Riot has been perfecting a fine balance of updating old champions and revitalizing League of Legends with new ones over the last few years. We’ve seen champions like Urgot, Aatrox, and Akali receive long-awaited reworks, while new champions like Neeko and Sylas have added a new dimension to League.
But one champion that’s in desperate need of an update is Fiddlesticks. The scarecrow of the Rift has been around since the launch of League in February 2009 with only minor changes being made to his kit since then. He’s gone through a couple of visual changes to keep up with the times, but his kit is becoming a historical relic that belongs in the League archives.
For starters, point-and-click spells are becoming a thing of the past, with skillshots becoming more prevalent in newer champions. Fiddlesticks has three point-and-click abilities and a massive area-of-effect ultimate that doesn’t take much skill to cast. While this level of gameplay is simple, it gives Fiddlesticks a very one-dimensional approach to play the game—click the champion you want to kill, and hope you have enough damage.
Not only are his skills point-and-click, but they’re either single-target or have randomly chosen targets, giving Fiddle players little control over how their champion plays out. This also leaves him in a weird spot in the mid and late-game, where he has an ultimate perfect for teamfights, but not a lot in the way of making space to use it. Yes, you can have your team engage and you can just buy a Zhonya’s to survive, but that’s not the point.
His combos aren’t really cohesive either, aside from providing you with a plethora of disengage tools. Chaining together a no-damage fear, a bouncing silence, and then a tether damage-over-time where you can’t do anything else for five seconds doesn’t leave a lot to the imagination.
His kit is also split between being a good jungler, mid laner, or support, but seemingly having none of the tools to excel at either. He’s vulnerable to ganks in the mid lane, his clear is lagging far behind newer junglers, and he can’t provide the same level of support as other poke supports.
The community’s call for a Fiddlesticks update on the forums has grown louder over the last few years. While some fans like his current kit, most are disgruntled with the lack of attention their favorite champion has received over time.
Putting more focus on landing skillshots for crowd control, while also rewarding him for doing so, will bring him more in line with newer champions. His ultimate, Crowstorm, definitely has a place in the game, but Fiddlesticks needs a clear identity as a solo laner, jungler, or support to have a successful gameplay update.
Luckily for people who want to see Fiddlesticks reworked, Riot will be releasing a fan-vote later this year for champions that fans want updated. It’ll be the community’s best chance to update an out-of-date champion and revitalize the Harbinger of Doom to live up to his namesake.
