Ahri’s rework in League of Legends Season 12 was ambitious in some regards, transforming the pseudo-assassin mage into a high-mobility, high-sustain type. However it worked, with her win rate and playrate soaring as players pick up Ahri in droves.
Ahri was one a mainstay of League of Legends mid lane, but that was almost ten years ago. Since then, the Nine-Tailed Fox has slowly slid into mediocrity as flashy new champions absorbed her role as the bursty mid lane assassin.
So, Riot carved out a new niche for Ahri with her League of Legends patch 12.3 rework, honing in on her high-sustain, high-mobility playstyle and clearly defining it. If the numbers have anything to say about it, it’s worked.
Ahri’s playrate has jumped to upwards of 14% this patch, a massive increase from the 5% it was sitting at previously. Not only that, her win rate at all ranks has gone up a couple of points from around 50% to 51.97%. At higher ranks, this pushes to more than 54%.
While her playrate spike was expected — champions getting major changes often see a huge increase in the patch following the update — the sheer win rate spike has come as a surprise.
Ahri has also made regular appearances in professional play since LoL patch 12.3 went live. She has been played in 10 Academy games in North America with a win rate of 70%, while Rogue mid laner Emil ‘Larssen’ Larssen pulled it out against Astralis in LEC Spring (4/7/5 in a loss).
Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest updates on Esports, Gaming and more.
Ahri mains are mostly satisfied with the changes, which gave the mid lane mage more sustain and (conditional) mobility to dash around in fights. There is a divide somewhat in the community though, with some rueing the loss of the one-combo burst build.
Riot have added, post-rework, she is hitting all the bases they were hoping for.
“So far she’s looking pretty strong,” developer Ray ‘Ray Yonggi’ Williams just after the rework went live. However, Riot have stopped short of nerfing her on patch 12.4, instead opting to hear feedback from Ahri players about how the Nine-Tailed Fox feels.
There’s more to come for Ahri players too, with her visual rework penned in for later in 2022. This includes an overhaul to the model and VFX on most of her skins, while Prestige K/DA Ahri will be getting a new rig as part of the Mythic Essence update.
For now though, the stats show League’s original poster child is back on the Summoner’s Rift throne, and the Nine-Tailed Fox has found a new place in the League of Legends meta.
