I love Gnar, but I really dislike stacking ability mechanics
If I were to parody Riot's current Champion creation process, the following phrases would appear:
- applies a stack of ___________
- consumes the stacks to ___________
- this ultimate ability deals tons of damage and stuns/knocks up enemies
- somethingsomething percent of the target's maximum health
I have some gripes % maximum health damage, in that it adds a weird third factor into the already somewhat complex MR/Armor optimization arithmetic.
Really, though, my main issue is with stacking mechanics. (By that I mean mechanics that put stacks on the enemy; I'm a Veigar main, so obviously I've got no problem with stacking generally.) It's okay when there's a really obvious indicator, like Braum's, but squinting at a tiny number written inside a tiny HUD square seems really awkward and unfun, especially when you have to do so to avoid "wasting" a stack by (e.g.) triggering the effect too soon. It feels like it's forcing an unnatural rhythm onto the gameplay, which nags you to constantly check little numbers written off to the side to make sure you're "doing it right".
When do I think stacking mechanics make sense? When they're not part of active gameplay and simply, e.g., allow a character's damage to steadily ramp up the longer they stick to someone. There, the gameplay aspect is crystal clear, and doesn't require you to peer at little stack icons: you just know that your job is to stick to a target and keep hitting them, and that the longer you do so the more damage you'll do. (As opposed to, e.g., "okay, make sure you don't land that fourth auto-attack until your E is off cooldown, or you'll waste it!")
