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Why is Irelia STILL a balance trainwreck?

darkdill··2 votes·369 views

You simply cannot make balance changes these days to Irelia because she's kinda broken and has nothing going for her that separates her from other Champions (besides her passive, but Riot hates that because it's invisible power/no gameplay). She's flexible in capabilities, yes, but buff even one number ever so slightly and suddenly she's #1 OP. Nerf her ever so slightly and she's suddenly "Olaf-tier". Basically, it's the "Lee Sin problem", in that her current design means number changes simply are inappropriate for her.

And don't get me started on her ultimate. Honestly, it feels like the LEAST useful ult in the game. If it's gonna heal you for nothing in a team fight, why does that heal exist? Not to mention it's function really SUCKS for her theme; even Riot thinks it's inappropriate for her (can't remember who said it).

The question is, will she EVER get to be a priority for reworking? Or will she be forever at the bottom of the pile with other Champions butting ahead of her in line?

5 Comments

WoonStruck1 votes

They want to rework her, but its a LONG time coming. Think 1 year+, and absolutely no confirmations that its being done. Just that people want it to happen at Riot.

And Irelia isn't that much of a trainwreck, and she does have things that separate her from other champions. Her gameplay is unique in how her Q and E interact. Her W allows builds that put her in a sweet-spot for damage/defenses, although this makes her a bit too strong mid-game. Her theme, based on lore, could be emphasized through her kit a bit better, but if you look at gameplay as opposed to lore, she has plenty of unique stuff going for her.

Her ult and W heal used to be a lot more substantial when being tanky meant stacking resists more than HP. Similar effective health, but healing was far, far more potent. Thematically, its supposed to make her resilient,like the blades did in her lore. Its fitting enough. Also, the ult does a lot more damage than you think. 340/480/640+2.4AD+2.0 AP Is not weak damage. Yes, they could make better use of the blades in her kit, but that doesn't mean the functions of her kit don't make sense lore-wise. They're just lack-luster for all of the potential you can pull from her weapons.

Besides, its not nearly as bad as champs like Graves atm. Top win% for 3 roles across many divisions, gets a love-tap. If they nerfed him in any way that's not his Q, he'd fall to obscurity.

Ahri, one of the top win%s for years, never gets nerfed.

Skarner sees play? Nerfed to death. Garen viable? Pfft. Not if Riot has anything to do with it. Maokai? Jax?

darkdill1 votes

Not talking about Irelia's ult DAMAGE. I'm talking about how it heals jack-sh!t in team fights because of how it heals based off damage dealt. Since it bounces off armor, any moderately-armored opponent will cause Irelia to heal nothing off her ult.

MLDzXnRRR1 votes

Her true dmg and stun are annoying. Q and R are ok skills.

darkdill1 votes

Riot views her E as bad gameplay, actually, since it's a 2-second stun and direct target. No way to dodge it like a skillshot.

Arcade Andrew1 votes

Better nerf Irelia.

See they can't nerf her anymore than they already did when badministrator made that song. If they did Everyone who was around before the relly nerfs and song, would bitch that riot completely gutted her. besides want to beat relly? Play rammus or malphite and get thornmail.

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