@Meddler@Shrieve I'm still confused on how AP fizz is actually going to be viable in higher elo

I'm not sure how AP will work in higher elo. His lane phase is still bad. We got rid of mana issues and he can farm under tower like he always had but he can still be easily zoned and has no way to deal with harass. He is the only mid laner without a ranged ability and unless he has kill threat the enemy will keep him off cs all day.

It's fine that Fizz still has a bad lane but he wont work late game now. ADC's late kill squish like fizz in less than 1 second with 2 - 3 autos max and it takes fizz 2 seconds to get off all the damage that he does on live. Nevermind that Q/E/R can all be dodged and now the W dot can be qss'd to prevent the charged W from occuring. Fizz won't live that long. So not only is he usually going to scrap by in lane but now has no point in the game he is relevant unless he snowballs off and he definitely is less relevant in team fights than ever as the only thing he brings is an improved shark if he can hit max range, the rest of his damage he wont' be able to get off on an ADC/support who is paying attention. The dot falls off the APC who zhonya'd the shark and can now turn around and instant burst fizz.

He only breaks even in damage at the 2 second mark compared to live. However, it was his AP ratios that took the hit, (50% less damage) while his base damage stays the same if you have to front your damage earlier than 2 seconds. I don't understand how this is good for anyone but tank fizz as only tank fizz can live long enough to make it to 2 seconds to get the damage off. BTW, for those thinking his W isn't every auto so he lost damage, that is simply not true. The base damage at 2 seconds is worth 9!! autos of what the old W gave. Meaning, the damage is actually higher. Even with the lost 20% damage amp and % missing hp off dot the base damage is virtually the same over the same period of time for his entire kit. Tank fizz helps Fizz survive lanes and get his damage out.

Are there more options in place to help fizz survive? I mean, leblanc gets a clone just for having to be in melee for .3 seconds but fizz is expected to live for 2? E almost always has to be used for engage or disengage and the CD is too high for it to be used as the way to stay alive in combat alone.

The kit works for lower elo because players make so many mistakes and don't counter play properly but in high elo, there is too much counterplay and not enough tools for fizz to counter it.