Knock-ups QQ thread... with suggestions!
Knockups. So many of them, and the only counterplay to them is to make yourself untargetable or immune. In the case of skillshots, they can be dodged. But many knockup abilities aren't. Kayle and Morgana, Vlad Fizz and Lissandra, Zhonya's Hourglass, spell shields; they provide counterplay to these abilities. The question is whether this is enough. The community doesn't seem to think so.
Slows are countered by similar mechanics, but also by masteries, by Tenacity, by multiple items, and by Cleanse. This despite that slows are soft cc. Several champs also have abilities that reduce the effects of slows, or makes the champion immune to slows.
When it comes to the problem with knockups, Yasuo is the main culprit here, but champs like Vi, Nami and Zac also have a lot of knockups and other cc that can only be countered by avoid the ability altogether. Yasuo now ha sa terrible winrate due to nerfs, which I don't think are entirely fair. With more counterplay against airborne effects, Yasuo could be buffed back up.
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The lack of counterplay to airborne cc all becomes an incentive to play champions with that kind of cc. How can that be remedied? I like to provide some ideas for improving things rather than just complain, so I have a few suggestions:
A) Separate the stun component of the airborne effect from the immobilization. While this is especially useful against Yasuo who prolongs the airborne effect during his ult, it can be used to Mikael's the stun component out of any airborne cc so they airborne player can use his Zhonya's or spell shield or other counterplay. Arkblue from EUW suggested this.
B) Provide more ways to avoid the cc altogether. Banshee's Veil is a good example, but there could be conditional effects, and airborne-specific effects as well.
C) How about an effect that punishes knockups? Consider a Vi ult against a target that will do AoE damage whenever it lands after being airborne. This Vi could take a decent amount of damage from this. As could Yasuo, Zac, and others who are often close when their target lands. It works against Xin Zhao, Alistar and many other champs with knockups as well. This could be an item, eg a pair of heavy boots that don't provide as much speed as other tier 2 boots, but more defensive stats instead, perhaps %HP and this anti-airborne effect. I don't know. Could be a component of some big defensive item, too. Could be a passive (or active) of a champion, but that would make it much less available.
D) Nerf the abilities that cause airborne effects, especially AoE ones. Make the projectiles slower. Reduce the amount of damage champions take while airborne. The ability to hold someone still and prevent them from attacking and not leave them any counterplay is a powerful ability. Avoiding getting hit by it should be easier.
E) Make Cleanse, possibly QSS and Mikael's able to free a champion from an airborne effect. Most airborne effects are too short for this to matter, but it would be useful when stuck in a Nami bubble or a Yasuo ult. It would give players a reason to take Cleanse or to build QSS, and provide some more variety in the game. More options!
F) Just make Tenacity reduce the duration of the airborne effects as well. Yes, the animations might look silly, but so do a lot of animations. Malphite with high move speed looks ridiculous. But it doesn't hurt the game. Neither would faster animations of airborne effects. Let Nami's bubble burst sooner, and the champion drop back into the game sooner.
I'm sure there are other people who've suggested stuff, but I'm not going to look through every thread. I checked the ten most recent on the Boards, but there's room in the comments for more ideas to solve the problem. I'm not looking for agreement, I'm looking for ideas. Because Riot can do a lot more with good ideas than they can with a qq thread with qq comments.
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thread sources:
Arkblue's suggestion: http://boards.na.leagueoflegends.com/en/c/gameplay-balance/jyT0oGyq-about-knockbacks-tenacity-and-stuns
