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Can we discuss the Maw?

SociopathFriend·5/12/2018, 11:54:16 PM·4 votes·1,128 views

item 3156 Stats +50 attack damage +10% cooldown reduction +45 magic resistance Passive UNIQUE – LIFELINE: If you would take magic damage that would reduce maximum health below 30%, you first gain a shield that absorbs 300 (+ 100% bonus magic resistance) magic damage for 5 seconds (90 second cooldown). Triggering Lifeline grants Lifegrip. UNIQUE – LIFEGRIP: Grants +20 attack damage, +10% spell vamp and +10% life steal until out-of-combat.

I'll be up-front about it- this item feels horrible to play against as any sort of magic-dealing champion. Not just burst-mages, but any magic-based supports, tanks, juggernauts, and even the outlier DPS magic damage champions like Cass, Kayle, and Azir. The item hurts to face, plain and simple, but expressing why is somewhat harder to put into words. There is no other item in the game that makes me despair like Maw does simply because there is seemingly nothing I can do about it and there is almost no real way to play around it. Hexdrinker at least is only a shield, Maw is a powerspike you're given access to because the enemy beat you up enough to trigger the passive.

It's not an active, so you can't bait it out like a item 3157 item 3040 It's not something you can trigger without a full engage, so you can't bust it and back off like a item 3102 or item 3083 It doesn't leave them a sitting duck with a delay after going off like item 3026 It doesn't have to be "built-up" like item 3070 or item 3191 - once you buy it it will be immediately effective. There's no conditions for triggering it that you can play around to avoid the trigger like item 3053 and dealing damage over a prolonged fight. And a sustained fight only favors the holder since they get spell-vamp and lifesteal from it- enabling them to heal up the damage you're inflicting. I have very definitely seen battles where the Maw-holder ended the fight with more HP than they started with because of how much healing they can get from those stats. And you certainly can't burst through it since it gives a considerable chunk of MR along with the shield, plus the above-mentioned healing that means unless you hard CC them, they'll be healing through the damage you're inflicting- likely on you. And don't forget, it stays going while in combat. So if it goes off, the holder can keep the healing active for so long as they're fighting, there's no set duration where you can decide, "Alright, it's safer to fight now."

This item is miserable to face because it has all the advantages an item could want and no real weakness. Items don't usually have 'weaknesses' exactly but there's usually a consequence where the best ones require more gold to build. The components for Maw are separately all extremely cheap to afford: item 1036 350 item 1033 450 item 3155 500 item 3133 400 item 3156 850 So even a relatively beaten opponent can still manage to get it up and running rather quickly.

I've gotta channel my inner Crona here, I don't know how to deal with this. I'm told feelings matter? This item makes me "feel" like I should give up just from seeing it built against me. I "feel" like I can't kill my opponent if I'm trying to kill them. I "feel" like they can take anything I can throw at them and not only survive, but come out as strong or stronger than when I hit them. I feel like one item makes me entirely unable to fight on even ground against an enemy, let alone win. And it's an item built by Bruisers and Assassins, classes that you need to be able to fight against or else they're going to walk all over you.

Is this a good feeling? Is this something I should experience? If not, what can be changed to make this feeling go away? What is this item meant to do and who for? It currently fulfills both offense and defense in a mean way that is basically unable to be dealt with by AP champions.

3 Comments

Raven Redeemed5/13/2018, 1:31:47 AM2 votes

I would argue you can manipulate the activation just like you can item 3053. As you noted, Sterak’s has counterplay: don’t burst too fast. Maw’s counterplay is very similar, pop the shield before you fight or get them low enough that the shield will not save them. When I’m using maw I have to be extra careful to not get poked under 40 or play passive when the shield is on cd. If you are only considering a 100-0 burst, then sure Maw has no counter play. The same is true of Sterak’s. It’s also worth noting that Maw is a gold inefficient item until the passive activates meaning the user (usually an assassin) will be weaker than they would be with a normal lethality item except during part of a close fight. Last, the shield is only magic stopping meaning it will not help one bit vs ad champs and towers unlike item 3040 or item 3157.

Jesus Is My King5/13/2018, 12:21:16 AM1 votes

This needs upvotes.

PhearBunny5/13/2018, 12:57:36 AM1 votes

Spider-Man saw more movies. game over.

But lets look at this more closely. Yes, Hexdrinker and Maw give assassins the ability to survive a full rotation(assuming you aren't far ahead of them. Its also 1300gold(minimum) spent on an item that doesn't help them fulfill their role of deleting a target. It is a defensive item they opt to take, when they are losing, not when they are ahead. Maybe you don't like to play against it because now you cant kill that target when you catch them in lane, but inorder for your enemy to even build this in the first place, they weren't having a good time to begin with.

GA Zhonyas Archangels PD DD are all stronger answers to a Assassin, than Hexdrinker is to a magic damage dealer. Ik PD and DD aren't really applicable to magic dealers, I'm just saying. Hexdrinker doesn't seem to be out of line by any means to me.