Alistar's AP ratios feel too weak to build for. They could use a buff or a rework.

Way back when it was decent I used to play AP Alistar more than anything else, but nowadays building AP on him just doesn't seem worth it.

I want to show what AP Alistar had in his hay day to compare it to the state he is currently in.

Alistar, currently, simply does not have the AP ratios to justify the build in a serious game.

It is my opinion that if a champion has AP ratios, building at least a moderate amount of AP should be a valid tactic.

If Riot does not want to give Alistar decent AP ratios, I'd suggest reworking them into AD ratios to reinforce at least one off-build.

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The glory days of AP Alistar were before his relatively minor rework, when he had slightly longer cooldowns on his CC at higher levels and a tower destruction passive.

In those days he had 1.00 AP Ratios on Headbutt and Pulverize and a .40 ratio on Triumphant Roar.

This gave him a combined burst ratio of 2.00, which made him a real threat if he managed to get the gold for a high AP build.

Though Triumphant Roar was a stronger survival tool with AP in the day, AP Alistar was always reliant on timing his ultimate well to survive, though one could build in some durability for a less bursty and less squishy cow.

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The rework itself weakened AP Alistar, but it was the chain nerfs afterwards that destroyed the build.

In the rework Pulverize was nerfed to a .80 AP ratio, base damages were generally nerfed, and Alistar gained his current Trample passive that is essentially a per second damaging pulse around him with a .10 AP ratio so long as he casts a spell every three seconds.

Then Headbutt was nerfed from a 1.00 to a .80, and Pulverize from .80 to .60.

The final nerfs to AP Alistar reduced Headbutt from .80 to .70, Pulverize from .60 to .50, and Triumphant Roar from .40 to .20.

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The items of those days were also much more kind to AP off-builds, with Deathfire Grasp helping with single target burst and Lich Bane scaling far better with AP to function as an extra AP ratio on champions without many.

Originally Lich Bane had a 1.00 AP ratio, later reduced to 50 base + .75, and finally to 75% base AD +.50.

These changes basically destroyed its functionality for AP off-builds, likely as a balance lever for champions who built it as a core item.

So even if Alistar regained his full 2.00 AP ratio burst combo, he would still be only a shadow of his former self.

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Given Alistar's current state, I see three options of how to buff his ratios:

1. Bring back the old AP Alistar with a heavy W+Q burst combo.

2. Buff the AP ratios in ways less focused on burst damage, like raising his passive's damage tick ratio and/or buffing the Heal ratio.

3. Rework Alistar into an AD caster tank with AD ratios, which would bring some synergy with his ultimate.