Increasing range on a melee champion like Viego has negative impacts in League of Legends

There is a significant difference between the way in which range and melee champions work within League of Legends.

Champions like Rakan who have melee attacks are counted as ranged within League of Legends. Rakan has an attack range of 300 and thereby it leads him to engage and dis-engage very easily.

However, on a similar note, Viego has 225 attack range and is counted as a melee champion. However, Viego’s attack range is quite significant as compared to other champions like Gangplank or Lee Sin.

This in turn makes one wonder whether increasing Viego’s attack range will benefit him or not.

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Increasing attack range on melee champions might not be beneficial within League of Legends

Melee or ranged can be considered a secondary category within League of Legends. That's because the question ultimately comes down to the way in which runes work within the game.

Conqueror is a rune that is best utilized by Xin Zhao, Viego, Yone, Yasuo and several others. However, in each of these cases, the champions are melee-based.

Kai'Sa has very short range for being a ranged champion (Image via League of Legends)

However, in the case of ranged champions within League of Legends, Lethal Tempo, Press the Attack or Hail of Blades are usually the choice of runes. This is because the runes' synergy with the attack pattern matters a lot. The discussion does not end here as the second essential aspect is the way in which items work.

Items like Divine Sunderer, which are primarily meant for Melee champions, synergize with the kind of auto-attack that the champion possesses. If suddenly, a ranged champion builds it, then the overall effectiveness of the item will reduce considerably. An item like Goredrinker is meant to be used head-on rather than a poke match-up in League of Legends.

Thus, if the attack range of Viego is increased, then it will affect him negatively as his runes and items will stop interacting well. This is because champions like Kai’Sa and Kallista have very short range but are still counted as ranged champions. It ultimately comes down to the champion's design and the way in which the skill set, runes and items interact with the attack pattern.

Using a divine sunderer on a Viego with 300 range will detract from his design as a bruiser. He is meant to stand and fight so messing with his auto-attack will not proc his runes and passive of the items that he builds. This will make Viego useless in team-fights.

Disclaimer: The article showcases the views of the author.