@Riot Meddler/Reav3s - Realistic Karma Changes
Let's talk about realistic Karma changes that could be applied to the current kit right now. Karma's lane identity teeters between the Support, Top and Mid lane while not being very successful in any lane. Karma's gameplay identity teeters between Mage, Support and Tank because of how parts of her kit are split up and abused in other roles. This champion is trying to be a Battlemage with Supportive abilities, but there are other champions out there who do it better. Karma's kit in itself is very reminiscent of other champion's kits and item actives in the game and she doesn't have anything original and exciting on her. What was original and exciting on Karma was removed with the VGU 7 years ago, iconic abilities removed by a certain Riot Game Developer who is no longer with the company, and more.
All most every Karma player talks about what they want for this champion, but unfortunately too much time has passed for anything to be reverted or massively changed. This is partly because Developers like Meddler and Reav3s remained intolerant to any change on this champion. The few times she was buffed it was immediately nerfed because all it was as huge numbers buff on a kit that isn't working out. The recent rework for Karma was cancelled because it pushed her more towards the Support role while invalidating any change to the identity players want for 7 years now.
Gameplay Identity - By definition Karma should be a Battlemage. She has a kit that is supposed to wreck havoc on the enemy team with overwhelming sustained area damage. Karma is a master at long drawn out fights who has very good defensive capabilities to protect herself and allies from death. The current kit and mechanics behind it is a very poor representation of a Battlemage and what she is supposed to be doing. Karma either sits all the way in the back-line Mantra E'ing or shoots a Mantra Q out and hopes it hits someone. The kit in itself teeters between a Tank, Support and Mage while not being successful in any of those roles when compared to other champions that do it better. Karma needs to be streamlined to a Battlmage with Supportive abilities.
Kit readjustment - Reward Karma for drawing out fights with enemies and being rewarded for being aggressive, to get her Mantra up faster. When her current passive was changed to a charge system that gave her charges every so seconds, it was heavily disliked because players liked auto attack weaving, playing Karma aggressive and being rewarded for it. All of the above is what a Battlemage does and what Karma is supposed to be doing.
Passive - Move current passive to R and replace current passive with one that rewards Karma for being aggressive. Give Karma a stack system that rewards her for being aggressive towards enemies and also Supporting allies. Using abilities on enemies or allies grants Karma a stack of Gathering Fire that increases the power/strength of the next Mantra ability she casts when fully charged. (Reward her for doing something other than sitting in the back and pressing Mantra E)
Q - Fine the way it is.
Mantra Q - Increase the damage of the initial hit, remove detonation damage and replace it with an explosion that heals and heals more when the champion is lower. Make Mantra Q ground target-table while also decreasing it's cast range to fit a Battlemage. (Why bother keeping Mantra Q in its current inception? It's very lackluster and could provide some very cool gameplay choices if it was changed. It has been requested to be changed for years now.)
W - Increase Karma's MR and Armor for a short period of time when cast on enemy or ally. Leave the way it is.
Mantra W Enemy Cast- Remove heal, increase damage on it, and increase Karma's MR and Armor during tether.
Mantra W Ally Cast - Karma tethers herself to an ally and links any damage from that enemy to be directed at her or vice versa any damage directed at Karma directed to the tethered ally. Karma's MR and Armor is increased during the tether. Abilities like heals and shields cast on Karma when tethered to an ally will go to the ally instead of Karma.
E - Fine.
Mantra E - Remove Mass AOE shields. It's been long requested to have this ability removed and completely changed. The majority of the playerbase (now) doesn't like the idea of having Shield Bomb back. Keeping Mass AOE shields is not a good idea since it already exists on an Item Active. The mass speed increase is what a lot of players like because it allows Karma to engage or disengage in fights. The proposed changes I want to suggest will be a compromise for Support and Mage Karma mains.
Remove Mass AOE shields, make Mantra E a single target shield that increases nearby ally movement speed but also increases AP or AD on who it is cast on. When cast on herself or an ally, the champion's highest damage stat (adaptive) is increased by a fix amount. Make the amount of this increased adaptive stat higher than what say a champion like Janna gives or even Ardent. This is a good compromise for players that want to play Karma in Mid or Support, because she can cast it on herself to increase her damage or cast it on an ally to increase their damage.
R- Move current passive here.
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The above changes would appease mostly everyone that wants to play her in a solo lane or as a Support. The changes to Mantra Q would allow Karma to strategically use her Mantra Q for the heal for clutch saves or control her damage a little better. The changes to Mantra W would play off the theme of Karma and use tethers to mitigate damage to herself or allies while also using it as a way to have abilities reach tethered allies. The changes to Mantra E is a compromise for Mid and Support Karma players while not having one playstyle be out-shadowed by another. The changes might not be the most exuberant of changes for Karma but it's a better attempt than having a complete revert for those players that like her the way she is. Karma needs changes and a rework.