These 5 League of Legends Champions Need a Rework in 2023
League of Legends is an ever-changing game. Besides new champions being released, champions who were released many years ago are shown some love in the form of reworks. In a dream list of “2023 Champion Reworks,” here are 5 champions who need a touch up the most.
What’s a Rework?
Before the list, it’s important to define what a rework is in League of Legends. There are VGUs, CGUs, and ASUs.
VGUs, or Visual Game Updates, are the biggest reworks a champion could get. It’s not always a champion may need a VGU, but it is the biggest changes a champion could receive. Sion, Poppy, Taric, Warwick, Galio – the list goes on with how many champions have gotten VGUs. Champions who undergo a VGU will often have their lore greatly updated, tying into an updated narrative around Runeterra.
CGUs are known as Comprehensive Gameplay Updates, and significantly change how a champion is played, without necessarily changing parts of their design. Neeko and Rell are recent examples of CGUs. Katarina, would be a past champion who has received a CGU.
Lastly, there are ASUs, which are Art and Sustainability Updates. Abilities and lore remain unchanged, while the visual models are modernized greatly. Ahri is the most recent example of an ASU, occurring early on in 2023.
All champions on the list are taken from the pool of Riot’s official “candidates for update(s)” section on the LoL wiki, all champions Riot plans some types of updates for in the future. 2023 Champion Reworks can only come out so fast, but imagine they all could come out this year!
5) Kog’Maw – CGU and ASU
Kog’Maw’s kit, at their core is something League of Legends needs. One of the premiere “protect the X” comp, where all champions are drafted around the win condition to buff up Kog’Maw in becoming an unstoppable force.
This gameplay for some players are fun, and should not be taken away from Kog’Maw’s core identity as a tank-busting, 1v9 if the cards are right, type of champion.
Slap on a new coat of paint, and tweak some of the abilities to where Kog’Maw is more intuitive to play as a champion. Keep the love for an AP build, as that niche is part of the champion’s identity, too.
4) Rammus – CGU
While Rammus has already received a CGU in April 2021, it would be nice to see Riot take another crack at everyone’s favorite Armordillo.
His Powerball ability is simply too iconic to take out, and with how few taunts are in the game, keeping his kit in line with having a taunt is important, too.
With Rammus on the shortlist of candidates slated for an update, Riot agrees the state of Rammus is not ok.
3) Quinn – VGU
For the first VGU candidate on the 2023 champion rework dream list, has to be the Demacian free bird herself, Quinn. Similar to Rammus, this would not be Quinn’s first time being tweaked, as she saw a Gameplay Update in November 2015.
At the time, this Gameplay Update was a nice change of pace for Quinn, allowing her to better roam around the map, becoming a very snowball-heavy champion for her and her team.
Nowadays, Quinn is beat out by A LOT of power-creep that did not exist in late 2015. Riot should show a little more love to Quinn’s basic abilities.
2) Shyvana – VGU
One of the queens of stuck in a perpetual need for a rework is Shyvana. Along with Skarner, Shyvana was one of the few champions who inspired a new-age look at modernizing some old League of Legends champions, given Riot’s general slower pace at releasing champion updates recently.
Originally built to be a bruiser, Shyvana’s best build ended up turning her into an AP assassin when in her dragon form, chunking squishy members on the enemy team to 20% health with a single E.
There is a lot to be said about where you can take Shyvana’s rework, as inspiration a designer can get from a Demacian warrior who shapeshifts into a dragon is breadth with flavor.
1) Tryndamere – VGU
Rounding out the dream 2023 champion rework list is Tryndamere, a champion who is on the cusp of receiving a very huge change, in fact.
In Patch 13.17, Tryndamere is recieving a buff to his attack range, better encapsulating the length of his sword, allowing for players to weave in more autos when kiting.
Tryndamere’s auto attack range is going up to 175 from 125, which is super relevant.
A core feature of Tryndamere’s gameplay is his undying ultimate, a feature very likely to be left in to the champion after a VGU, but with a modern finesse. Riot will likely end up adding some type of reset mechanic to Tryndamere, reflecting his all-or-nothing flavor present in both his gameplay and the character of Tryndamere himself.
Wrapping up the list, it’s important to mention a champion like Skarner has been committed from this list, due to Riot confirming he will be receiving a VGU sometime in 2024, per a community vote. Riot has shared loads of details on the Skarner rework, but the VGU is unfortunately being pushed back to an undetermined 2024 date.