Akali Design Element Discussion: Combo Mechanics

@Riot @Meddler @CertainlyT

I wanted to bring up a potential design inconsistency pertaining to mechanics. This is an extension of my previous post: http://boards.na.leagueoflegends.com/en/c/champions-skins/OV9yXMEB-akali-r-e-mechanics-we-should-have-taken-a-left-at-albuquerque.

The mechanic in question is the missile speed of Akali's Q. As it stands now, it is possible to cast Q at max range and successfully R > E combo before the MotA applies to the target. That means after your R > E combo, the MotA will still be spinning over the target's head. This can be seen in the following video:

Here's the Video

I understand that the missile speed is an integral part of defining Akali's overall power. Yet I will not list those reasons here because they are not what I am calling into question. My focus is specific to executing a Q > R > E combo on a non-moving target. As it stands now, it is possible to press Q > R > E on a non-moving, non-attacking target and not complete the combo, and I am not convinced that was intended by design. This affects my Akali gameplay in a much more significant way than the R > E mechanic described in my previous post.

I'll make a case for it now, but basically all the facts have already been stated. Akali is designed to execute combos and apply burst damage and right now that attack pattern is compromised for skilled players. Take for example the fact that Q's cast radius is 3/4 of Akali's shroud diameter. Meaning, I can be radially up to 25% inside my shroud and not able to execute Akali's most basic combo on a target also inside my shroud. Applying burst inside shroud is basically half of her kit, by design, and even there she cannot fully live up to expectations.

But let's take a moment and talk about the fear: the fear of lowering her floor. There are two important things to consider here:

• Skilled players are already compensating for this by training a hitch into their combo or using R > Q > E/AA
  • Q > R > ohgodwait > E
  • R > Q > E is not the best case for every scenario
• Unskilled players are avoiding this entirely because they lack the experience to master the timing

So if a change is made, no one will be getting any damage out of Akali they aren't already getting, and let's be real, if you watch the video the timing is less than half a second off. So realistically, fixing this combo is not adding any appreciable DoT to Akali's kit, especially considering Q goes on CD on-cast not on-hit.

To summarize: because the current timing is only minimally off, and because Akali's kit clearly suggests her power comes from effective combos, and because new players will not knowingly benefit from this change, and because this is a run-on sentence, I can honestly say that solving this issue would actually be a healthy game design change. Skilled players get a very minor reward and a great QoL change for knowing how to get the most out of Akali, and unskilled players still get the same damage out of her they've already been getting.

I would say there are two options for making this combo fully functional. Increase the missile speed overall, or increase it within the original cast range and slow it beyond. Again, we're talking about a very minimal speed change overall anyway, but technically it could lead to slightly better farming and minimally higher percentage Q kills (if the Q now reaches the target just before a heal was in range).

If there's a Champion Design Team Member roaming around the Boards right now, I'd love to hear your perspective if you have a moment. Thanks!