I’m usually in this sub for LoL eSports memes but I noticed a hot debate has been brewing regarding my former one-trick, and after reading different opinions about it I thought I’d share my own views because some people seem to be rather vocal about things that are not necessarily true.

I was a Vel’koz otp, until s11 when I called it quits and branched out. 1.2 mil masteries, peaked chall (although with APC Vel’koz). The reason I am stating this is because a lot of people seem to trust “high-tier one tricks” with their opinions. Now let’s begin on some things I want to address. Keep in mind I will only talk about mid Vel’koz.

Vel’koz Winrate

I was shown a clip of Azzapp (Famous Vel’koz one trick, high elo) reacting to a rioter talking about Vel’koz winrate. Although the clip shows sub 45% wr in Masters+, currently he is at 49.78% in the world, masters+. I don’t know when that clip was taken but I assume it was early in the patch, so low sample. What is the definition of bad? Low WR? 49.78% is far from terrible, although not great.

One could say 49% for an unpopular one-trick champion with low PR is bad, since “even Vel’koz experts are struggling with him”. Now Phreak in his patch rundown has claimed that “low pickrate does not necessarily mean only one-tricks are playing it”, and although very likely, nobody can really say Vel’koz is only played by pure one tricks other than Riot who has data.

If we choose to ignore Phreak and assuming 100% of Vel’koz PR is from one-tricks, we must ask this question: Does one-tricking mean you are good, and should get >50% at the champion? Sure, you played hundreds, maybe thousands of games but the vast majority of one tricks with millions of masteries are on “low-elo” as Reddit would say. You are not guaranteed to win games just by playing a lot of the single champion, many people autopilot their champs and just play as their instinct guides while their macro, game understanding lags behind and becomes the real reason why they lose. I’m sure if everyone looks back at the one-tricks they meet, not all of them have >50% winrate. Even if you played a lot of games on the champion, there are a lot more factors determining whether you win or not.

“High Elo” Onetrick

I respect Azzapp and his contribution to the community, but people need to stop treating him like he’s the all-knowing god who understands the game perfectly. Is he the best Vel’koz player in the world? Maybe, I’m not sure. If I’m being honest, I haven’t read what exactly he wants changed for Vel’koz. But even if all of them were completely unbiased (very difficult to do) and reasonable Riot can’t implement these changes right away. Riot balance team, which contains other members aside from Phreak, is tasked with the monumental task of keeping 150+ champs in relative equal strength. Changing one champion’s strength directly affects other champions who interact with it, and indirectly influences the meta.

I understand the frustration Vel’koz mains have when they feel like they have no control over the game and they die because of the lack of self-peel. I’ve been there. But let’s say Riot gives a wee-bit better peel on Vel’koz and he becomes better at survival, his winrate goes up (who knows how much), champs who would be the ones hunting him performs worse, and matchups Vel’koz is good at becomes more ‘unplayable’ for the other champion. Which brings me to my final point:

“Not another damage buff”

The reasoning behind the damage buff is clear: it’s so that he performs better in matchups he’s already good at. Clear weakness and strength. His weakness sometimes feel overwhelming, but to change that he needs a mini-rework like Jax. I don’t genuinely believe fixing his “e fizzle on death” will solve the issues, even if it as true (Phreak claims it is not a ‘bug’, but a skill cast problem all champs have). How many times do you encounter that ‘bug’? When I was a one-trick I remember seeing it multiple times but maybe once per game or two, at most? And if you, a long range artillery mage, is dead (to reproduce that ‘bug’) the fight is probably over to matter a whole lot anway. Annoying? Sure. Main reason on why Vel’koz is rough? Not at all.

It’s rather sad, but Riot has bigger issues to deal with than Vel’koz. There are champs lining up to get reworked, not to mention the new champion Hwei. I frequently play Corki, and have a good winrate with him but when I was looking at stats he is in a more miserable spot than Vel’koz, although one could argue that was because of pro play. Riot balances the game mainly through high elo and pro play, and they don’t have much choice. Pro play extends the life span of LoL, and rakes in fat bucks even from people who don’t actively play League. Making pro play fun to watch is the most immediate concern for Riot. Yone, Ezreal, Lux, etc. sell skins. When the cat Blitz skin came out I thought I was going to buy it the second it came out but didn’t end up doing so. People don’t really buy skins for a champ they don’t play at all. Vel’koz, doesn’t sell skins. How many of the people talking about Vel’koz recently actually play Vel’koz? Remember, Riot is a company. They need money to survive and to keep offering their services free and arguably completely void of pay-to-win. You may not like how they keep the balance of fun / money but ultimately it’s Riot’s decision.

Final thoughts

I’m not really fond of one tricks, even if I used to be one. One tricks have both pros and cons, but the cons really outweigh the pros in my opinion. The majority of one tricks only play one champion, as their title suggests and blinds it no matter where they are in pick order. Some champions can get away with it due to their ability to go even at worst. Vel’koz however, unfortunately is not one of those champions. It has a lot of bad matchups, and few good matchups. And I think that is the main reason why Vel’koz is sub 50% wr despite having a lot of one tricks. Enemy mid laner Katarina? Pick Vel’koz. Zed? Vel’koz. Fizz? Vel’koz. Our team needs some frontline engage, or AD? Vel’koz. Team compositions don’t win games but they sure are a major factor, especially as you go higher in the ranks. Branch out, and distance yourself from your former one-trick every once in a while. I guarantee, the game becomes more enjoyable.

Thank you for reading this long post, hopefully you agree with it, while it is fine if not. I can provide anyone with my op.gg if they request it through dms.

TL:DR

Vel’koz is not bad, but feels bad to play. To address this he needs a mini-rework but Riot has other priorities and will not have the time and resources. Sad but it’s reality.