Riot planning to balance Akshan’s kit for League’s ARAM mode

Upcoming League of Legends champion Akshan will introduce a unique resurrection mechanic that’s a potential game-changer. But it might look a bit different in ARAM mode.

One fan discussed their concerns with the new marksman assassin in a Reddit post today, explaining that his ability to revive teammates “needs to have a cooldown” in ARAM. Gameplay analyst Ray “RayYonggi” Williams responded that there are plans to make balance changes for the random game mode.

“Good callout, we are planning some mitigating mechanics changes pre-ship I believe for ARAM,” Williams said.

It’s unclear what “mitigating mechanics changes” Riot will make to help Akshan transition into ARAM, but it’ll likely target his resurrection. Akshan’s Going Rogue (W) passive marks enemies as Scoundrels whenever they kill an ally champion. When Akshan takes out a Scoundrel, all teammates killed by that enemy are resurrected at their base. With ARAM having a different tempo and pace to Summoner’s Rift, Akshan would provide an incredible advantage to whoever gets him on their team.

The fan’s main concerns are that Akshan can “easily revive his team and stop a loss” if he kills a Scoundrel. Since one good teamfight can easily win you the game in the later stages of an ARAM, reviving your allies provides a second level of defense. As for the early game, the fan believes the “couple of seconds” that Akshan’s revive would save will give his team an edge in XP and gold.

This wouldn’t be the first time a champion’s kit was balanced for ARAM mode. Ornn’s Living Forge passive, which allows him to purchase non-consumable items from anywhere on a map, has a cooldown on the Howling Abyss. With players unable to base or purchase items unless they die, Living Forge would allow Ornn to scale while the opposing team couldn’t upgrade their equipment. Giving Akshan’s Going Rogue a similar cooldown would likely prevent similar imbalances.

Akshan should hit the Rift with Patch 11.15 on Wednesday, July 21.

Update July 8 3:17pm CT: Akshan’s Scoundrel duration, a debuff applied to an enemy that kills one of your allies, will be reduced from 60 seconds to 25 seconds on ARAM, according to Surrenderat20 mod Spideraxe.

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