Since everybody else is posting about Rylai's

Well it's pretty obvious that the Rylai's proposed changes have gotten a LOT of negative feedback. I don't know that it's necessarily fair to shoot the messenger (Meddler), since he's obviously not the only one in charge of changes.

For those who haven't seen yet: http://boards.na.leagueoflegends.com/en/c/gameplay-balance/70wQmmRU-meddler-with-preseason-around-the-corner-can-we-get-an-update-on-rylais?comment=0003

Anyways, I just want to take it apart a bit before everybody completely overlooks what valid points Meddler did have.

>>General problem statement is that it's too universal. Having all your abilities slow is something that should be a deliberate choice you opt into, and make trade offs for, not just a default item on so many AP champs.

This is true. Rylai's problem is that champions who should not have permaslow are allowed to have it, including Cassiopeia and Azir. Cass certainly wasn't buying it for the health, she was getting it for the AP. Azir was getting it partially because of the HP scaling on his shield, and partially because of the AP. These are two abuse cases. Now, even though they weren't buying it for the health, they were benefiting from it. Health is a universally good stat, and it makes champions even safer when kiting. The health IS part of the problem when used on these champions, because it makes them even safer. Making the item a bit riskier would be a good solution for these champions using it. The basic idea is that they are allowed to slow you, but if they are caught they should die for it. Making it a squishier item would work. They are trying to avoid the same problem created by Tank Ekko. AP Ekko is much healthier because there is risk associated with playing him that tank builds largely eliminate.

That being said, converting it to a mana and CDR item would not make it any less universal, in fact it would make it more so and leave it's original users behind. Morde and Vlad would be particularly screwed over by it, and they depend on the item for utility. These champs are not the problem champs for the item. Malz would absolutely love to use Rylai's as a mana and CDR item, and he doesn't really need the health due to his passive. His dots are incredibly oppressive with Rylai's, and it makes it way too easy to hit his otherwise much healthier silence.

Certain champs simply should not be effective with Rylai's. And those are largely true mages, not AP bruisers who need the AP health stat line. Many of the abuse cases are due to targeted abilities creating permaslows, the same way that Frozen Mallet creates problems. Frozen Mallet and Rylai's both offer the right stat line, it's the way the passive works that is the true problem. Simply put, permaslows are not healthy for the game. They do not add any depth to gameplay and are incredibly antifun. As a Gnar main, I strongly disapprove of Frozen Mallet's current design, as well as Rylai's. Chaining slows should be reliant on skillshots, not targeted DOTs. Morde and Vlad do not have sufficient CC built into their kit to function without Rylai's (Morde especially), so Rylai's is needed as a band aid fix to the problems inherent to their kits. If Frozen Mallet was removed, only Gnar would really be affected (and he could easily be balanced without Frozen Mallet in the game). Rylai's, although more problematic, is harder to remove.

I am of the opinion that a permaslow item should not exist, especially not when targeted or on a DOT effect. I imagine many people share that opinion. Changing the passive is a major part of fixing the item. Lowering the AP is also necessary so there is an actual tradeoff between damage and utility, instead of getting both for free. Anyways, there should be a distinction between skillshots and targeted spells on Rylai's passive. Slowing with Aurelion Sol's stars is fair, but Malz's space aids is not. As far as I can think anyways, this would help fix the problem for most champions except Azir and his soldiers. Azir has many other problems in his kit, and to my understanding will eventually get a rework that largely takes away from his range while maintaining his playmaking potential. Azir is also in a terrible state right now, so it isn't really the biggest problem if Rylai's isn't nerfed for him.

Another option would be to make an attempt to phase out Rylai's entirely and adopt Hextech GLP-800 as the only AP slow item. Morde and Vlad would need a way to stick to targets, but they could get slows added to them to work properly. Aurelion Sol can work with Hextech GLP-800, and could potentially have a slow added to his stars as well. Obviously, I don't know what would work for numbers. There are plenty of other items that can fill the AP item void, and if new ones were needed, Black Market Brawlers had quite a few that could work. There are also several AP HP items currently around, including Hextech Protobelt and Liandry's Torment. There are also several that have mana attached to them, including Hextech GLP-800 and Rod of Ages. Another possible change would be to buff the base movement speed of certain champs that need Rylai's to function.

At any rate, Rylai's and Frozen Mallet are not healthy items. Something needs to be done. The mana and CDR path is likely a terrible option to take, but Riot does have reasoning behind it, namely to increase the risk of Rylai's. Nerfing the AP is a much better option, but there needs to be changes to the passive as well. In my perfect world, there would not be a Frozen Mallet or a Rylai's Crystal Scepter. Utility would have to come primarily from a champion's kit. That being said, certain champions use it as a crutch and they cannot be forgotten. Gnar would probably be able to just use Maw as a second damage item, so the removal of Frozen Mallet isn't really a problem as long as there are number adjustments with it as well. Rylai's could theoretically be removed, but the champions that actually need it can't just switch to a new item. They need Rylai's in order to be relevant at all without summoner spells. The question really shouldn't be what stats Rylai's should have, it's whether it should be in the game at all.

Sorry for the poor formatting and wall of text rant. Thanks for reading, and have an awesome day!