It’s finally happening. Riot games is disabling the dreaded Chemtech Drake in League of Legends.
The new dragon has seen significant backlash since its introduction, given its stealth terrain effect and arguably the most powerful dragon soul of all the Elemental Drakes. Riot Games announced it will be disabling the Chemtech Drake itself as well as its unique terrain and soul.
Why did Riot Games disable Chemtech Drake?
The Chemtech Drake has had plenty of critics, from everyday players to professionals at the highest level. The dragon’s reward was only useful for squishy characters against more tanky classes, leading to a lot of poor situations for it for League of Legends players. The terrain adding more camouflage to League of Legends was another blow against it. Invisibility is a difficult mechanic to balance on Summoner’s Rift at the best of times, and turning a team’s jungle into a constant potential deathtrap didn’t go over well.
Finally, the dragon soul reanimating dead enemies could make a good play entirely pointless as a crucial champion comes back to turn the fight. Riot Games has been quick to listen to fans and will be looking at new solutions. The decision has been met with praise from fans and community figures alike.
The update is a mid-patch fix, with the League of Legends developer deciding not to watch for the next full patch to make this change. Chemtech as a theme is a compelling option for an Elemental Drake, but this execution missed the mark and Riot is admitting so with this removal.
Chemtech’s choking fumes and poisonous reputation could be reimagined as damage over time, a slowing effect, or even something more exotic. For now it’s clear that Chemtech Drake was a triple whammy of unfun mechanics. This is one of the fastest reversals to a major mechanic that Riot Games has ever made. The era of the Chemtech dragon is over, and many League of Legends fans will be happy to see it go.
Fair travels and good riddance to the Chemtech Drake. You will hardly be missed.
