A question to Riot about some of the MYMU changes
DISCLAIMER: even if this post might sound a bit ranty, it aims to be the start of a discussion in which, as a player, I'd like to hear the reasoning behind some of the changes that Riot is doing in the Mage Update. I'd love to have a Rioter answer!
Hello everyone! As the post title says, I'm interested in knowing what lead to the Viktor and Syndra changes that you can see on tbe PBE. I've been playing League for 3 years, and I fell in love with the Mage class since the beginning. I like everything about them: from their concept, to, especially, their playstyle. So, as you can guess, I was very excited at the idea of this update. But some of the changes on the PBE left me a bit worried...
First off: Viktor
Now you might think: "Viktor? He's not supposed to be updated!" Well, he's actually getting changed, with some of his power being shifted from his E upfront damage and Q empowered auto to his ult AoE damage over time. "So? What's the problem?" Fact is, the exact same thing is being done to Annie. Now, I know Annie's and Viktor's playstyle, as of now, is pretty similar, but I can't understand why it must be kept that way. The idea of adding to both ults some depth is cool, but Annie has something that Viktor lacks: a reliable way to stun someone for enough time to make his new Tibbers actually powerful. Sure, Viktor has his W, but it's not istant as Annie's stun, so it's very unlikely that the E augment explosion is going to land with the 1.25 seconds delay (and there goes 50% of his damage), and even if the ult damage over time is stronger, he has not much in the way of actually using it to his advantage without someone else providing the CC for him. So why would you pick Viktor now when Annie does the same thing but better?
Now, let's talk about Syndra's changes
This is were the situation actually gets a little tough. These changes, to be honest, scare me. I've been playing Syndra since S4, when I first started to play ranked, so I'm quite "expert" with her. Let's get immediatly to the point: The new Q duration from his passive is going to make her unhealthy, anti-fun and very, very dull. Why? The extended duration of the Spheres will make pulling off 6 or even 7 balls ult much much easier, taking away a very fun, challenging and, most of all, defining part of her kit. Also, this means that, being this easy to pull off, everyone will be able to do it consinstenly, leading to 2 things: -Syndra's skill ceiling is going down into oblivion and she will lose the feeling of reward for setting up her combo completely, leaving everyone who actually spent time trying to master her with nothing to show their skills, thus meaning that she's not worth to be mastered at all; -She is going to be very unhealthy because her 7 balls ult is one of the best nukes is the game, so, it is going to be so oppressive that its damage will be lowered...so what's the point in playing her? Overlord Forte made a very detailed post about this in the NA boards, which I suggest you read: http://boards.na.leagueoflegends.com/en/c/gameplay-balance/bAdlmuhI-as-of-419-pbe-syndras-mymu-is-poised-to-make-her-worse-and-unhealthy
So, Riot, what is your reasoning behind these changes? Is something else planned for these champions? Is there something I'm missing?
Anyway, I apologise if my English is not perfect but I'm Italian, so it's not exactly my native language :P Also, I typed everything from mobile, so there might be some typos around. Well, I said everything I wanted to. I hope that this post will be the beginning of a constructive discussion and I really wish that it will get a Rioter answer.
Goodbye everybody!