Jax nerf, or nerfing what makes Jax strong?

DrShroob·May 21, 2014·4 votes·931 views

I'm pretty sure everyone is aware of 's current ban rate and pick rate which is fairly high, with his ban rate being near old 's level.

Now, the question is, do you nerf Jax, who hasn't had any changes since 2010, or nerf the things that made him strong, namely, being buffed like it was, or his itemization, , ?

Obvious, balance-wise, Jax is NOT fine, or else he wouldn't be banned soo much at high elo, much like Kassadin was. At the moment, Jax's early game is nearly not bad enough to warrant the identity of a 'bad early game champion with amazing late game', especially with how Teleport was changed, meaning that even if he takes some hits, he can go back to base and heal up fine, and get back into lane without much of an issue. Unlike Vayne, who is the definition of a champ with bad early game and powerful late, Jax has a large power spike at level 6, and if he gets ahead, it's usually downhill for his opponent from there.

Currently, he's sitting at a near EIGHTY PERCENT ban rate. Let me repeat that. 80%. Only Kassadin and Thresh have even come close to that in recent memory, with Kassadin being reworked and Thresh receiving nerfs over the course of several patches.

The question is... how will Riot balance this? Jax's rise to power wasn't due to direct buffs, it was due to all the small things that happened to change that all helped him. Teleport's change, new Phage, BotRK, and some of his worse matchups getting nerfed, all helped indirectly 'buff' Jax.

At the moment, can we say that Jax is the new Kassadin?

8 Comments

Hyrum GraffMay 21, 20143 votes

I think he's strong because he does everything a little too well.

He's tanky enough to towerdive
Great at 1v1ing
Good teamfighting
Good splitpushing
Takes towers super fast
Early game isn't that weak
Strong mid and late game

If Jax had more defined strengths and weaknesses I think it would help him both in terms of power level, and knowing when to pick him (because right now the answer is, always).

Kassadin level? I wouldn't say so - 80% is quite a bit different from the high 90's that kass was sitting at.

12talesMay 21, 20142 votes

Jax is hardly flawless. He has no appreciable AoE (and consequently finds himself pushed under tower easily), relies heavily on auto attacks (making him vulnerable to Randuin's, which is ubiquitous at the moment, in addition to blinds and AS debuffs), and has a tough time with the more slippery carries (something like Lucian/Morgana is very difficult to deal with). Also, like all hybrid champs, he can't effectively itemize for penetration.

Also, I dunno if I'd call him a good teamfighter. Counterstrike is hardly reliable CC- for the most part, he brings single target DPS and nothing else.

Hyrum GraffMay 22, 20142 votes

Is an adc a good teamfighter? Yes, because they bring high single-target dps.

The reason Jax is a good teamfighter is because he has that and is ALSO a tanky target. So if you focus him, you lose because you're not focusing the squishy carries, but if you ignore him, you also lose because he's wrecking your squishies.

It's true that he's not a strong laner, until he gets enough items to be able to 1v1 the other top laner, at which point he's pretty safe. Also, if top is constantly pushed, it's an easy gank.

You do have a point, that ranuins and other AS debuffs counter him, that his sticking power isn't the best, and that he can't effectively itemize for penetration. However, his sticking power is better when he uses BORK's active, and once he gets going, that 80% bonus AS makes him deal appreciable damage even with an AS debuff. And, while he can't itemize well for penetration, it's also hard to itemize against him.

I'll concede that he doesn't do everything well, like I claimed in my first post, but I do still think his power level is a little higher than it should be, in this meta.

Now, I don't think it's clear that nerfing him is the correct course of action, either. As the OP pointed out, Jax hasn't received a balance change for quite some time, and there's a good reason for that. I generally think that Jax will fall into line once Riot makes up their mind about what top lane should be, and how to balance fighters.

CaptainWednesdayMay 21, 20141 votes

Its all that on-hit damage that hurts. Garen's not a bad counterpick, but it seems every time Jax will come back to dominate. You need a blinder on your team to deal with his significant basics. His Spellblade, W->Q, proc ult passive hurts A LOT. I'm not sure whether its Jax's damage or mechanics that need to be looked at, but I think starting with his Ultimate (both passive damage and A/MR) is a good option.

12talesMay 21, 20141 votes

I'd take a denied Jax over a fed Garen any day, to be honest.

I do think that if any part of Jax's kit merits attention, it's his passive- to me, an 84% AS Steroid is significantly more frightening than a defensive steroid about as powerful as Leona's W, but on an 80 second cooldown.

CaptainWednesdayMay 21, 20141 votes

Exactly my point. Garen should dominate Jax in lane. Then late game rears it ugly head and you find Garen to be useless and Jax 1v5-ing the enemy team without a problem.

The Attack Speed buff is big, but he has to AA 6 times. I wouldn't mind toning that down and his passive ultimate damage. That could settle Jax. It's always a question of does his numbers need fixing or his abilities. I think it's numbers.

DrShroobMay 21, 20141 votes

So the the question is, numbers, or kit is the issue.

CaptainWednesdayMay 21, 20141 votes

His kit is solid. It has holes in that can be exploited by intelligent players. Nevertheless, his damage is through the roof. It's too difficult to exploit a Jax's mistakes when he will always end up coming back a threat because of his raw power (numbers).