Is Riot Games going to fix LoL's hated Chemtech Drake?
Riot Games has acknowledged that the Chemtech Drake, one of the latest additions to Summoner’s Rift, is leaving League of Legends players massively dissatisfied.
Chemtech Drake was a controversial addition to League of Legends, with an incredibly powerful terrain effect and dragon soul. In a
recent official blog post
about the current state of the game, Riot admitted that there’s a large swath of the player base who feel incredibly dissatisfied with the Chemtech Drake.
Riot Games may rework LoL’s Chemtech Drake
In the developer post from Riot Phroxzon, the Summoner’s Rift Team’s new lead designer, Riot Games lays out how it feels the changes have gone over. The Hextech Drake seems to have gone over well, with positive player response for the dragon and its terrain effect. The soul isn’t as flashy as the Chemtech Drake’s, but the reward for a single dragon is more universally useful and the rift feels fun and unique.
The Chemtech Drake isn’t so lucky, with Riot Games citing high levels of player dissatisfaction surrounding the current state of its soul and rift. From casters like Marc “Caedrel” Lamont, to ex-pro player Peng “Doublelift” Yilang, to active members of
Excel’s LEC roster, there have been plenty of prominent community figures speaking out against this toxic newcomer to League of Legends.
Riot Game says it is taking steps to remedy the frustration around both the terrain and the soul, adding Scryer’s Blooms to the lanes outside the smog in order to help teams more safely clear the area. If that doesn’t work, Riot says it’s willing to look at large-scale solutions, including reworking the drake entirely. The Chemtech Drake isn’t going to be removed, but it might get totally new abilities if it continues to frustrate the player base. As fun as the effects may seem, they’re getting dangerously close to letting their downsides outweigh the benefits.
Nicholas James
About Nicholas James
Nicholas James is a gaming writer with a passion for all things geekdom, as well as live theater. Nicholas is best known for covering League of Legends and other top MOBA titles, but his expertise covers numerous games across multiple genres. When not watching the LCS or playing the latest new release, Nicholas can be found doing some tabletop gaming and painting his favorite miniatures. Nicholas has also published with Hotspawn, TheGamer, Dexerto, Esports.gg and other industry outlets.
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