Why Neeko is in Need of an Update

Neeko came out three years ago already. She’s one of the champions least picked by any players, even though she isn’t that old. What makes her so unlikeable though? Is it her playstyle? Her kit? Or something else?

We’ve checked out Yuumi before and why she should be deleted. We’ve also taken a gander at Seraphine and Zoe as well, but today we’re checking out Neeko and why Riot shouldn’t delete her, but just rework her.

Neeko’s Hitbox is Busted

Reddit user u/WeroReyes posted two videos on Reddit showing just how obnoxiously large Neeko’s hitbox is. For a small, squishy mage Neeko is unbelievably large and takes up a lot of space.

This means that other champions' abilities hit even though they have no business hitting her. When checking the size of each champion, players are also able to tell that Neeko has a gameplay radius of 80, which makes her the same size as Sejuani, Renekton and Ornn!

No other mage is as large as her. Is Neeko supposed to be this huge?

Neeko’s Visuals When Disguising Herself

Neeko’s whole gimmick is that she can change her appearance to look like other champions from her team. It's what made her stand out from the rest of the 150 champions Riot has released, but this whole gimmick just doesn’t work properly.

In a Reddit post, user u/Thothowaffle pointed out various instances where opposing players can easily tell whether they’re encountering Neeko or the actual champion she is mimicking.

• Miss Fortune’s strut is not mimicked properly
• Corki’s package is not visualized when she disguises herself as him
• Ekko’s ult indicator is not copied
• Kallista and her oathsworn both have a VFX at their feet. This visual effect will not be copied.
• When copying a Lulu with a skin, the wrong Pix is shown when she disguises herself as Lulu

There are other visual problems when Neeko uses her passive as well. When another champion has built Guardian Angel the disguise will fail to copy the effect applied to the health bar.

Neeko’s Clone Doesn’t Have Some Visuals

While Neeko can disguise herself as other champions, she is also able to clone herself with her W – Shapesplitter. Though, the clone will also have some visual indications that make it clear to the opposing player that they don’t need to worry – this is a fake Neeko.

When using her W, any items with visuals will show on the clone, even when those items are on cooldown like Banshee's Veil or Crown of the Shattered Queen. This makes it extremely easy for the opposing players to find the ‘right’ Neeko.

When Neeko is ignited, the clone will not copy the visual effects of ignite. Instead, only the eyes above are shown. This makes it easy to tell whether you’ve ignited the clone or the real deal.

Conclusion: Neeko Needs a Visual Update

Neeko is a unique and fun champion who brought something new to the table when she was first released, but it’s been three years and she is one of the most unpopular champions in the game. A few visual updates would work wonders for her and could bring her out of the dumpster.

• Caitlyn also got a visual update this year and it helped skyrocket her play rate! 

Riot should focus on fixing the multitude of visual bugs with both her transformation and her clone so that players really are able to surprise their opponents on the rift.

Also, Riot should make her hitbox smaller so she doesn’t get hit by abilities that have no business landing. Please Riot, give Neeko some love. She's a fun champion and her character is fun and witty. So instead of begging for someone to be deleted, we’re just begging Riot to update her visuals and fix those bugs!