Sylas in gameplay isn't as scary as some of you think
After seeing some PBE gameplay and reading carefully his kit and stat, here is some quick thought about his weakness:
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He doesnt have very high base stat or scaling
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He need to build AP to maximise his dmg input and also the ult he steal. If he play tanky AP, he could lack the dmg needed to make an efficient ult (like if he steal a lux ult). If he play pure AP, he is gonna pop very hard even with his E, he would need to have a good fight so he can use E and W efficiently and not pop out quickly.
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His W healing is only if he use it on a champion. Also if we max W second, it mean it will be nice in lane but not that strong. I wonder if maxing W won't be prevalent in some lane.
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Only his Q has some strong base dmg, his W base damage on a low health ennemy isn't that big for what is kinda a "Hit more if ennemy is low health".
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He isn't a long range champion, he really focus on a melee aspect. His E have some nice range tho.
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His ultimate isn't ultra quick or have insane reach so it is totally possible to juke, it also mean that flashing/avoiding t a Sylas ult could very well mean being assured to beat him in dual (considering he isn't ultra fed or you aren't ultra low), as dumb as it sound, it is big.
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His mobility is good but isn't slippery at all, he has good tool to go in your face but it isn't unfair, his E need to connect and his W doesn't have a big range. He can't escape like a god.
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His mana pool isn't insane actually (be it lvl1 or in growth compared to his spell cost) so he can't spam that much.
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Dude look like he can be VERY weak if behind, like it isn't funny.
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I can be super wrong but if I read it correctly, the AD to AP ratio convertion coming with his ult isn't super good. A ratio of 100% bonus AD (which mean having 100 AD bonus give 100 damage) will become a 50% AP Ratio (so you will need 200 AP to have the same damage) and a ratio of 100% Total AD will become a 40% AP Ratio.
Now some quick thought on his strength:
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You guys are gonna whine on his W healing because it is like BIG ASS CLUTCH HEALING and it has good base amount.
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His Shield AP ratio is also very big.
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I feel he has a lot of tool to go in the face of melee opponent and therefore continu to be oppressive if he has a lead.
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Atm, his Q AP ratio is HUGE as hell and base damage is very high. Taking this kind of poke will HURT.
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He has low CD, he make SUPER SUPER SUPER good use of CDR when it come to his kit having a shield and a heal.
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His ultimate has so much possibility late game it isn't funny, I honestly feel the cooldown is so low that it is the only thing that could make him broken on release. I don't know what is Riot stance on this despite the intern CD of each ult he steal (for the ones that don't know, if sylas steal an ult with 100 sec CD, he will have a 200 sec CD after he use said ult). He will break TF late game.
Honestly, I feel his ultimate is almost in a good place but the super low CD at lvl16 is honestly bonkers to me.