Ornn: Forging More Rewarding Gameplay

After playing quite a few matches both as and against Ornn and I can confidently say that he is unique, interesting and most importantly frustrating fun! I have noticed clear strengths and weaknesses and have played him since his initial release a few weeks back and can confirm that the recent tweaks were more than warranted.

I like to believe that when a new champ forges their path in the rift (heh) the designers' expectations as to how players will handle the new champion are or at least should be nonexistent (and for good reason). I clearly understand that it takes time to see how a new champion will settle into the thick of things and that player performances vary upon multiple scales that extend beyond "Elo" and "Rank." Of course, it is typically better to err on the side of caution and start weak while gradually adding extra power when the time is right.

So after an abysmal debut across the board (once again: expected) and a decent buff patch; is the time still right to add more fuel to the furnace? Maybe. Let's figure this out.

Ornn's crafty passive:

Given the ability to "shop" from anywhere is a pretty unique and game-changing caveat and I believe the designers knew this clearly. I suspect that much of Orrn's overall power was gated severely by this ability, especially since this is the first champion to utilize a means of seamlessly acquiring power in lane. Additionally, Ornn can fashion what was intended to be extra late-game scaling to his team's items, and although niche, it still warrants another constraint upon his power. Since these are more abstract means of conveying power and identity in the game, I can speculate that the designers were concerned with his initial performance... and we have not even touched any abilities yet.

On to his actual kit:

A quick overview of my thoughts: All of Ornn's power is placed in his Bellow's Breath (W) making Ornn terribly one dimensional in terms of interaction. There is no reward for landing the more important and much riskier combo of Volcanic Rupture (Q) into Searing Charge (E) which is extremely telegraphed for the enemy (as it should be). The hardest thing to do with Ornn (outside of using his ultimate properly) is to land this combo. When you do it feels great as all the aspiring Ornn player know, like "Hey! I FINALLY did it? I'm AM a Demi-God!" However, this is typically seconds before you die, horribly, because the combo in and of itself provides nothing but some fantastic short-lived CC for someone else (you are busy smashing your head against a rock) to capitalize on. I am not saying this is bad, but Ornn is a demi-god and should at least be self sufficient but as of yet he feels like a mere helpless mortal without the jungler nearby to capitalize.

My most earnest suggestion would be to normalize his kit even further: pull back on some of the damage and possibly safety (shied base values) from Ornn's Bellow's Breath (W) and shift it into his Q and E combo: for instance, if Ornn successfully uses Searing Charge (E) into a Volcanic Rupture (Q) to successfully smash a Volcanic Rupture pillar, some additional beneficial effect occurs for Ornn or even his nearby allies. Whether it is simply additional damage, or possibly detonates Brittle in the area, or maybe applies a shield to Ornn and nearby allies, or Ornn momentarily turns into a living volcano (PLES RITO)... whatever it may possibly be, it should be clear and defined as this combo is already the essential trade mark of Ornn's game play and should ultimately entail something punishing and undesirable for the enemy. Fear the forge!

Also, the fact that Yasuo's Windwall can stop a giant forge elemental is pretty far-fetched. I'm calling "bull" on that one.

That's just my two cents. Thanks for your time!