Aurora, Smolder and Rell reworks are coming to League of Legends

Riot Games is set to roll out fresh updates to the kits of Aurora, Smolder, and Rell, introducing key changes that aim to refine their roles and playstyles in League of Legends, as well as tackle some of these champions' learning curves.

These small reworks, which are expected to have a considerable impact on Aurora, Smolder and Rell's play rates and win rates in Solo Queue, will be coming to the game with patch 14.23 on November 20th.

Let's take a look at what these three champions will look like once the reworks go live, as well as what the biggest changes to each of their playstyles are expected to be.

Aurora - A less oppressive ultimate

Aurora's power budget will be more evenly spread across her kit with her imminent rework. (Credit: Riot Games)

In the words of Riot Phroxzon, Aurora is simply too "elite skewed". To correct this phenomenon, the Witch Between Worlds will be receiving several changes to her kit aimed at making her easier to play, as well as easier to play against.

This will be apparent across several changes such as Aurora's [Q] Twofold Hex automatically recasting once the window for the recast times out, or her [W] Across the Veil receiving a large reduction to its cooldown while it now grants a significant move speed buff.

And even though this may look like a large buff to her [W], it's worth noting that the skill will no longer reset on takedowns. With that in mind, Aurora players will have to be far more mindful of when and how they use the ability than ever before.

Aurora will be receiving significant changes to every single one of her abilities, even her [P] Spirit Abjuration - Realm Hopper, but perhaps none will be as impactful as those to her [R] Between Worlds.

Something most League of Legends players can look forward to will be Aurora's ultimate no longer trapping enemies inside the circle. Instead, champions who cross the circle's threshold will only be heavily slowed now.

To compensate for this change, Aurora's ultimate will last nearly twice as long now. This will mean that players will have a much bigger time window to play around with her hops around her ultimate, giving some more room for skill expression.

Smolder - Infinity no more

With his upcoming rework, Smolder's scaling power will look a little different. (Credit: Riot Games)

Smolder has been another 'problem champion' for Riot Games pretty much since his release. The Fiery Fledgling was great at slowing the game down while he safely racked up his [P] Dragon Practice stacks up to the point where he could completely take over the late game.

To start with, Smolder will be receiving nerfs to the damage his abilities deal to minions specifically. This means he should be considerably slower to push waves, and farm stacks, once patch 14.23 goes live.

Smolder's kit will be receiving a numbers overhaul across the board, but perhaps the biggest change will come to his scaling off his passive stacks. The third tier of his [Q] Super Scorcher Breath, which is reached upon Smolder getting 225 stacks, will no longer deal increased burn damage based on stacks. Instead, the burn will now only scale off of his Bonus AD. 

Hopefully, the changes will mean that Smolder will no longer be able to leverage his infinite scaling quite like he used to.

In short, Smolder will scale worse with Ability Power and [P] Dragon Practice stacks now, while he instead scales far better with Bonus AD instead.

Rell - A tale of two playstyles

With her rework, Rell might finally become what Riot always wanted her to be. (Credit: Riot Games)

Rell's upcoming rework will be significant in several ways. To begin with, the Iron Maiden will receive large changes to virtually all of her base stats. This means that once you load up onto the rift with Rell after patch 14.23, you will immediately feel the difference.

Looking past her base stats, however, Rell will also be receiving large tweaks to her abilities. In fact, the only part of the champion which is not being touched will be her [R] Magnet Storm, which will remain exactly as it was. Outside of that, Rell's changes will affect her abilities from the damage they deal, all the way down to their crowd control (CC) duration.

The aim of the rework is quite straightforward. Right now, Rell is simply another engage support champion. After her kit overhaul, the distinction between her mounted and unmounted playstyles should be more noticeable than ever.

While mounted, Rell will play as a squishy but very mobile champion. As soon as you unmount, the champion will instead become one of the tankier champions in the game, but also incredibly slow.

With the champion's rework, players will have to be very mindful of how and when they choose to access each of Rell's forms. While it may take some time to get used to the increased nuances in Rell's new playstyle, it should also prove to be a rewarding experience in the end.

Stay tuned on Strafe for a detailed look at all the changes coming with Patch 14.23

For the latest League of Legends news, follow Strafe Esports. Also follow the Strafe YouTube channel for exclusive interviews with your favorite players and coaches.

Image source: Riot Games

Read more:

All Worlds Championship Skins Released to Date

Arcane Season 2 launch seizes top spot on Netflix

New Arcane Vi, Caitlyn and Singed skins for League of Legends revealed