Swain's Rework: Where Everything Went Wrong | League of Legends

Welcome back to another episode of the Rework Retrospective! It's been a very long time since the last episode but worry not! I haven't forgotten about this series. Today we're gonna be talking about a champion who Riot somehow managed to screw up despite not requiring any major adjustments from the old one. So let's dive into Swain: The Noxian Grand General

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#LoL #Swain #Rework

[filipmisevski]

They should give this champ some love, he s so unique looking and has a special place in lore

[cauejapiassu]

I just wish that Swain could be played again as a mid/top battle-mage instead of being reduced to a support pick, same thing for Vel'koz and Xerath

[somesillyname]

I don’t understand what they were thinking with his new q, they could have so easily kept his old one (or a modernized version of it) and had a much more cohesive midrange kit. Better yet, give him his old q back, but replace it with the new one while he’s ulting. That way he fills a pretty cool niche of being a midrange champ who becomes closer range but hits a lot harder during ult.

[ProtoZinks]

I remember when Riot said that they made him have the limp and walking with a cane anymore was because it made him look weak and feeble. I think whoever redesigned him missed the point of that part of his character because you see Noxus, the land where might makes right and you have this broken old man leading it. It hinted at there was so much more under the surface under that sick robe.

[aanzoranzo]

Fighting old swain and confused why the mage was building tank was one of my earliest memory of league. I then played him and managed to 1v1 the fed Zedd with ease. Those were my most memorable moments of playing league. Even tho i never mained him, i do miss the old swain

[Jozzo]

THANK YOU. I was a Swain main from S6 (when I started playing) up till his rework, I absolutely loved how his abilities all synergized together. The rework felt like they just ripped old Swain out of the game and released a new champion in his place - and the new champion was worse to play. Old Swain's lack of popularity means that he always gets left out of the "bad reworks" pool that people like to bring up (Aatrox, Urgot, etc). On behalf of the 4 pre-rework Swain mains, thank you for making this video.

[infernomance]

Fiddles' rework was actually pretty intensive, in terms of locking him down to a role; prior to the rework, Fiddles could simultaneously be a 1v1 nightmare with the incredible sustain on his drain (which he could always secure with his fear), while also leaning into a teamfight setting with his ult and bouncing crow, but both were somewhat awkward insofar as the skillset didn't commit to either (like a certain hero who may or not be the topic of this video). The rework put him squarely in the teamfight setting, with every skill being more effective in a multi-target scenario while also making his 1v1 potential very frail.

It was honestly kind of impressive how much of his focus they managed to shift without dramatically altering his gameplay (outside of fake-ward baits).

[Moz-.-]

I'm one of the players who used to adore old swain and play him frequently, to me he had a very "warlock" feel to him with the whole tanky damage over time caster playstyle he had. The main issue I have with him at the moment is how feeble he can feel at close range, his current incarnation has a disconnect in that q is a very short cooldown nuke but his other two basic abilities are very awkward to hit on a close range opponent, in addition to this unlike his old q you can't easily slow + space melee champions anymore in order to fight them at 400ish range like he could pre-rework. This rework could be salvaged if they would just admit that in the modern state of the game the reliability of E > W simply isn't there and even if you land both too many champions can either fight back and win or simply escape the combo to begin with. It would have been cool if they added a conditional hard cc onto his spells like Poppy W, preserved his high damage over time and not turned him into this pick champ with his passive very little counterplay if he duo lanes with a champion with hard cc, it just makes him prey on the weak adcs in botlane.

[smokerd]

At least they nailed his theme. Hands down the best musical theme (and that's not an easy task to fulfil when it comes to lol themes) at least imo.

[kitkup]

I really miss Swain's Toggle ult, I think Toggle abilitys are some of the most fun in the game and it's a shame they are trying to remove them.

[greengem]

Swain's W is his best and most fun ability. It's feels so great to control fights from 7500 units away. Cancel backs or push minion waves. Hitting multiple people during a teamfight can really turn it around. It all applies so well to his theme as a grand general controlling the battlefield.

[ResidentSleepyJoe]

Old Swain was one of my favorite champions ever released. I loved the Drain Mage Warlock. New Swain just feels nothing like it. His sustain is weak, his control is weak, his burst damage is cool but that was never what Swain was about. He was about lockdown, sustain damage and healing so that he could survive while dealing dmg with his kit. I agree they should have given him some Fiddlestick lovin' instead of just giving him some weird interaction with ally CC as well as an odd false warding ability with way too long a CD and thought "Ayeee he's a tactician now!" despite having an extremely 1 dimensional playstyle with even less decision making.

[matthewchi]

As a Swain main, I can't wait for this. I would have liked the new Swain much more if he was just a separate champion and didn't replace the old one. But it just feels like an insane downgrade with the ult toggle removed, insane mana costs, and inability to sololane

[willweisenburger]

I’ve been a Swain main for a long time (all post rework) and I think the biggest problem people have with this champ is that they just don’t understand the kit. You’re still a draintank, you still lock people down, and you still do lots of damage. They just shifted his power into teamfights instead. His E isn’t supposed to be easy in lane, but it IS supposed to be easy in your ult when you’re raidbossing a team fight.

[Relhio]

Man, seeing old Tyrant Swain really made me nostalgic... As much as I say Riot keeps the whole theme of the champion after a rework, that half raven stumble he had on that skin and the way he played made him so much fun.

[sorinnoctis]

Thank you! Finally someone points this out. Whenever deleted champions come up no one mentions swain. Damn I miss old swain.

[jeffsyndrome]

It hurts so much to see my favourite character put here, but it's so deserved. Riot gave him (in my opinion of course) some of the best characterisation ever in the entire League roster. Turned Noxus from a stereotypical villainous empire to a region with depth rivalling the Freljord. His philosophy is sane, his methods not so much. Machiavellian to the extreme but also not an asshat, understanding strength can be developed from the weakest of people. While still being completely insane and maintaining Noxus' brutal theme.

His kit on the other hand... it just doesn't fit the character in the slightest. The only ability I like is Vision of Empires, the rest is kinda meh.

[Doppelier]

I feel compelled to subscribe after this video.

Riot's rework team really did Swain in with this "rework". There's nothing left of his original identity apart from the bird theme, and he's frankly half a champion without his ult.

I really hope he gets another rework.

[johnpaulbouchard]

Glad someone talked about it. I loved old Swain and gave up on him after the rework because I felt his abilities didn't mesh as well as the old ones did

[mal]

I miss old Swain :(
He was one of my first mains, I loved building him so tanky with tear and frozen heart. Drain tank for years