Unpopular opinion(I think...); Olaf needs a rework

Malicious Metal·May 6, 2017·4 votes·826 views

Honestly? I think Olaf is an extremely binary character both in terms of Theme and gameplay and could really use a VGU.

He doesn't have a lot of skill expression and does feel oppressive when good/ahead or useless simply due to the feast and famine nature of his kit.

Not to mention Riot actually being able to make him an interesting character in terms of looks, themes and general appeal.

But alas, that VGU list is soooooooo long anyways that we'd get another Ryze rework before Olaf.

12 Comments

RalanrMay 6, 20173 votes

He's been needing a full VGU ever since we got forsaken Jayce.

http://na.leagueoflegends.com/sites/default/files/styles/scale_xlarge/public/upload/forsaken_jayce_splash_banner.jpg?itok=FiN6mmj8

Compared to forsaken Olaf:

http://www.mobafire.com/images/champion/skins/portrait/olaf-forsaken.jpg

Which is basically a chroma.

Not to mention how awesome frozen Olaf splash looks but is a chroma in game.

Now gameplay wise he could use a rework, but I'm not sure what to remove. His Q I feel is fair, his E is a healthy application of true damage imo. I guess his ult and W?

Big LincolnMay 6, 20172 votes

He doesn't have a lot of skill expression

being able to juggle axes efficiently to optimize the mana you're burning through is skill expression. not to mention being good at throwing them, reading opponents, etc.

does feel oppressive when good/ahead or useless simply due to the feast and famine nature of his kit.

any champ who snowballs does this. I'd hardly say it's faulty design, and Olaf is one of the few juggernauts who can go full tank and still be well off, and his Q poke/permaslow means he's not nearly useless as some of the other juggernauts when behind.

my only problems with him is his redundant steroids (AS on passive, AS on W -- the same problem I think Aatrox has between his P/R) and his E could stand to be more interesting. Thematically he's great, and as far as gameplay goes I consider him the most well-designed of the 'old' Juggernauts who haven't received an overhaul or were released recently Darius Illaoi Shyvana for example. Olaf has a very distinct niche as a more or less 'anti-carry' playstyle thanks to his high flat damage letting him run squishies down when his ult's up

Sir FuzziMay 6, 20172 votes

God, you guys, 'Binary = Bad' is just not true. In fact, being that his gameplay is binary, it becomes a very easy decision whether or not to take Olaf. The windows in which he's emphasized are clear, his weaknesses and strengths are evident, his mechanics are relatively readable even by the enemy... Olaf's worst enemy is that he needs to lose health to realize his potential. All I can suggest is more agency over this, but League really isn't the kind of game where we need a champion who plays with their health that frivolously.

Sahn UzalMay 6, 20171 votes

Long story short, I agree. He definetly needs love on the art side of things, and I think his Q is a very cool and interesting ability, same for his ultimate, but it kinda breaks stuff and makes him a very hard champion to balance, I'd like to see Riot give him some more interesting trade offs when he activates his ult.

His passive, W and E could all get some changes to make him more interesting, I don't think anyone really cares for these spells as much as they would for his Q or R, as long as they keep suppporting his berserker thematic.

RalanrMay 6, 20172 votes

His E supports his berserker thematic imo because of how it hurts him when using it. Showcasing that his recklessness is hurting him.

Sahn UzalMay 6, 20171 votes

I mean, yeah that's why I said ''as long as they keep supporting his berserker thematic''

Outside of what you mentioned, I don't think his ''Click to deal some true damage'' makes the champion very interesting. There's more interesting ways to do that shit y'know? Same for his W

They're not bad abilities, but they could be more. Is what I'm trying to say.

RalanrMay 6, 20171 votes

Perfectly fair. Though I'm not sure how they could turn his E into a skill shot without making it an AoE or something.

Guess they could make it an AA reset. Idk.

Sahn UzalMay 6, 20171 votes

Oh no I don't think it specifically has to be a skillshot.

To give you an example, Warwick's Q is still a point and click and very similar to his old Q, but it's way, way, way, way more interesting.

Big LincolnMay 6, 20172 votes

steroids are fine, I just don't like that he has 2 of the same type in his kit. him and aatrox have that redundancy issue and it bugs the shit out of me

Sahn UzalMay 6, 20171 votes

Yeah, I agree.

Miror BMay 6, 20171 votes

As an m6 olaf player, I have to heavily disagree on this. While making a character's kit "cool" can cause their playrates to spike, I've often thought of olaf as that "James Bond" character (go in, kill a lot of things, try not to be "too flashy", and hopefully find a hot girl to copulate with afterwards). While his kit isn't exactly the "flashiest", recent items changes combined with the current meta have arguably made him "A-tier" as bork+cleaver give him a ridiculous amount of "stay-in power" and the less focus on assassin-jg's like rengo/kha allow him to hit that lv6 powerspike far easier.

TLDR: let rito focus their attention somewhere else, as I personally see no reason why they should change the kit of a character who is perfectly fine and arguably incredibly balanced ( Zac Malzahar )

OceanicEyesMay 6, 20171 votes

He's definitely one of the champs who could use some attention, though I think there are champs who should have priority over Olaf. Nonetheless, that doesn't mean he doesn't need some help, and I could see Olaf deserving a smaller gameplay update similar in scale to what Aatrox or Vlad received. Visual update-wise, he 100% needs some work done.