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@RiotJag @RiotRepertoire @RiotMeddler I think these Kai'Sa changes are in the wrong direction.

iPooUnicorns··4 votes·521 views

I don't think she needs a bigger range, her late game winrates show that it isn't her range that hurts her the most, it's how delayed her powerspike is compared to other ADCs.

The biggest problem is how huge of difference is between her base Q and upgraded Q, and how much AD is required to upgrade it. For context:

  • Base Q Damage: Base 45 / 61.25 / 77.5 / 93.75 / 110 (+ 40% bonus AD) (+ 20% AP)
  • Upgraded Q Damage: 112.5 / 152.125 / 193.75 / 234.375 / 275 (+ 100% bonus AD) (+ 50% AP)_ (more than doubles the damage!)_

This essentially makes rushing 100 AD mandatory, which makes her builds feel incredibly awkward, as you pretty much have to forgo any attack speed or AP until you have 100 bonus AD.

If you want to buff Kai'Sa, reduce the amount of bonus AD required to upgrade her Q to 75. AD items don't give as much AD compared to AP items, so it's rather unintuitive to require the same bonus AD and AP to upgrade her Q and W respectively.

Changing this would be a buff to virtually every build on Kai'Sa, AD would hit it's power spike sooner, and Hybrid/AP builds wouldn't need as much AD to function.

Another buff to consider would be her W Upgrade, as it doesn't really feel very rewarding to upgrade. I think if the W Upgrade would mark enemy champions to be prioritized by her Q, it would make it much more worthwhile to go for upgraded W.

12 Comments

ModWulf Helhammer2 votes

Bork + Greaves to start, start IE after Bork, shiv after that. Start long sword + 3 pots, and take Fleet Footwork & Gathering Storm. Gives you the lane sustain and AS you need, still grab the Q upgrade early, and the E upgrade not far behind.

iPooUnicorns2 votes

I've found much more success in the jungle with her, running PTA instead of Fleet Footwork and building item 1412 item 3006 item 3071 item 3046

Kai Guy1 votes

Meanwhile I'm sitting at 33wins 16losses 60%+ win rate going item 3124 item 3146 item 3115 in bot lane for most my Kai Sa games.

Shes really adaptable imo and can have builds adjusted on a game to game.

iPooUnicorns1 votes

The build isn't bad, just expensive so I tend not to go the Hybrid/AP route as its much riskier.

Moonfall Saber1 votes

If you like that build try a rageblade. Blade of the ruined king and a hurricane for pure destruction

Kai Guy1 votes

Done it, I enjoy the Cd per Bolt on E. Lots of Uptime for invis outplays and fatty AS steroids. I am of the mind that Kai Sa's best strength is her versatility in builds. Able to adjust to be late game carry for multiple comps long as you know what works on her. I'm still trying to see how far and how viable the Ad/AP/AS goes, what comps its strong vs etc. Then I will test some more standard AD builds, Then some more off meta stuff.

ModCaliCoastReplay1 votes

I think Kaisa feels a lot better than her winrate would indicate. Part of it all is just learning her builds. I agree that item 3153 feels super nice on her and may be a core item, lifesteal in general feels super good with her due to her high base attack speed.

For me the hardest thing about her is her serious lack of a decent escape. She feels very nice in pure 1v1/2v2 lane phase when used properly but her gank survivability is just brutal and makes me scared to play her.

Vayne was the model but she has a really nice tumble that can keep her safe from ganks. Kaisa feels harder to play because her E is just not Tumble, it feels weak until the 100% AS, but that's a major investment that's hard to justify sometimes just to have a decent invisible escape, and even with it she can't get that far.

I think an amazing balance change for her would actually be to rework her ult somehow to make it more useful to survive ganks. Right now I find her ult dangerous and difficult to use unless used with just astonishing amounts of skill. If it also dashed to wards - so that you could put some behind you for safety and get a survive-a-gank card once every minute and a half, and also try to do some really cool and Vayne-like Baron steals or whatnot on the offensive end - I could see myself playing a lot of her.

iPooUnicorns1 votes

I also find her to be decently strong, just not in lane. All I'm saying is if Riot is considering buffing her, buffing her range is not the way to go, and they should consider other options.

Moonfall Saber1 votes

I feel like buffing her at all would just make her broken. Her kit is really strong as is

Luminev1 votes

Ornn 2.0?

Tusutaki1 votes

There are several things that are hurting her the most. Range I dont think is one of them.

  1. During her Q, she cannot auto attack nor does her Q apply Plasma

  2. Her passive needs a lot of commitment inorder to be proced. The provided onhit magic doesnt make up for it.

  3. Her E stops her from attacking. While it's a nice re positioning skill with an added AS buff, it's extremely clunky to use until it is evolved.

  4. Her W doesnt pass through minions. The extremely long range skill is better off procing her passive than it is to assassinate. I wouldn't mind if the damage becomes less the more it passes or if it can pass a set amount. If anything, I think it would be greatly beneficial if it's CD is lowered and it's damage nerfed in compensation.

  5. What does she provide that others cant? She feels like a failed fusion of Jhin and k6.

iPooUnicorns1 votes

it would be nice if she could at least cast Q during her E, otherwise I never use it in a fight unless i need to chase or escape until it's upgraded.

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