Improving The "Playing Against Zoe" Experience
Disclaimer: This post does not care about statistics of Zoe. What I mean is that it doesn't care about her winrate or banrate or any other similar data, thus you will not see any points saying "reduce damage on her Q" etc.. Instead this post is going to present mechanical changes that improve the experience playing against her while (trying) to keep the changes power neutral.
After that is said and done I welcome you to the post! As mentioned before, I have brainstormed some ideas on how to better the experience when playing against Zoe. These ideas / changes range from minor to core-gameplay altering. Generally speaking the minor changes would be easy to implement and re-balance around, while the bigger ones are here to show a possible way the champion could be mini-reworked into and maybe spark some ideas in other peoples heads. Another thing to note is that I don't want EVERY change to be implemented at the same time.
Without much further ado, let's get started with the changes.
#Minor changes
W - Now shows the spell that is going to drop in the minion-bubble before actually dropping
Note: We all hate losing to RNG, while the spell will still be random, now you at least know what spell will drop before it drops. This isn't only good for the opponent but also for the Zoe player. This way both players can plan ahead accordingly.
R2 - Can now be cancelled by the enemy
Note: I was thinking of increasing the risk of hers when going in for a high damaging combo and giving the enemy a way to retaliate other than just dodging the spell and maybe damage her a little. The reward will still be very high if the Zoe player pulls the combo off. Now by "cancelling" I was thinking of everything that is a stun or better. So stuff like roots / silences / slows / disarms wouldn't stop her from getting back with R2. If that is too much I would suggest just letting knock ups and displacements cancel the R2 (like Camille dash). Understandably this change is anything but power-neutral so there might be balance-work needed if it would be implemented like this.
E - The cc effect is reduced the less the bubble travels
Note: Similar to Xerath E, this way closing up to a Zoe will feel more rewarding and give the opponent more ways to interact with her. This is again not a power-neutral change
#Mid-Tier changes
W: Completely removing the RNG No longer activates when using summoner spells Minions no longer drop spells Enemies no longer drop spell-bubbles
It is now an ability that can be activated like any other spell with a high cooldown. The cooldown decreases when hitting champions with her other spells or picking up bubbles from minions (bubble drop rate increased and it's easier to pick up bubbles).
Note: I cannot say for sure if this is power-neutral, on one hand you actually have 3 abilities now on the other hand you can no longer use enemy summoners or spells from minion drops.
E - Is now a slow into a stun
Note: The duration of the stun will naturally be lower than the current sleep. The current sleep just lasts too long and making it shorter will just make the ability bad. While it is a "unique" spell, I think just making it a stun will help balance it out better and enemies who do not have a way to remove the bubble-cc aren't sitting on a spot for 2.5 seconds until they are dead (Morgana is here for that one).
#Big Changes
This one is basically a mini-rework
P: Zoe steals spell essence to enhance her next spell. Spell essence drops from minions or hitting enemy champions with spells, it also generates over time (but slowly)
Q: Same as now Enhanced: Now deals full damage in AOE (AOE = Ziggs Q size AOE)
W: Gain a movementspeed burst and your next auto will deal additional damage (normal ability CD) Enhanced: creates damaging bubble (basically same as now) + additional damage on auto and stronger movementspeed burst
E: Same as now but the AOE when missed only slows in that AOE (like Singed glue) Enhanced: Travel speed increased and when missed people get slowed in the AOE. If they stand in the AOE too long they will get stunned / fall asleep.
R: Same spell but it can be cancelled by the enemy with hard-cc Cannot be enhanced
Note: While her entire kit got changed she still plays like Zoe but is less forgiving and when used right, more rewarding. The RNG is completely removed and most of the "free" damage when she misses everything has been tuned down. W is now a real spell with a normal CD. E is more punishing when missed (even the enhanced version) The only thing left is that her core playstyle is still frustrating since it's basically old Nidalee but when you remove that you also remove Zoe entirely so.... yeah
#The End
Those were my ideas on how to better the experience when playing against her! Don't hesitate to give me feedback or critisism or maybe even share your own ideas on how to tackle Zoes problems.
Either way I hope you have a great day and thanks for reading.
