League of Legends was released way back on October 27, 2009, and there were initially 40 champions you could choose from. League of Legends wasn’t intuitive then, and this was also the time in the game when players could rack up unique and ultra-rare in-game items or cosmetics. If you pre-order the game during this season, you will get scarce cosmetic items.
These 40 champions weren’t released all at once. Riot games intended 20 champions to be the original release champions but ended up doubling that number by the official release date of the game way back on October 27, 2009. Seventeen champions were released within the soft launch of the game and some champions have been added to make the entire roster of 40 games’ official release date game.
These 40 champions are considered old; out of 40, 16 have received complete reworks and overhauls. The overall look of the champion, the audio effects, and even the spells of these champions have been changed.
This article will show you who those 40 champions are, along with their reworks. We will also discuss the relevant changes made to these champions and some trivia.
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1. Alistar
Alistar was initially called “Minotaur” During the game’s alpha test. His skills never really received a complete overhaul, but the icons of his skills have been updated to have a modern look to them. He also received a visual upgrade to make his animations look relevant to the game’s current design.
2. Annie
The fire-spitting, bear summoning little girl of the League of Legends, Annie is one of the first six champions designed, meaning she is one of the very first champions to have ever been considered. Annie’s abilities remain the same, but the special effects of her spells have been completely upgraded to have a modern look as well as her overall look and design.
3. Ashe
What is a MOBA game without its frost archer? Ashe is one of the earliest champions and has the most straightforward playstyle. Ashe has received lots of reworks, one of which is her W.
Before, her W was not blocked by minions or the target it hits; she also had a different Q before her rework. Her Q was an activatable skill that allowed her to inflict slow on her basic attacks; this was later reworked and changed to be her passive.
4. Fiddlesticks
Fiddlesticks is one of the champions that has received many changes; he received a complete overhaul of his design, voice lines, spells, and every little detail. He also received new lore to make his story more relevant to the current lore of Runeterra.
His skills have also been changed, and he feels like a new champion. He even received a terrifying cinematic trailer.
5. Jax
Jax is one of the initial 40 champions released by Riot games; he hasn’t received any significant change over the years as his kit and design are well balanced. However, his attack animation has been changed along with the icons of his skills.
6. Kayle
Another champion that has received a complete overhaul, Kayle, used to be a spartan winged warrior with golden armor and a flaming sword. After her rework, she became the angelic-looking warrior she is, with evolving look each time she levels her ultimate up.
7. Master Yi
If you have played League of Legends since season 1, you might know the history of this overpowered champion. Now he is a complete AD champion who can demolish your entire team if you don’t have to smite him by spamming his basic attacks and Q.
Back then, his skills scaled with Ability Power, and he could build mage items to multiple one-shot targets with his Q.
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8. Morgana
Like her Sister, Kayle, Morgana has received a complete overhaul with her designs and voice lines. Her spells remain the same, but the visual effects have been upgraded to have a modern look.
9. Nunu & Willump
Nunu received a complete overhaul as well; his kit was pretty basic back then. Throw snowballs at enemies until they die. Now, after his rework, his kit has become well balanced, making him an excellent jungle champion. His death animation is also changed, making everyone adore the champion even more.
10. Ryze
If we are talking about reworks, Ryze is that one champion Riot couldn’t get right. He received significant reworks multiple times over the years because he increasingly overpowers every time.
Riot reworks him. Until such time, Riot got it right, but the consequence of having a powered down Ryze is that he became one of the most demanding and weakest champions. He recently received the lowest win rate in the game, which is a 40% win rate.
11. Sion
Every league player was excited to see the trailer for Sion’s rework. Before this, he was a bruiser champion with a long-range stun and an ultimate that gives him insane amounts of lifesteal.
After his rework, he became a tank champion that scales as the game goes on, thanks to his W that lets him stack HP for each minion he kills. After his rework, Sion became a champion that could initiate team fights and be a front-line warrior for his team.
12. Sivir
Sivir’s designs have been updated to have a modern look, but her skills remain the same. Though she has grown stronger over the years thanks to the new items added to the in-game store that greatly synergizes with her kit.
13. Soraka
Soraka has one of the best-looking visual updates in the game; she once looked like a terrible champion with an outdated face and goat features in her body. Now all of her spells and design have been updated, and she is one of the most loved champions in the game.
14. Teemo
Teemo’s design remains the same, but all his spells have been updated to have a modern look. His splash art and skill icons have also been updated. Teemo is one of the most hated champions in the game because of his spells and taunting laugh.
Players hated this champion so much that they dubbed him the “devil” of the game. Riot games agreed to this and even made an event just for Teemo where he is the big bad little devil teemo. This also spawned a devil skin for Teemo.
15. Tristana
Tristana is an ADC champion that once had AP scaling with her abilities; she also had a DPS effect on her third skill, which went reworked to be a bomb that can get stacked by her attacking it and explodes at the 4th tick.
16. Twisted Fate
The card master is one of those champions who still hasn’t received that much change after his release. He still has the same spells and effects, but recently the special effects of his skills have been changed to have a modern look to them.
17. Warwick
Warwick has been reworked from the ground up; his ultimate once was a targeted ability that instantly teleports him to his target and suppresses that target for a few seconds. Now, if you play him, his overall look and even the voice lines have been changed as well as his abilities.
18. Singed
If you are actively playing League of Legends, you might know that Singed is one of those champion players crying for a rework. His overall kit feels outdated, even with his special effects and design. But Riot has promised to update their champions with the minor changes, so we expect to see changes to Singed shortly.
19. Zilean
Just like Singed, Zilean is yet to receive a visual update. His skills remain the same, and he has one of the lowest pick rates in the game; if you are actively playing the game, you might notice that almost nobody is picking this champion. He is the only champion that can level a champion up by storing experience as time goes on.
20. Evelynn
One of the best-looking visual updates in the game is Evelyn; she looks just like a goth girl running around in heels. After her rework, she becomes the champion representing her name, a Succubus. She is a seductive-looking champion portraying the image of a Succubus, her spells remain the same, but all of it has been changed.
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21. Tryndamere
Tryndamere is the very first champion to be released without mana and is one of the few champions with only one damaging ability in the game. Aside from his elemental attacks, his spinning slash skill is the only damage source he has. Tryndamere also has yet to receive any significant overhaul to his kit as well as with his overall design.
22. Twitch
Twitch’s rework gave him a complete overhaul and made his design acceptable to the eyes. He was once an overgrown rat with a tedious animation but overpowered skill set. His animation goes well with his invisibility, and his voice line has improved.
23. Karthus
Karthus once looked like a necromancer from the world of warcraft, his abilities remain the same, but his skills’ visual effects have been changed. His E used to feel like an aura surrounding Karthus, and the designs were outdated. After his rework, all his spells shared the same color scheme as those champions originating from the shadow isles.
24. Amumu
Another champion that Riot promised will rework some time soon, Amumu, has the most natural abilities in the game as they are still the same as they were back when he got released. The only change he got is the visual effects of his abilities and his splash art.
25. Chogath
Cho’Gath used to be the most overpowered tank in the game because his ult was an infinitely stack HP, and he can build pure mage items and one-shot most enemies.
All his spells had a high AP ratio back then, and they have all been nerfed to the ground. He received changes to his overall design and will most likely receive attention again because of the Bel’Veth event.
26. Anivia
Anivia’s kit has never changed since her release date, though she recently received some visual updates on her spells. The only relevant change she received over the years is the buffs to make her relevant to the current META.
27. Rammus
Rammus has the worst voice lines in the game; his kit was also pretty dull until Riot games reworked him ample time with his ultimate. He can now use his ultimate to jump to a location and cast his DPS ultimate there.
He can knock enemies airborne if they are hit within the middle of Rammus’ ultimate. Though some may say despite the significant update on his skills, the champion still feels outdated because of his overall look.
28. Veigar
Veigar has not received any change to his overall look, but his abilities have been updated to adapt to the modern-looking feel of the League of Legends. His Splash arts have also been updated and are now looking more high definition than before.
29. Kassadin
Used by the very first champions of the League of Legends worlds tournament, Kassadin is a very iconic champion from which you can remember as the xPeke backdoor. Since then, He has received numerous buffs and VFX updates.
He is now one of the strongest late-game champions; he is usually dubbed Kassawin because when he reaches level 16, his power becomes nearly unstoppable.
30. Gangplank
Gangplank has received multiple overhauls throughout the years. His rework revolves around his lore from which he was thought to have died; his resurrection or return made him a buff-looking pirate.
Gangplanks’ abilities have also been reworked; he was once able to one-shot enemies with his Q alone and deal tons of damage when built like an AP mage.
31. Taric
Taric has one of the best-looking visual updates in the game; he used to look like a little person wearing oversized armor. After his rework, he became this muscular champion that could support his ADCs well.
32. Blitzcrank
Before his Q got reworked, it used to be a targeted ability meaning even if enemies are behind minions, you click your Q on them, and they’ll get hooked. His W has also been changed; he used to have a movement and attack speed boost. Now it got nerfed and slowed blitzcrank down after the duration has ended.
33. Dr. Mundo
Dr. Mundo is the latest addition to those champions that have received a complete overhaul. He used to be a straightforward champion that only pressed his Q to win; when he got reworked, his playstyle became more complicated but is now leaning toward a more team fight style.
34. Janna
Janna’s Kit has never been changed, from his visual effects to her abilities. The only rework she has received is some of her splash arts.
35. Malphite
The only change to Malphite worth noting is his splash art and E ability. His E used to affect on the ground, which puts the logo of Riot Games. There have also been additions to his abilities, like his E, which now slows the enemy’s attack speed, and his Q, which steals the movement speed of enemies.
36. Corki
Corki remains the same as his initial design, and his abilities also remain the same, but back in season 6, he received a buff on his Valkyrie ability; he can now pick up packages that increase his movement speed and upgrades his Valkyrie ability which increases the distance of travel and knocks enemies back as Corki passes them. The upgraded Valkyrie effect also slows the enemies down.
37. Katarina
Katarina has been changed in the past, and her spells are hardly the same as her old ones. Her design has also been changed, but only a few people have noticed this change since the look remained the same; the only change is that her body became more modern looking as well as with her daggers.
38. Nasus
Just like with Katarina, Nasus has received visual updates on his body, but the only difference is that his body has become more modern. His abilities also received minor visual updates, and that’s about it.
39. Heimerdinger
Heimerdinger also received changes to his overall design and his visual effects; his running animation has also been changed as well as his turrets.
40. Shaco
Shaco’s design remains the same, but the VFX of his abilities has been changed to adapt to the more modern look of the League of Legends.
Final Thoughts
These champions are the foundation of the League of Legends; they were so iconic back then, which led people to play this game; from there on out, the game only snowballed to popularity, and a larger budget also led to better-looking champions and even the map.
(5 votes, average: 4.40 out of 5)
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