[Zyra] If I were to remake Zyra...

Let's talk

I've seen Rioters saying that Zyra doesn't really live up to her fantasy of infester-mage, and as probably a Zyra a main, I'm forced to agree. She's not in a bad place, even if she's fallen somewhat out of favor in the LCS. Yeah, she does a lot of damage, and has good CC. But I can damage and CC with anyone. When I play Zyra, I want to feel it.

Again, Zyra is not weak, and she's not inherently unhealthy for the game. The only way she falls short is in expression of her own unique fantasy. So what are her current strengths, and what's keeping her down? Zyra's biggest role is as queen of disengage. Between an AOE root and a massive AOE knockup, she can counter most any initiation, and her plants' sustained damage punishes any team foolish enough to force the issue past her ability rotation. She's also a solid burster.

That last is part of the problem. Zyra's plants are unique. More than Heimer's turrets, or Malz's voidlings, Zyra's plants act like extensions of herself. They alone proc spell-hit triggers, and are more easily created and also shorter-lived than comparable pets. But so much of her power is tied up in her Q, E, and R. And so much of that in just raw damage! My goal is to refocus the kit more on plants.

Passive: Zyra's passive is kind of a spacefiller, but that's not unreasonable. Like Heimer, she has a fairly complex kit, so it's nice to have a passive that doesn't take up much mindshare. A "nice bonus" passive, not one that dictates playstyle. If I were to change it at all, I might have her gain bonus health and mana regen based on the number of plants she has active. Just to fit the "garden" flavor.

Q: Hardly any changes here. I'd drop the cooldown a little bit at higher levels to compensate for the change to W (getting to that), but otherwise, this ability is fine. It would still produce Thorn Spitters, which I'll get to with the W changes.

E: Again, remains similar. I would have the cooldown be somewhat lower at higher ranks, with a reduction of the root duration to compensate. I would also slash the damage of this skill a bit. I think it's important, especially with my kit changes, for Zyra to be able to produce both types of plants somewhat reliably. Currently, the long cooldown and high power of her E makes it not worth it to just make Vine Lashers for zoning.

W: First off, scrap the CDR. Riot has nixed pretty much every other CDR innate to a kit, and with good reason (Ryze is an exception, but Ryze is weird). Secondly, if we want to turn the focus onto her plants, we need to give her more seeds. Dropping the cooldowns of her Q and E would help with that, but I would make it so damage dealt by her plants significantly drops the cooldown of her seeds, giving her the tools to stay strong (grow stronger, in fact) in extended engages.

Plants: I would slightly drop the damage of her plants, but also drop the damage reduction of multiple plants attacking the same target. This makes it more advantageous to use multiple seeds at a time, so Zyra isn't just sitting on a hoard of seeds all the time. Three plants attacking a target is extremely hard to do right now, and not worth it. I'd like to change that. I'd also make them a little easier to direct.

R: Here's the most fundamental changes. No more knockup. No more immediate damage either. Instead, a thicket of thorns spreads over the same AOE — and stays there for an extended duration. The immediate effect of this is just a minor slow (15%, perhaps?) across the area for the duration. All plants in the area, including those newly summoned, are transformed into advanced plants and have their duration refreshed.

Thorn Spitters become Leech Vines, which latch onto an enemy and drain their health to heal Zyra and themselves. If their victim breaks the tether, they'll just acquire another target. Leech Vines prioritize champions. Vine Lashers become Pollenblights, flowers that constantly emit a cloud of slowing and damaging pollen. If an enemy stays in the cloud for too long, they're charmed in towards the flower for a brief duration. Basically, think like Viktor's Gravity Field, but with a charm instead of a stun, and damage to anyone staying within it. Both plants deal significantly more damage than basic plants do.

This is a big change to the ability, but I think it still fulfills the same role. If Zyra lays down her ult, it's still an enormous disengage signal. Any team that tries to fight inside Zyra's garden will probably lose unless it's way ahead. It's just that they'll lose because of her plants, not because AOE knockups are really good. Note that these advanced plants will reduce the cooldown on her W at a higher rate than basic plants do, so staying and fighting in that area becomes a worse and worse idea the longer Zyra stays alive.

In sum: Zyra's still immobile, and still very vulnerable to burst or being out of position. Catch her alone, and the relatively slow ramp-up of her sustained power makes her easy to kill safely. Her ult is still more of a team-wide disengage than a personal one. But her power is now much more tied up in her plants, and her plants are more than just bonus damage on her spells — they're to a much greater extent the point of those spells. Her ult now captures the notion of a corrupted garden, a key to Zyra's fantasy. I think I've done a good job with this kit rework, but I'd like to hear where you all think it falls short, as well as what parts most resonate.