LoL devs admit Aurora was too “frustrating” before vital role swap
Riot GamesLeague of Legends developers Riot Games have admitted that their newest champion Aurora was too “frustrating” to play against in the top lane, so she was moved to mid.
Riot Games is about to release the newest champion to League of Legends. Hailing from the Frejlord, Aurora is a mid-range solo lane mage that is capable of kiting, healing, and chipping away at enemies, dealing massive amounts of burst with her ultimate and Q.
The champion has a very similar playstyle to Lillia, where she gains movement speed and healing from her passive that lets her outmaneuver opponents while slowly ticking them down with her abilities. However, due to this, her range is somewhat limited — making her an easy target if you’re not diligent.
Riot had mentioned that Aurora was designed for solo lanes, and was originally intended to be solely a top laner with some options to be played mid. But changes were made to her kit after the devs admitted that she was too “frustrating” to play against in the top lane.
Riot’s ‘Reav3’ stated that Aurora was originally designed as a top laner and while was fun to play, she was “incredibly frustrating to play against for top lane fighters.”
During this iteration of Aurora, she had far less burst damage and was a bit tankier. Because of this, she had far too much mobility, range, and tankiness in her kit. The devs eventually pushed her away from this tankier role and gave her more burst potential.
In turn, this shifted her toward the middle lane rather than the top, with Riot not wanting to force her into the role. Instead, they simply let her drift toward the middle lane during the end of her development.
With Aurora’s playstyle being somewhat similar to Lillia’s, it’s understandable why Riot didn’t want her to be top lane focused — as when Lillia is played top lane it often results in a frustrating experience for top lane champions.