@RIOT state of Shen

Shahamut·Feb 20, 2016·6 votes·505 views

Hey RIOT. I have seen lots of posts ever since the PBE about Shen and some of the issues people were having with his kit. The majority of them have even been well written, informative feedback with little to no rage or tongue lashings. What I haven't seen is RIOT replying to any of said threads with the exception of one asking about his Dash width and hit box.

So what is RIOT's current thoughts on the state of Shen? Are there any plans for him in the upcoming patches? We have lots of concerns and questions and would like to start a conversation.

Thanks!

EDIT: I should also note, that the majority of the threads I have seen like the overall direction being taken, so if anyone else joins in, I would like to keep QQ old shen posts out and try to stay focused on the state and direction of the current kit.

10 Comments

DediguiseFeb 20, 20161 votes

Riot did respond to a post about his dash. They stated that the width was what they wanted but due to unexplained and unforeseen complications the length is a little too short. It's supposed to be addressed in an upcoming patch. This was a little before the most recent patch went live.

ShahamutFeb 20, 20161 votes

This is exactly what I stated, that the dash thread was the only one they DID reply to.

with the exception of one asking about his Dash width and hit box.

DediguiseFeb 20, 20161 votes

Ah sorry misread that. They do have a buff to his dash on the PBE. Or they did not sure if it's still there. Anyway they were discussing making it so that he could E monsters.

QuephaFeb 20, 20161 votes

{quoted}

they were discussing making it so that he could E monsters.

That was probably only if it looked like he needed a buff, but they probably won't do it now that his winrate is looking quite fine.

DediguiseFeb 20, 20161 votes

For the record I think stonewall said it perfectly. "I hate using his q, but I love the benefits of his q"

Death by GlamourFeb 20, 20161 votes

My issues with shen are only aesthetic

His movement seems rather cluncky

No backing animation

Silly issues they may be but thats my 2 cents

SeenanFeb 20, 20161 votes

Needs more base AS (or AS per level or something). Q is still ridiculously slow in pulling his sword to him. The sword buff is already 1-2 hits used by the time the sword gets to him. Taunt needs a better hitbox. Ult, maybe a lower cd. He'd be less clunky just by the Q and AS fixes.

ShahamutFeb 20, 20161 votes

Some of the more common issues I see brought up:

He is far too niche, having no way to deal with anything ranged, so only melee AA champs. This would be ok, if the kit felt more rewarding to use.
The sword feels clunky, more like an anchor. The distance it can be away from him seems a bit ridiculous/unnecessary since it doesn't do anything on its own. It was tolerable when it first came out on pbe because it granted a small radius of vision, but that was removed.

(Personally, given his huge weakness to range, I thought having the free mini-ward when not using it to fight was really useful)

Shen feels very high skill/risk, but with very little reward for his efforts. Setting up the sword to pass through targets is not that easy without using taunt (opponent can see what direction it is in) and missing the taunt basically means you miss the Q as well. The added slow is VERY weak, and its pretty easy to just walk away from Shen when he activates Q. There is almost no benefit to leveling W past 1 rank, so its overall power kind of drops off the later the game goes.

Thats a not very organized short list. But that is what I can remember as pretty common thoughts about Shen currently.

And A Real HieroFeb 20, 20161 votes

I already posted a giant comment on Shen comparing his new and old skills. http://boards.na.leagueoflegends.com/en/c/gameplay-balance/kBEW2Mm3-a-point-by-point-analysis-on-why-shen-feels-much-weaker-now-rather-lengthy-post-you-were-warned?show=flat&comment=0028

MelledoneusFeb 20, 20161 votes

Hey, there. Just to give some context (I'm not bragging, I swear), that post about Shen's E width that Riot responded to was something I posted. And to be frank, I don't think Riot was willing to do much follow-up on Shen after the rework. I was hoping they would at least ship out the E fixes, but we haven't heard anything about those. Here are a few things I would like to see fixed on Shen, should they look at him again.

#1. Decrease the tether range on his sword/increase the missile speed.

In general, Shen's kit feels clunky and slow because of how long the sword takes to get to places. While I personally have grown accustomed to it, it discourages newer players from playing Shen because it takes a while to get used to. In general, the sword feels kind of slow and requires lots of thought to utilize correctly, which shouldn't be something commonplace on a simple champion like Shen.

#2. Make the Q affect enemies in a small AoE around Shen.

Why, you ask? Mainly because champions who can kite Shen have no issue doing so even if Shen is right next to them. Many Shen players, myself included, would like to have a small AoE effect of Shen's Q so that opponents who are right in front of you don't laugh and walk away. If giving the full buff is too much, a small slow would at least be appreciated. This is so that Shen is rewarded not only for pulling the sword through his opponent, but also giving him some breathing room in its utility by allowing him to catch up to ranged champions.

#3. Give some clarity and power to Shen's ultimate.

Shen's ultimate is by far the most central thing to his kit. A global teleport paired up with a shield to protect the ally he's teleporting to. But in this age of assassins and ADCs, the shield sometimes is not enough. A 250 / 550 / 850 shield is fine and dandy, but not nearly enough to save an ally in danger anymore. Seeing as how Riot is probably not going to nerf Thunderlord's (which can basically take off a good portion of the shield itself) or burst in this meta, it's only fair that we see an incremental increase of something like, 350 / 700 / 1000 to keep up. It might seem a little strong, but trust me. There are times when I ult to my ADC who's half health in a fight against the enemy ADC and by the time the cast time finishes they're dead. During laning phase. This one is up for interpretation.

As for clarity, a change I have been requesting for a very long time is an indicator for Shen's ultimate. So many times I've had teammates flash away from a close fight WHILE I was ulting to them. While this may be a symptom of low elo at times, it doesn't make for a fair disadvantage. A way to add some clarity to Shen's ultimate without creating too much clutter is by adding the action-line effect to your champion, similar to the actual inside of the shield. That way, your ally knows Shenpai is on the way.

Let me know if there's anything else you're wondering about. I'll be more than happy to answer any questions or listen to any challenges to my ideas.