League of Legends fans criticise upcoming Mel rework for removing her unique W

League of Legends fans have criticised Riot Games’ planned rework of Mel, arguing that removing her ability to reflect enemy spells will take away one of the champion’s defining features.

The changes are currently targeted for Patch 26.22 and would replace her W’s reflection mechanic with team-focused defensive effects.

Under the proposed changes, Mel’s W would continue destroying incoming projectiles but would no longer send their ability effects back to their casters.

Instead, the ability would generate a nova that shields nearby allies, grants movement speed and deals a small amount of retaliatory damage.

Riot also plans to reduce Mel’s early durability and passive damage while increasing her health and armour growth.

Her Q would become slightly slower, with more damage distributed across subsequent hits rather than the initial explosion. Her ultimate would receive greater cooldown reductions at higher ranks.

However, many players have objected to the proposed changes, arguing that spell reflection is central to Mel’s identity and that the rework risks pushing her towards a support role.

One player criticised the direction, writing, “Yet another unique midlaner having their entire power fantasy gutted and being pushed to a support – and just because a loud minority don’t understand counterplay beyond mindlessly spamming important projectiles at her”.

Another fan questioned the decision to remove the mechanic, saying, “Once again riot is removing any trace of uniqueness within a character’s kit before addressing what’s actually making him an issue”.

Other players argued that opponents could counter Mel’s W by waiting for the ability to enter cooldown before attacking. One commenter described reflection as the main reason the champion was enjoyable, adding that it created “fun and exciting interactions”.

Riot’s stated aim is to make Mel less frustrating to face while shifting some of her power towards later stages of the game. The revised W would provide more direct protection for teammates, rather than relying on reflecting enemy attacks.