused on buffing meaningless aspects as mentioned above.
Taliyah
Released as a more damage-dealing and mobile version of Twisted Fate, Taliyah is designed excellently with a skillset that requires finesse and good strategy to use effectively. This is the champion that Crown chose to represent himself, achieving a victory against the giant SKT T1, particularly against Faker, which is enough to demonstrate how powerful this champion is.
However, Riot’s balance team once again ruined what the design team created, turning her Q – Threaded Volley into single-target damage and shifting her into a jungle role. If they had stopped there, it would have been fine, but Riot continued to nerf this champion in her new jungle role, effectively pushing her out of it. As a result, after a series of changes and adjustments, Taliyah has become a champion that is too weak and not strong enough to survive in any role.
Irelia
Both before and after her rework, Irelia boasts a beautiful champion design and a heroic backstory of a young leader rising against the invasion of the Noxian army. However, what Irelia has received from the balance team is a true disaster, and the nickname “Nerf Queen” before her rework speaks volumes about her balancing story.
After her rework, Irelia didn’t change much compared to before, still facing continuous nerfs from Riot, this time additionally having her effects stripped away. The effects of Disarm and damage on Shields… of Irelia were gradually removed, yet this champion remains strong to this date with the meta of the Blade of the Ruined King. It’s unclear what Riot will do with League of Legends when Kayn remains weak despite numerous buffs, while Irelia stays strong despite endless nerfs.
Senna
Senna’s return might be the most spectacular and touching comeback in League of Legends, as Lucian finally found his beloved wife after years apart. Senna even opened up a series of new stories, such as the journey of this couple after escaping from Thresh, who is the Ruined King, and how he will join League of Legends…
That’s about the storyline and design; however, Senna’s balancing is a true disaster as current players even struggle to determine whether she is an AD Carry or Support. Playing her as an AD Carry results in poor farming, while players who innovate a farming-less playstyle for Senna have their soul drop rates decreased due to not last hitting minions. To balance Senna leaning towards Support, all they needed to do was reduce her stats and gold gained from souls, yet Riot continues to grapple with their complicated ratios.
