User blog comment:RoznosicielCiast/Idea for balanced Darius' nerf instead of reworking him/@comment-9713132-20130212044029

Sustain in lane shuts him down, especially if you manage to force him out of lane too. Alongside that, the majority of his damage lies in a combo instead of his AAs, so enough CC could kill him outright or at least make him flee, so I don't actually find him OP apart from being able to stick to enemies easily.

That ultimate nerf though on the mechanics is actually one of the best I've seen, introducing a short cooldown that prevents Darius from hopping everywhere, which is something I'd like to see introduced. Also, a tiny slap on both his health and health regen (both including the per level increments) are just about what I'd say is acceptable.