Updated Swain's feedback from Swain main
As you all already known. Our grand general has received his new Q and a lot of kit tweaks so as a loyal member of Swain order I would like to give my voice and share my opinion on this change.
Carrion Renewal (Passive) mana restore on kill increased to [~12 + 1 per level] from [9 +1 per level]
Good enough.
New Decrepify (Q): Mana cost lowered to 60/65/70/75/80 from 60/70/80/90/100 Cooldown increased to 14/13/12/11/10 from 8 at all ranks AP Ratio increased to .4 from .3 Deals double damage against non champion targets. [NEW] Swain now places Beatrice down in a zone for 4 seconds rather than targeting a specific champion for 3 seconds. Beatrice prioritizes targeting units with Torment and will choose a new target if the one she is attacking dies or moves away.
- I could say I like it. Last-hitting and wave clear are main issue which haunts Swain's players since his first existence in League. With reasonable mana cost and cooldown, new Q can solve this problem and serve as a good snowball kit.
Nevermove (W) mana cost reduced to 80/85/90/95/100 from 80/90/100/110/120 Just buff, No comment.
Torment (E) : Damage lowered to 50/80/110/140/170 from 75/115/155/195/235 AP Ratio increased to 1.0 from .8 Damage amplification now 20% at all ranks from 8/11/14/17/20%
- Guys, this is not just a tweak. It means a huge shift in Swain playstyle. Say goodbye to the old days when you can poke enemies with his E. From now on maxing Q first with only 1 level on E could be a best build for new Swain. It forces you to rely on your Q to poke enemies instead of E which definitely harder but might be beneficial in return.
Ravenous Flock (R) Cooldown increased to 10 seconds from 8 seconds. Spawns 5 Ravens from 3 Heal against minions reduced to 15% from 25% Ravens can not attack the same target again for 1 second. Mana increase per second reduced to 5 at all ranks from 5/6/7
- Well, This change bothers my mind. At first it sounds really cool that you have 5 ravens fight on your side but how many times you engage in teamfight in early? The big nerf for me is that Ravens can't attack the same target for 1 second. It makes your 1-1 fight a lot more harder. Anyway mana reduced to 5 at all ranks is sweet.
Summary New Swain is more challenging in early game with some big nerfs on E and R. His new Q could solve main problem of last-hitting and poking champs in laning phase but it requires some skill to master it. With Ap ratio increase and his updated R Swain could be shine as a great threat in late game teamfight.
However there are many updated mage items which really affect his kit such as Catalyst and Chalice but I need quite some time to test it.