Ahh League of Legends, one of the biggest names in E-Sports. Released in 2009, the game boasts a very impressive roster of over 100 characters, with each champion being unique in their abilities and play style. As someone who has been playing League since its first season, I can say that it has always kept me interested with frequent additions or changes to existing mechanics that keep the game feeling fresh. Different champions require different skill levels, with harder champions having a high-risk high-reward style of gameplay that makes using them that much more nail-biting and intense. Knowing each champion and using their abilities well within the game is the difference between victory and defeat.
However, as with any other game there some abilities that make you question, “Why? Why was such an ability even thought of in the first place? What demon climbed up from hell and designed this ability?”
Keep in mind that I am personally a huge fan of the game, and so this article is in no way a means of me bashing a game that I have spent so many years playing and enjoying. With that said, here are 10 examples of such abilities that make players want to flip their keyboards and walk away.
10. Anivia/Taliyah/Trundle/Jarvan: Terrain Abilities
I have decided to group these abilities together because of their similar nature; creating impassable terrain. These abilities are far from badly designed, and should they be used well, they can split the enemy team up, close off escapes, or stop enemies from chasing an ally. However, if used incorrectly…well let’s just say that I’m not sure the chat log would be family-friendly at all.
9. Blitzcrank/Thresh: Grab
How many times has this happened: you’re minding your own business, in lane or recalling near a turret, maybe even warding the jungle or taking some camps, when suddenly the screen turns black and white and you’re dead. Well done, you’ve been caught by a Blitzcrank grab or a Thresh hook. And the best part? The endless stream of “supportive” comments made by your team mates which makes you want to mute everyone and stick to yourself.
8. Shaco: Hallucinate
Ok so, Shaco is a pain no matter which way you look at it, but his ultimate ability has the ability to turn team mates into your worst enemies. Watching as that one “brave” team mate attacks what is very clearly a clone, while also seeing said clone getting as close to you as possible when you’re on your last few bars of health, is the equivalent of watching a fuse running out on a bomb.
To make matters worse, due to recent changes, the clone explosion now leaves a triangle of death (or 3 jack-in-the-boxes if you want to be less dramatic about it) that just pelts you repeatedly to death, should the explosion leave you alive. Great.
7. Illaoi: Prophet of an Elder God
Illaoi. I’m not even sure that 5% of the League community actually knows how to play this champion, or worse, against her. This beast of a character is virtually unkillable if she plans her attacks with her tentacles well, due to her regeneration. That in itself is already a headache to deal with when you see that no matter how many times you hit her, she just never seems to go down.
However, place her in a teamfight with a well executed ultimate, and the best you can hope for is that you can make it out alive. Worst of all is watching helplessly as some poor soul on your team thinks that he can take her down because she’s at low health; not sure who would be more furious at that point, you or them.
6. Caitlyn: Ace in the Hole
You did it! You’ve managed to make it out alive after a massive team fight. You breathe a sigh of relief as you relish in your skills and your ability to keep your character alive. But wait. You’re travelling near a warded area. And the enemy Caitlyn is still alive. And she hasn’t used her ultimate yet.
And that’s when you kiss your attempt at escaping goodbye as you helplessly watch while the she-devil takes aim and ends you right where you stand. Add a wasted use of Flash for dramatic effect.
P.S. This might have an added sprinkle of rage depending on whether a team mate could have saved you, but failed to do so because it is apparently too hard to walk in front of a projectile. No I am not salty about it…
5. Zed: Death Mark
Targeted Ability. Check.
Delayed Additional Damage. Check.
Quick and easy escape at the press of a key. Check.
Cries of rage and despair as your health bar depletes in a matter of seconds with a flurry of attacks, somehow managing to make it alive, and then being killed when the timer on the Death Mark goes off. Check.
4. Yasuo: Sweeping Blade
Ok let’s get one thing straight. I. Hate. Yasuo. He is, by far, the most broken champion in the entire game in my honest opinion, and once he manages to get to you the respawn timer might as well start ticking. Which is why this ability in particular is just so infuriating. Not only does this allow him to zig-zag around a whole area, should there be enough minions (and let’s face it, there are always enough minions when Yasuo is around), making him impossible to hit with anything, but thanks to a cooldown that is pretty much below zero, he can go from one end of a minion wave all the way to your backline in as long as it takes you to see your life flash before your eyes, which is appropriate given the expected result.
3. Tahm Kench: Devour
One of the most polarising abilities in the game and probably the ability which has the most trolling potential. On paper, this ability can save team mates in a way that no other ability can, and even has the potential to remove enemy champions from a fight for a few seconds, greatly tipping the odds. But if used incorrectly, it can quickly turn into an ability which stops team mates from getting kills, sends team mates to their unwarranted doom, or even messes up a whole team fight by “eating” an important ally during a critical point in the match. But hey, no pressure right?
2. Fizz: Playful/Trickster
Mobility. Invulnerability. Death from above. Three words/phrases that can be used to describe this ability.
Picture this: you’ve planned a full combo or a series of manoeuvres to get away or finish off your kill, and just as you execute your plan this slippery fish jumps on his troll pole and avoids all attacks, while literally jumping closer to you, excited to turn your brave encounter into a cry for help.
There’s a reason why no one likes you Fizz…
1. Teemo: Noxious Trap
League’s very own Satan. The champion everyone loves to hate. The bane of every auto-attack based champion. The infamous Teemo.
This champion’s kit almost seems like it was designed to infuriate players into submission; a blind, a DoT auto-attack, invisibility. But no ability within the entire game has the ability to enrage players and send opposing teams into an in-house battle royale as much as his ultimate ability, The Shrooms. This ability allows Teemo to literally litter as much of the map as he pleases with his poison mushrooms. If you are so unlucky as to have a Teemo on your opposing team and you end up with low health at any point during the game, you have one of two options:
1) Recall where you stand, risking it all out in the open with the potential of being spotted and instantly killed.
or
2) Run away or find a place to hide and recall in safety, risking stepping on one of his shrooms and singing away your hopes and dreams as you watch your life bar slowly deplete to zero.
…bonus points should Teemo be around to spam his laugh.
And that about wraps it up!
I’m sure that anyone reading this might have a vastly different opinion to mine (with maybe an exception to Teemo because…well…Teemo) and I am very well aware that there are far more irritating abilities than just these 10, but there’s only so much I can put in one list. Sound off any opinions in the comments and if enough interest is generated, there might just be a part 2 to this list.
Until then, cya!
