What are Riot trying to accomplish with Mordekaiser and how can they do it?

This is a crosspost of my topic on the EUW forums. I just realised I am able to post here with my EUW account under the new forum system. The NA forums have more exposure.

TLDR - Scroll down to the Mordekaiser 2.0 section.

The 5.4 Patch.

These changes aren't going to solve Morde's identity crisis in the present, but we did find a few ways to clean up his ghostly interactions so he can get the most out of his exploitative ways. Additionally, we really liked the new Creeping Death 'magnet' mechanic we were testing out with fighter Mordekaiser, so we figured we could give some extra utility love when he's hunting high priority targets with a dive buddy. So, once again: not a holistic solution but one we felt was better at preserving Mordekaiser's unique identity

If these changes are not going to solve anything, why do them? The only point of changing something is to solve a problem, you have solved no problems here. The "magnetic" addition to creeping death is a gimmick at best in its current form and Mordekaiser is gimmicky enough as it is. I'd even argue that due to the damage decrease on creeping death it has been made even worse since Mordes weak lane phase is now even weaker. His "ghostly interactions" are not cleaned up in the slightest, the skill is still as broken and "exploitative" as before. Exploitative is NOT something that should be enforced or praised. Release Darius was exploitative with his always ready ultimate, Kassadin was exploitative with long range riftwalks and long lasting silence, exploitative is not balanced. The +Health from killing a target "improves" the skill but doesn't really impact the champion at all as Health is not what is important on Mordekaiser, the shield is what is important. The only good change was the range increase on the Q but I still think a better solution would have been to give it a variation of the mini dash Udyr has on his bear stance stun.

So taking 5.4 into account and what was on the PBE, let's try and divulge what Riot wants to accomplish and how they can accomplish it.

What we know so far.

• They had been working on this for awhile, then delayed it from 5.3 to work on it to make sure it was done right.
• They wanted to make Mordekaiser into a fighter but they scrapped their rework.
• They like the idea of making Mordekaisers abilities having a magnetic theme, so much so they added an example of it to 5.4.
• They want to move Morde away from being a DFG dependant "burst caster" into a champion that is more threatening over time.
• "our goal is to reduce his burst potential but remain the prolong threat. " - Riot Chun.
• "So we're aiming to make this big-full-metal guy a fighter/brawler which better fits his fantasy and is more aligned with his shield passive mechanics." - Riot Chun.

Why was the above not accomplished?

The rework Riot had planned where Mordekaisers shield was based on a % of his max health caused more problems than it created. With the numbers on the PBE his earlygame shield generation was now far weaker since it was % based which was already rather low to begin with. If this % was increased to match his previous numbers they'd have to be doubled at the very least which would make the scaling too high. Even if we assume they were able to balance the numbers of this new system it wouldn't solve any of Mordekaisers gameplay issues. Mordekaisers gameplay issues are nothing todo with numbers, they are solely player interaction issues. An Interaction issue I like to call "The Mordekaiser Paradox".

The Mordekaiser Paradox

• Mordekaiser is a fighter that doesn't want to fight as he doesn't have the tools to fight.
• Giving Mordekaiser the tools required to fight means he is no longer Mordekaiser.

This Paradox is the real issue. As it stands Mordekaiser players don't want to fight without shield and players don't want to interact with a shielded Mordekaiser. If Mordekaiser starts walking towards you, walk away. Why wouldn't you? Just wait for Morde to kill himself with health costs. Your champion will win over Mordekaiser in the long run because it has the tools to fight when the fighting starts.

This gameplay, this lack of interaction between Mordekaiser and the enemy team is highly toxic. This is what Riot needs to address.

Solving the Mordekaiser Paradiox

• Q - How do you convince players to want to punch Mordekaiser in the face?
• A - Give them a reason to break Mordekaisers shield.

My solution to this is The Metal Meter. A system that uses Mordekaisers decaying shield / excess shield generation to power up Mordekaiser. This encourages players to want to break Mordekaisers shield which means punching Morde in the face, allowing Morde to punch them back. That's the basics of the system, think of it as an inverse of the current rage system. It's been over a year since I came up with this and I still believe it to be the solution though the iteration I posted wasn't perfect as Khristophoros pointed out..

What is Mordekaiser?

His true name and past lost to history, Mordekaiser is feared for his grim manipulation of pain –both his own, and that of others. Anguish fuels and sustains him, serving as his last connection to life, as well as his most effective weapon. In his enigmatic hunt, he's proven no one is safe, for even the most courageous souls have surrendered their secrets in his grasp.

Mordekaiser lore wise uses HP as a resource because he is ripping off his own flesh to attack and then gains shield from inflicting damage because that is what sustains him. He is a masochist but I don't feel that is conveyed very well since his shield has a cap, what kind of masochist stops enjoying the pain they inflict?

Which brings me onto my idea - Mordekaiser remade as a true masochist. A mix of the Metal Meter I came up with last year, Mordekaisers lore and Riot's intention for Mordekaiser to be a fighter.

Mordekaiser 2.0 - The Masochist

• Iron Man's cap is now based on a % of Mordekaiser's missing health. The more health Mordekaiser is missing, the shielder he becomes.

As Mordekaiser becomes closer to death, he depends more on the suffering of others to sustain himself. This achieves the goal of Mordekaiser being a sustained source of damage without allowing him to walk into a fight with a ton of shield. Also solves the paradox of Mordekaiser wanting to enter a fight with full shield since he cannot. Mordekaiser can now benefit properly from HP items since they will increase his shield cap.

• Mordekaiser's health costs scale with the damage he deals.

As Mordekaiser attacks become stronger, he rips more of his own flesh off. As the game goes on and Mordekaiser builds damage, the costs go up meaning he can get to his potential shield cap faster. The longer a fight drags on the higher his shield cap becomes and the harder he is to kill, the sustained damage dealer Riot is looking for.

• Mordekaiser gains increased movespeed for each % health he is missing or when he is on low health.

Lore wise Mordekaiser rips of his own body to attack, makes sense that as bits of him are hacked off he becomes lighter and can move faster. This also allows Mordekaiser plays to keep up with their targets in certain situations without having to give his kit unneeded mobility or CC.

• Out of Combat Mordekaiser reabsorbs his shield over 10 seconds healing him.

A thematic way of solving Mordekaiser's health problems that opposing players can prevent since attacking him will delay the healing process and the amount Mordekaiser is trying to heal.

• When Mordekaiser is on low life his abilities change to reflect the "Anguish that fuels and sustains him".

This is where the Metal Meter and magnetic stuff comes in. It is the trigger that encourages Mordekaiser to keep fighting and for opposing players to want to finish him off quickly. Mordekaiser becomes "desperate" and his abilities become slightly enhanced to reflect this. The concept is Mordekaiser is now depending purely on his victims suffering to inflict more suffering since he has ran out of his own body to use. Think how Magneto escapes from his plastic prison in X-men 2..

• Children of the Grave no longer spawns pet ghosts.

For the above to work Children of the Grave needs to be remade entirely. That skill in its current form is a massive balance issue as it is too dependant on being cast on certain targets it is not designed to be used on damage wise (it is a skill designed for killing tanks but you want to kill ADC's with it). Now I am well aware that many of you believe the pet is what defines Mordekaiser and in regards to the current Mordekaiser this is true, but I argue that what should define Mordekaiser is Mordekaiser not the pet. The pet has got to go but the ghost can stay. My idea for it is Mordekaiser becomes one with his target and gets empowered for 30 seconds..

Conclusion

• Mordekaisers theme / lore / aesthetic enhanced.
• Mordekaiser players have a reason to get in a fight and stay there.
• Opposing players have a reason to want to kill Mordekaiser quickly.
• No more balance issues from Mordes over dependency on the pet.
• Mordekaiser still doesn't have any CC / Mobility.