Karma & Pillars of a Successful Champion 0/5
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Karma & Pillars of a Successful Champion
The five pillars of a successful champion, as defined by Riot Games themselves, is Satisfying to Play, Resonant Theme, Skill Expressive, Fair, and Unique. This is what Riot defines as a successful champion and what they follow in terms of champion creation and VGU. Many champions have been reworked and reimagined with the pillars. Even if a champion doesn't hit everything on the pillars, Riot can do minor work to make them meet the standards they have set.
One champion has remained a big topic of discussion in terms of how successful her relaunch was in 2013. Karma's original problems were her kit was overloaded with complicated mechanics and she didn't really have a distinguished theme or identity. The little things that did make her a unique champion and interesting to play, was removed for art assets and gameplay that that still didn't solve the original intentions of the relaunch. Now Karma is on the other spectrum of the original purpose of the relaunch: bland, boring, and incomplete. Everything down to her art, theme, kit, and gameplay identity is incomplete and all over the place. Let's talk more about Karma in terms of the five pillars.
:SATISFYING TO PLAY:
To Riot this means it feels good to play as the champion and it feels good when a player uses an ability in game. This means the Karma player will use an ability in game and feel satisfied with the results it gives. Karma has three abilities and Mantra abiltiies. The normal abiltiies are tamed versions of the Mantra abilities that are supposed to be, basically, mini ULTS.
Unfortunately a champion cannot be satisfying to play when he or she has no clear direction gameplay wise. Karma's Q and Mantra Q is fit for an artillary mage and it is blocked by minions. Karma's W and Mantra W is supposed be her form of CC but it has no clear direction and the heal is abused. Karma's E and Mantra E is fit for a support. See what Karma's kit does? It has 3 different play styles with no distinct direction that basic and Mantra abilities can play off of. Let's not even talk about the passive that is made completely useless with a Q and Mantra Q that is blocked by minions. Karma teters between different gameplay identities that really doesn't even do anything for her when champions with these identities do it better. Karma's gameplay identity before was a battlemage/enchanter, in a time where there was really no roles. This champion was considered a battlemage/enchanter because she had abilities that she could use for her own purposes as awell as being able to sustain herself and allies.
So is current Karma satisfying to play? No she is not. A lot of the reasons why she is unsatisfying to play is because she has no distinguishable gameplay identity that makes her kit satisfying to play. Her passive is very lackluster for a champion that really doesn't do anything but sit in the back and press R + E, because her only damage moves are blocked by minions and the second tick of Mantra Q is unreliable unless the person hard CC'ed. For Karma's Mantra to be up more often she has to do damage and auto attack, but she cannot really do that as successful as she probably could be.
Suggestions have been made to Riot Game employees to lessen the damage and range on her Mantra Q for a heal in the second tick, ground targetted, and not blocked by minions. This would bring back her ability to heal allies with strategic plays, have the range a battlemage should, and bring some skill and satisfaction into her kit. Players have made suggestions to give Karma a new passive, bring back Shield Bomb, and even suggestions to tweak the current Mantra W. Unfortuantely it is all being ignored.
Grade: F and doesn't meet the mark.
:RESONANT THEME:
A resonant theme is something a player immediately remembers about a champion all the way to their kit, art, gameplay identity and more. What theme? Karma didn't have one to begin with and Riot Game Developers wanted to really bring the idea of her Mantle of Decorum to life. The relaunch didn't do that very well and it wasn't and still isn't being conveyed well. Now there is no explanation as to why Karma has a Mantle of Decorum. Now Karma has a theme about being an all powerful entity of peace. She has past lives and is basically an Avatar from the series Avatar. She now has an actual solid theme but it still has yet to be conveyed and there is no indication of it in her kit, art, and gameplay.
What the Developers could do is completely remove the Mantle of Decorum, make her Mantra state more prominant and intimidating in game, and let her past lives communicate with Karma in game. Like they are communicating with advice, VO and art updates when Karma does something in game. This is a proper way to do this. Right now Karma just doesn't feel like this all powerful entity of peace and her new theme is as lackluster and unappealing as the relaunch five years ago.
Grade: F and doesn't meet the mark.
:SKILL EXPRESSIVE:
Her kit is far from skill expressive. If she needs to do damage she uses Q and Mantra Q. If she needs to CC she uses W and Mantra W. If she needs to protect, Karma uses E and Mantra E. All of her abilities and Mantra abilities are completely binary and really don't offer much skill expression. This has a lot to do with having no gameplay identity. When the Mantra is on cooldown how skill expressive is Karma really?
Mantra Q could have an ally function with a heal, like her old Mantra Q had. Mantra W could have an ally mechanic. Mantra E could have a damage option like Shield Bomb attatched to it. See what this is doing? It is offering an actual gameplay identity she used to have before the relaunch: Battlemage with interactive abilites on allies. This would be a great option to offer more skill expression to Karma than the only three options she has right now.
Grade: F and doesn't meet the mark.
:FAIR:
Do players feel like Karma is fair to play against? The majority of players will say no. This is because over the years her numbers are constantly being buffed and nerfed on a kit that clearly isn't working. She does a lot of damage early game at the expense of being nothing but a shield bot late game. Add in the fact that she has an abusive Mantra E heal that doesn't belong on her. Even Riot has stated several times she is a champion they have to keep in balance because she is abused in worlds.
If a champion is not fair to play against and the kit is a problem, why not solve the problems and address them? The current kit is constantly being numbers buffed and then nerfed a few months later. You want a great example? The massive Mantra E buff that was incredibly annoying to play against. The Mantra W buff that was nerfed because it did too much damage. Shield Bomb being removed because it had problems and wasn't balanced at the time.
Grade: F and doesn't meet the mark.
:UNIQUE:
Karma's W and Mantra W is basically already in the game on other champions. Karma's Mantra E already exists in the game as an item active and Sivr ULT. Karma's Q and Mantra are not that unique. What is so unique on this champion that really makes you think, wow! Karma is a champion I want to play and really learn about.
What was actually unique and interesting on Karma was removed and placed on other things and champions in the game. Her gameplay is not that interesting and unique to the game, when other champions can do what she does ten times better. Newer champions have better art, themes, gameplay mechanics, and an actual identity that isn't already in the game.
Karma tries to be a generalist of everything, while not doing anything in particular. How unique is this? We an have assassin support like Pyke, an engage support like Rakhan, and a lot of other unique types of champions. Karma has to be that one champion that has basically nothing original and unique on her.
Grade: F and doesn't meet the mark.
So, what does this all add up to? Karma is not a successful champion by Riot's own grading scale THEY created. If the community and Riot is aware that Karma is not a successful champion for the past five years, what is being done on this champion to address her obvious identity, art, gameplay and theme issues? Theoretical reworks and comments that keep getting shoved down our throats how Karma will get something in a year, few years, or if ever.
Karma's grade on the Five Pillars of a Successful Champion: 0/5.
We need to do better and most certainly Riot Games needs to do better. It's been five years and nothing has been done. Work has been prioritized on popular and new champions for the past five years. The same excuses for the past five years are getting old and the reasons for ignoring her glaring issues is getting old.
All Karma mains really want done is a fully conceptualized champion with a gameplay identity. Who cares about fans, shield bomb, or her dress. The original intentions of the relaunch five years ago was to address issues of having no gameplay identity, outdated art, and no theme. What did this relaunch do that made her better? There are no more excuses. Get something done and don't just update a Mantra W that benefits her in the jungle. Complete work that was never actually completed in the relaunch.
