There’s nothing better than a new map, and even better, a champion rework to come with it. Riot Games have been working on the new ARAM Map “Butcher’s Bridge” for a while now, and it is going to be playable very soon for players across the world. But with a complete reskin of the old ARAM map, there’s got to be at least one champion in League of Legends that has even the slightest little thing that has to do with it. For example, the new map is supposed to take on an old “pirate” like feel, with the old styled houses, the river that runs beneath, and all the loot that’s stored away in the town. So who could match up with this map any better than Gangplank?!
Riot Games haven’t changed too many things, but have managed to make Gangplank into something more than just an overpowered, useless, full critical built champion. Not only have they gave him a set of new abilities, but also some new looks! Gangplank now looks a lot more buff, and more like a pirate. Everything about him looks more high definition as well. Suffice to say, he looks great!
So with all of his new abilities, you’re probably wondering, what is Gangplank good for now? How does he contribute in team fights compared to his past abilities? Well, Gangplank now has more than just point and click abilities. Some of his abilities will need some skill to master, such as Powder Keg. This ability allows Gangplank to throw down kegs which he or enemies can destroy. If gangplank destroys a keg, it will explode and deal damage to enemies in range of it. If an enemy destroys a keg, they gain gold. Gangplank can use his kegs in team fights to zone enemies and keep them where they are needed in order to focus carries or keep enemies at a far. Gangplank still has his Parrrley, which is still his main damage output. Riot stated in their champion rework that if Parrrley kills a unit, the shot plunders bonus gold and refunds mana, and for each Gold plundered, Gangplank gains a Silver Serpent that he can use at the shop to upgrade Cannon Barrage. This will allow gangplank to stack his Q and snowball himself into the later game. Gangplank’s W is Remove Scurvy. This ability gives Gangplank health and movement speed. This ability will help when chasing or being chased, it just depends how you want to use it. As for Gangplank’s ultimate, this ability hasn’t really changed much after the rework. Gangplank is pretty much known for his ultimate to players who don’t own him, so Riot decided to keep that part about him the same.
All in all, Riot has reworked yet another old and overpowered champion and made him into something that can be made useful on a team. It is good to see that Riot is still looking for ways to better balance the game after all these years. It really shows that they care about their players and the gaming community. Hopefully they start to edge towards making older champions into ones that will want to be played and have skills that can help a team more than they could have a year or two ago. It’s very neat to see how the game is changing and progressing. Hopefully Gangplank will be a success when he is fully released to all players.