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[Debate] Are ADCs too Strong?

KidSpectre·1/28/2015, 3:05:07 AM·2 votes·1,629 views

A repost of something I wrote in a GD thread regarding ADC balance.

I don't believe ADCs are broken. Some poeple bring up the point that ADCs can "invalidate near anything with very little effort." That's not an issue inherent in ADCs themselves. If a competent Fighter sits on top of an ADCs face without getting peeled, the ADC will die more often than not. If an ADC is caught out by a burst mage or assassin, they will die. The reason it appears ADCs can go about wrecking everything is not because they are OP. It is more because the meta literally revolves around protecting the ADC.

The ADC is expected to do the DPS in teamfights and to objectives, and in return the team is centered around protecting the ADC while helping shut down the enemy carry. This effect is most clearly exemplified by the classic "Protect the Kog'Maw" strategy, wherein the literal purpose of the other 4 members is "don't let Kog'Maw die." But what would happen if, say, ADCs were removed from the game, as a class. I speculate instead mages would be the new super carries, and the people would be crying out about that instead.

That said, some ADCs are stronger than others, and against the right (or wrong) team composition can seem very overbearing. But I don't think the question is, "Are ADCs OP," or even "Why are ADCs allowed to be so strong?" I think what we should be asking is, "are the ADCs too effective in their role?" Are they taking objectives TOO easily, are they winning ALL the fights against their supposed counter, are they making other roles obsolete with their power? These are very specific questions, and really get at the heart of the issue.

14 Comments

SEKAI1/28/2015, 3:28:33 AM4 votes

It's fundamentally flawed to come up with an idea that says "hey this group of people are meant to carry the game, so defend them well and you shall prevail".

Champions should have carry potential in their own way, maybe A likes to push towers really fast, B likes to 1 shot people whenever he can, C is slippery and good at distracting enemy team and maybe D likes to empower the teammate with his spells so he works behind the scene.

Compound the entire game's responsibility into 1 single set of champions is just not right.

Thankfully they finally seem to realise this but some of their actions after it is still unstable. In short Riot needs to define their policy of balance and actually stick with it, instead of their aimless wandering that they have been doing for ages.

I hope they can get their stuff together as quickly as possible, because I love League of Legends.

Brotha1/28/2015, 3:11:08 AM3 votes

So long as an adc can burst a squishy in 2 seconds with one crit while also shredding a 4khp 200 armor tank within 4 seconds I will say that adc's are too strong. Adc's are supposed to be about sustained damage output, not upfront burst. Far too often it seems adc's are treated as assassins late game. Armor pen (as well as m.pen) items need a straight up nerf. Lategame it's too hard to punish an adc's poor positioning as a tank/bruiser because you eat a draven Q and get half halfed and slowed from redbuff.

Holy Malevolence1/28/2015, 3:23:40 AM3 votes

I don't really care about too strong or too weak, but ranged AD's are easily horrible for the game. .... That and AD itemization.

Anything 400+ range that doesn't end up porting you into the enemy's face needs to have counterplay, and quite frankly there is literally none to ranged AD's. Have less range than their autoattack? Be prepared to be completely incapable of doing anything as they repeatedly refresh the free neutral buff that ensures you'll never be able to touch them while they eviscerate you.

Their scaling is, likewise, problematic, but that's AD's problem and not champion specific. If you deleted crit they'd be significantly less overpowered, and just a smidgeon less unhealthy for a game as a whole. Not to mention that, at this point in the game, it's extremely clear there isn't enough of a tradeoff for their brokenness to make them optional.

And then there's towers. I really think we just need to rethink towers overall. I mean, it's something that's been in game forever, but they feel just a tad outdated. ..... But as it stands, ranged AD's being the only ones able to reliably damage 'em? Not healthy for anything.

Overall, they're kind of overpowered. But IDGAF about simply being overpowered, because more than that, they've demonstrated that they're unhealthy for the game. They're the reason why mobility creep exists. They're the reason bruisers need to be overtuned. And to keep them on their throne, Riot's gone through shit balance decision after shit balance decision taking out every little thing that does anything against them.

I'm just fucking tired of it.

I hate this fucking class and what it does to the game. They need an overarching rework.

Rebonack1/28/2015, 3:32:24 AM2 votes

The problem is less Rangers themselves and more the fact that Crit Chance/Damage are absolutely insane. That allows them to burn both hard and soft targets to the ground with little difficulty.

As just some random spitballing, totally remove Crit from the game as a purchasable stat and replace all instances of Brawler/Cloak with Longsword/Pick, then remake Infinity Edge as a bonus AD deathcap. Remake Whisper as an IAS/AD item that only applies resistance penetration to auto-attacks and OnHit effects. This would without question require major balance tweaks to Rangers and AD casters, but the game would be healthier for it.

Erockandroll1/28/2015, 3:41:23 AM1 votes

Not sure About the Over Bearingness of ADC's. Nor do I believe that the Protect the ADC is the current meta.

Right now. ADC's are Balanced around the Ability to Kite. They Really cannot duel. They will get melted by a Bruiser Or Assassin.

With ADC's being one of the Most finicky roles in the Game, Their OPness is kinda based on factors outside the role. E.X. For the question. "Are ADC's too good at taking turrets?" You would also have to look at the Anti Sieging Strategies. "Are Wave Clear Mages meta?"

"Are Assassin's meta?" If yes, then you would need to take extra care in warding and positioning, and that limits the ADC's options.

All I will say about ADC's is that it's literally thee hardest class to balance.

Rebonack1/28/2015, 3:56:03 AM1 votes

I can see disagreeing with Riot over balance, but to say they're the reason for mobility creep and being the center of certain balance issues is probably a stretch.

Ashe, specifically, is the reason for mobility creep. She started the whole thing because any immobile foe would get kited to death due to her slow.

KidSpectre1/28/2015, 4:06:18 AM1 votes

Lichbane procs every 1.5 seconds provided you manage your spellcasting appropriately to not waste the effect.