Braum Q&A - Gameplay [Completed]

RiotWrekzzz·May 6, 2014·34 votes·145,068 views

Alright everyone, we're heading out for the day. Thanks for taking the time to speak with us!

Hey all!

It’s Riot Wrekz and the rest of the crew that handled Braum’s gameplay kit. We’ll be here for the next few hours answering just what breaks Unbreakable and how you can use Stand Behind Me with the rest of Braum’s skills to shield your friends and stun your foes. Or maybe you want to ask the art and sound team about how he got that disarmingly dashing moustache or ask the creative and release campaign team about how he found his shield?

If gameplay is your jam, ask away below!

-Gameplay guys

If you would like to learn more about Braum:

http://na.leagueoflegends.com/sites/default/files/styles/wide_small/public/upload/b-splash.jpg?itok=5aVVOKTh

Braum, the Heart of the Freljord, revealed

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5dvYxkyQFZU

Trials of the Poro

787 Comments

RiotyupsterMay 6, 2014144 votes

http://i61.tinypic.com/seyp8x.gif

LilybetMay 6, 201428 votes

This. I like this.

HBombzorzMay 6, 201440 votes

...And I thought Braum skipped leg day!

HighTemplarStormMay 6, 201472 votes

are you guys Full metal alchemist fans? and if so is there any plan on a Major Armstrong-ish type of skin :)

TyceCareyMay 6, 20146 votes

It could be called sparkly Braum.

ErberorMay 6, 201413 votes

I believe you mean Major Arm-Braum!

BitterbearMay 6, 201443 votes

Major Braumstrong?

PsyduckxoxoMay 6, 201424 votes

Is the real name of Braum Angus the Puncher?

ZilnasMay 6, 201417 votes

Why is Braum's ultimate considered a projectile? Yasuo's Wind Wall can completely negate it.

RiotRiotRepertoirMay 6, 201418 votes

It's considered a projectile because it acts like one in pretty much every way in that it starts from a point and travels outward in a line. Yasuo's Wind Wall can indeed negate it, but it can also negate Sona's Crescendo, Ezreal's Trueshot Barrage, Ashe's Enchanted Crystal Arrow, and many other incredibly powerful missiles in the game, so at the very least it's consistent :)

SayiroMay 6, 20144 votes

Why aren't Syndras balls considered a projectile?

Couch RadishMay 6, 201421 votes

Yasuo's Wind Wall does stop Syndra's E and R, but her Q makes the balls appear where the ability is used (Like Karthus' skittles).

Genova WolfMay 6, 201415 votes

I had been begging for such a champion, a "STAND BEHIND ME" protector such as Braum, but I had a few questions about his Kit:

Unbreakable blocks the damage of the first attack that hits it, does the effect still happen (i.e. Vel'koz ult, does it still proc his passive).

2.Is unbreakable's "hit-box" wider than that of Braum himself?

3.Does Braum's ultimate cancel Unbreakable?

4.ON A SCALE OF 1 - PORO HOW AWESOME IS BRAUM TO YOU?

RiotWrekzzzMay 6, 201434 votes

Hey!

Questions answered in order for you.

Yes, things that his Braum's Unbreakable still apply their effects (minus the damage) so Vel'koz still applies his passive.
Yes, it is important for the gameplay of blocking for your allies to come through in a way that is accessible.
No, you can cast all your spells with Unbreakable active.
PORO, i've been working on him for a long time and I'm very excited for him to be coming out. I hope people really enjoy our newest addition.

Fomorian27May 6, 20145 votes

I think we need to explore the velkoz ult a little bit more, because yasuo's wind wall for example doesn't stop velkoz ult because it's not a projectile with travel time. If velkoz ult is indeed stopped by unbreakable, then that opens up the potential that things like lux ult, or arcanopulse are also blockable by unbreakable. Is that indeed the case?

RiotWrekzzzMay 6, 201411 votes

Braum reduces the damage from all damage from a direction with Unbreakable. The laser abilities (Lux R, Velkoz R etc) that go through windwall still pass through unbreakable, he just reduces the damage from them.

GaleWinUnleashedMay 6, 20145 votes

And that damage reduction only applies to himself, correct? I'm not entirely sure based on the way your comment is worded.

The DunkmasterMay 6, 20148 votes

Does he reduce the damage for his allies too or only himself?

Chazual FridaysMay 6, 201412 votes

Gameplay - Damage

I notice the damage scaling on Braum’s abilities are very limited (i.e. no attack damage/ability power ratios on the basic abilities). Did typical scaling practices, like with an AP ratio on Q prove to be toxic in practice, or was this deemed a necessary trade-off for Braum’s strengths? Additionally, why even put a meager health ratio on Winter’s Bite, when the incentive to build health would already be there, and the damage gained from the ratio would be near-negligible anyway?

Development - Braum's Ultimate

What iterations of Braum’s ult were there? How did you land on the current Glacial Fissure? It seems like PQWE are pretty cohesive, but his ult kind of stands out (not necessarily in a bad way - it just seems a bit different in scope from the rest of his kit).

Thanks for your time!

RiotWrekzzzMay 6, 201413 votes

Damage: Regarding damage, our goal from the beginning was to make a true defender. As a result, we wanted him to have reasonable/competitive damage to have an active laning phase but then not be a damage threat during mid/late-game. He has extremely strong defensive and utility scaling through the amount of tankiness and CC he has. If he also did substantial amounts of damage then he would have quickly become a one-man dive machine. I didn't want to create incentives for the player to build AP because I feel it is necessary to build defensive items for him to be effective, so it felt natural to put a somewhat small health ratio on his Q because it gives his damage a bit of a boost over the course of the game. Finally, it makes people feel good for building tanky items!

Development: Braum went through a lot of ultimates, primarily focused on disengage and making him better at peeling. One that stuck for a while was kind of a delayed chain knocback/knockup. They ended up not working on the character for a number of reasons, but the primary reason is that due to his primary CC ability being delayed (passive) having an ultimate that lacked versatility was quite punishing. Glacial Fissure came from wanting something that was a thematic fit for the character that also had substantial gameplay and versatility. I feel like Braum's ultimate is something that has a lot of play, a number of ways for you to optimize its use, and overall feels like a really great physical action!

Kyte HighflyerMay 6, 201411 votes

Hey guys, thanks for having this Q&A,

One of the big questions I've had from the beginning about Braum's Gameplay is what do Braum's other team-mate's have to take into consideration when they see him on their team? How can they assist his kit to work most effectively?

RiotRiotRepertoirMay 6, 201418 votes

From playing lots of Braum and playing with lots of Braum over the last several months, the biggest things I have found to being successful in a team with Braum are utilizing his passive and his E.

You can turn a lot of fights around by standing your ground with Braum and basic attacking the enemy, as Braum's passive will result in a stun on the enemy after 4 total basic attacks.

Additionally, Unbreakable (E) will redirect damage targeted at allies to Braum, so even if you are low on health, working in tandem with Braum while his E is up will make you deceptively hard to kill.

Potato JesusMay 6, 20149 votes

Do you think there is a chance he can go somewhere else on the map other than support?

RiotWrekzzzMay 6, 201446 votes

Hey!

Braum was designed to be mostly defensive and benefit a lot from having another champion in his lane. These things make him a much more natural fit in the support role. I believe it is unlikely he is successful in other lanes and would probably be a signal that something s not appropriately balanced.

DePhantasiaMay 6, 201419 votes

he could be a good substitute for Top lane, he'd be a slow pusher, but he'd be steady and he'd protect the jungler when they came to gank.

iRevelationMay 6, 20149 votes

How would you best describe the difficulty of this champion?

RiotRiotRepertoirMay 6, 201415 votes

Braum can be surprisingly difficult to pick up for some players. Most of our recent champion releases have emphasized a very aggressive pattern, but Braum's most consistently successful laning pattern is probably more defensive than most.

Outside of laning, Braum players will become more successful and feel more powerful as they learn to start their passive on all nearby enemies without compromising their positioning, as well as by learning to manage the uptime on their E.

FrendsyMay 6, 20149 votes

Hey! Thanks for doing this AMA, it's the first one I've ever been prepared for. Also apparently this isn't a reddit thing. Oops!

Lately with all the aggressive supports, I was kind of surprised to see Braum's release. To me, he's reinforcing the new support meta (of getting up in the enemy's face).

Was this intentional? Is this the direction that you're trying to go with the support role?

Edit- sorry if there's a better place to have asked.

RiotRiotRepertoirMay 6, 201415 votes

I don't think Braum is so much a reaction to a particular meta as he is the identification of an opportunity to add a character type to LoL that we were pretty sorely lacking - an immovable object that protects you to the very end.

PILTOVERS FlNESTMay 6, 20148 votes

Hello! I think Braum looks amazing so far and I wanted to know if when you use Stand Behind Me on a champion with some kind of mobility skill (i.e Jax , LeeSin , Malphite ) would Braum follow through all the way with them? or will he stay in the place they were right before they used said gap closer?

RiotRiotRepertoirMay 6, 201417 votes

Braum will move to their location when he pressed his W. Essentially, it will act more like Leap Strike (Jax Q), less like Resonating Strike (Lee Sin Q2)

LatedusterMay 6, 20147 votes

Will Braum's Q reset the autoattack timer?

RiotRiotRepertoirMay 6, 201411 votes

Nope. It's pretty much just a normal line skill shot with the added effect of a strong slow and applying the passive.

RangergodMay 6, 20146 votes

Hello! Would I basically still be building him like a leona... I mean leonoa still gets her ward pack, Then she can proceed to defensive items. I imagine it would be the same concept. Am I wrong here?

RiotWrekzzzMay 6, 201425 votes

The most effective build we have found is to get a sightstone then max cooldown reduction and defensive items. His recommended items should reflect what we have found to be effective on him.

bradMay 6, 20146 votes

How viable do you think he will be in the current meta with Thresh, Leona and Morgana?

Can his wall block things like Thresh Q and Leona E?

RiotWrekzzzMay 6, 201418 votes

Braum's Unbreakable causes him to reduce the damage from things that hit it but still take the CC. This means that Thresh Q still hooks him, same with Morgana Q. That said, Braum has a good matchup against Thresh and Leona because he tends to be strong against all-in and relatively weaker against poke matchups.

Don TerapinMay 6, 20146 votes

His shield blocks projectiles and put them on him, but what will happen if there's something like Sona ulti? Does his shield serves the same purpose as the Yasuo wall and will block it and just he get stunned or will your whole team still get stunned by it?

RiotRiotRepertoirMay 6, 201413 votes

Yes. For pass-through missiles like Sona ultimate, the spell will break on Braum's E shield, applying its effect to Braum (in Crescendo's case, damage and a stun) but no one behind him.

DalekKahnMay 6, 20145 votes

Is his intercept like windwall or does he take damage?

RiotRiotRepertoirMay 6, 201411 votes

He takes reduced damage from all damaging attacks and abilities he blocks except for the first one, which has its damage reduced 100%

tallgiraffe29May 6, 20144 votes

Why not make his W being able to jump to friendly wards?

RiotRiotRepertoirMay 6, 201415 votes

The main functional purpose for Braum's W is to make sure he can get to an ally he is trying to protect. Being able to hope to friendly wards would run counter to this idea.

tallgiraffe29May 6, 20141 votes

If the ally is too far and you want to jump to a ward to get to him faster isn't that the same? Or make a Lee Sin W rule, every time he jump to a non-friendly target the CD is doubled..

TheStevenWuMay 6, 201437 votes

As a support, your ally should not be too far away.

tallgiraffe29May 6, 20142 votes

Why not make his Q splash slow like Karma? It's not really rewarding since you need to hit the target directly to get his full potential and he is not really good at engaging..

PILTOVERS FlNESTMay 6, 20148 votes

Braum wasn't designed to be an engage champion! Think Counter-Engage

tallgiraffe29May 6, 20142 votes

Braum wasn't designed to be an engage champion! Think Counter-Engage

So there is no point in his passive! The idea is to hit the Q and then proc the passive, but if it is almost impossible to hit the Q and to aa the target in melee range, he will only be able to get his ass kicked. I can say this cause this happened to me in PBE over and over again..

SkV ShadoAnnaruMay 6, 201413 votes

I don't think you're supposed to engage, but rather help someone engage. Braum seems to rely a lot on his teammates. Don't go around trying for force situations. In teamfights, it's a lot easier to do but if you're talking about laning, he's no Leona or Thresh. He's very defensive. Wait for the opportunity to arise and take advantage of it. If you see that you get your ass kicked when trying to force something to happen, perhaps don't try it again. Look at what you're doing and why it doesn't work. One of the staff here also said that Braum is actually pretty hard for players to get a hang of at first.

KillerKellMay 7, 20148 votes

Wait for Leona to dive on you, THEN use your AA/Passive and your Q.

He doesn't take the fight to anyone, but once the fight is brought to him he shines.

Some will build Attack Speed to Proc his Passive more often, and there is nothing wrong with that... nothing wrong with trying to find the fringe in a Meta. However, he is DESIGNED to let the enemy come to him... and crush him when he does. After all, if you are diving all over the place (like I do when I am Leona), then you are leaving your ADC behind. Sure, he SHOULD come join you... but the idea is to STICK to your ADC, not have him chasing you into engages.