Aurelion Sol rework: League of Legends’ next CGU update

Over 150 champions are on the League of Legends roster, it’s no surprise Riot Games has to continually refresh and update older characters. One such champion for a CGU (comprehensive gameplay update) is a big — but welcome — surprise. Riot will return to the sassy Space Dragon Aurelion Sol. Riot’s latest champion roadmap shared this news, as well as details regarding other forthcoming releases and reworks.

VGUs, or visual and gameplay updates in Riot were once the priority. The candidates for these VGUs used to be obvious. The game’s very oldest models from its launch in 2009 were largely upgraded with new graphics, voice over, ability reworks, lore, and models. Riot began to look for new champions after the exclusion of the janky and pizza-footed champions. Aurelion Sol is an interesting case because many players love his personality and voice over; he’s David Bowie mixed with a narcissistic, all-powerful star forging dragon from the cosmos. His gameplay can be finicky and requires precision. He also needs to keep his skill level high.

The road map note notes that

Many of you wanted to be able to control a huge, arrogant star Dragon. Unfortunately, we didn’t really deliver on a gameplay kit that matched that excitement, as most of you dropped him after just a few games. After a few games, his playrate dropped to among the lowest and he’s been there since. He still ranks in the top 10 most loved visuals when we conduct champion surveys. However, his gameplay is always at the bottom. We’ve tried some small tweaks to ASol, but when we discussed what we should do to help him out, we came to the consensus that we should just start his gameplay over from scratch.

Skarner is a crystal scorpion that used to sleep beneath Shurima’s desert sands. The champion roadmap includes details about Skarner and an update regarding a Void Empress champion, who requires your complete submission. Riot shared information about a Bilgewater oyster-loving brawler champion and a top-skilled top lane tank, both of whom hail from Shurima. Aurelion Sol’s rework is currently planned for some time at the end of the year.