I was just curious why Karma has such low base values on her shield. I mean she gets a much weaker shield then other supports and it only really get on par when her ult is added to it. Is it because of the MS boost? Because, honestly, I would rather take a hit on the non-ult MS boost on that shield for higher base stats.
Ionian StarChild3 votesI honestly feel like they should redistribute her shield values, increasing the base value and decreasing the extra strength it gets when mantra-ed. Mantra had and should've always been the spell that grants her abilities a secondary effect. I feel like that was one of the aspects of the rework Riot completely missed the mark with. The shield should've gotten a regular scaling and AP ratio with mantra only giving it a burst of mini-shields to surrounding allies. That's how her shield should be.
StoryDuck1 votesIt seems like a lot of weird choices have been made with her kit. A scaling Cd on her E? why does she need that? Why is the shield being used as a mini Sivir ult instead of a shield to stop burst damage? It's like they are taking all this utility she has and trying to force her to fit mid lane instead of support. She could certainly benefit from having her kit looked at and changed to fit her strengths and identity instead of just some weird set of abilities that can be semi-toolbox but not as good.
Eveninn1 votesThinking about it from a designer's perspective, it's most likely cus:
"What should her E be?" "A shield would be nice" "We already have tons of shields and they are always the same and might get a bit overused..."
This is why they'd start pairing them with other things. Orianna's E moves her ball to the target and give Bonus resistances, Lulu sends Pix to help, Janna gives AD, etc...
As for balancing the values to this secondary effect, could very well be a reason.
But, it also depends a lot on how strong the rest of the champion's kit is. You can't give someone who already has a strong kit a shield just as big as someone who's kit isn't as strong.
StoryDuck1 votesHer shield feel very generic at this time though. It's great for kiting but the low base values really hurt in trades. Even using ult with E is pretty weak when there is so much burst in game at the moment. It's not until rank 3 in her ult is achieved that it feel strong. Shouldn't combining her ult with her shield be more then a chasing/fleeing tool? At this time that is all I use it for until rank 3 ult in which I can finally put up a good shield to stop a chunk of burst damage from an assassin.
IxtaliKing1 votesI think they either nerfed it's strength because of the low CD (45% cdr = perma shield + ms boost), or its because they buffed the shielding on her R+E.
StoryDuck1 votesThat is something I didn't consider (not perma MS boost though that only last 1.5 seconds). Still, I would rather have a steady 10 second CD instead of a scaling down CD from 10 sec to 8 sec and get a higher base shield/strong ult shield. It seems like very poor balance at this time.
Athenes Lulu1 votesIt's a lot more spammable and less mana costly compared to other shields out there.
R + E = multi-target shielding = "power" distributed to the multi-target shielding potential.
At least that's their possible reasoning.
StoryDuck1 votesStill. Her ult feels really weak on her shield. The AoE is nice but compared to Soraka Ult it is very poor. In fact, Sona Shields all her allies for a similar amount (minus first target) and it is easier to tag everyone and doesn't require an Ult to get that.
SilverSquid1 votesWait, I think I have it somewhere.... Ah, yes:
[W] 35-155 (+20%AP) 1.5s // 10s CD // heals by 30-110 (+20%AP) up to x1.5 based on missing hp
[W] 60-220 (+40%AP) 4s // 22-16s CD // makes allies travel large distances
[W] 80-180 (+35%AP) 3s // 14-10s CD // throwing animation (3s) refreshes shields.
[E] 80-200 (+50%AP) 4s // 10-8s CD// +40-60%MS for 1.5s
[E] 80-240 (+40%AP) // 9s CD // 10-30 flat resistances
[E] 80-240 (+60%AP) 6s // 10s CD // adds 9-105 (+15%AP) damage to every attack
[E] 80-240 (+70%AP) 5s // 10s CD // +14-50 (+10%AP) AD to target
[E] 70-350 (+70%AP) MAGIC DAMAGE 5s // 23-15s CD // Immune to CC [RE] 110-410 (+80%AP) 4s // 45-36s CD // half to surrounding Allies // +60%MS for 1.5sKarma had the same base values as Lulu and Janna until 5.10 They lowered the scaling values for the shield (lvl2-5) but also decreased the cooldown, to emphasize the mobility impact.
Currently, Karma compares better to Lux and Orianna's shield, but is the only one who can instantly apply it. She even has the strongest shield at 400+AP with the lowest CD, even though Lux can possibly shield for twice the listed amount, and more targets, if aimed well. In exchange she has a cast time, it's a skillshot and it protects from the least burst damage.
Either way, Karma's shield values don't seem unreasonable to me.
Quepha1 votesHer values are comparable to Lux's shield. Lux will shield for a little more because of the double application (but in practical situations this rarely adds much to the barrier) but the speed boost is hugely impactful for Karma and whoever else is on her team even with only one point in it.