How to make Fiora want to build like a Melee Carry (AS+Crit)

TehNACHO··3 votes·467 views

Just a few spitball ideas. They can be taken in isolation or altogether, but the point is we want Fiora's itemization to reflect the role and function she seems to be designed around.

Duelist's Dance

  • Instead of an AD Ratio on her True Damage, why not a Critical Chance ratio? Thematically it makes more sense (for example, the wiki describes a Critical Strike as "an attack striking a vulnerable area" to contextualize it) due to how the Vitals system is all about Fiora locating weak spots and striking them. It also makes it so much easier to balance her stats vs her itemization. With the current AD Ratio in place, and because of the amount of Juggernaut items that grant both AD and Health, we have the current Juggernaut Fiora who is decently tank and abuses the AD Ratios enough so to remain a relevant damage dealer. On the other hand though, with the exception if Trinity Force, no Critical Chance item also offers defensive stats in a similar manner to the Juggernaut items. Furthermore, as Critical Chance has a definite limit (100%) and to reach that limit takes either devoting 4 item slots to pure offense/3 with a stretched rune setup, it's a lot easier to set a definite power level to her Vitals (does anyone else remember the (something like) ~120% HP Ratio that full AD Fiora can do?)
  • Change the % Bonus Movement Speed to a % Total Movement Speed bonus (aka, Quinn). The current % interacts well with Flat bonuses like Black Cleaver grants, but doesn't interact well with other % bonuses like Zeal upgrades grant.

Lunge

  • Rework its cooldown to be more like Yasuo's Q. Because of how essential both of their Qs are in their kits, they're more like AD Casters than true auto attacking Melee Carries. Yasuo however still loves Attack Speed to no end because it reduces his Q's cooldown, rather than CDR. It happens to also be that CDR is attached to many Tankier items like Black Cleaver or Spirit Visage, two items that Fiora really likes, giving her leeway to solid DPS and mobility by itemizing for defense. Attack Speed is an entirely DPS stat, so I certainly think it would make far more sense to more intimately tie this ability integral to Fiora's damage over time to that stat.
  • Perhaps somehow give it interaction with Critical Chance? It's already such an auto attack like ability what with it dealing on-hit effects and having damage and function comparable to an auto attack, I just find it odd that it doesn't interact with Crit Chance at all. Maybe tie Critical Chance or even Critical/Vital Strikes in general to the Cooldown reset it has, instead of just resetting whenever you hit something.

Riposte

  • This is more of a gripe I have with the ability as a whole, but why does she still Stab if she doesn't, say, counter any champion abilities? Or if not that, why does it grant such a massive slow and attack speed slow as well? I expect this to be the high risk high reward ability of her kit, why is the reward so great if she uses it willy nilly regardless of anything else then?

Bladework

  • Look at Beadwork for a moment and tell me, where do you think your gold would be better spent specifically for the two Bladework auto attacks. Not investing in Critical Chance but instead Flat AD and Armor Penetration, or instead investing heavily into Critical Chance for those two attacks? With the first auto attack is guaranteed not to Crit, and the second guaranteed to, investing into Critical Chance for these two autos does absolutely nothing. What if the Slow from the first attack interacted with Critical Strikes like Ashe does? What if the second strike was just instead some Bonus Physical Damage so as not to interrupt Critical Chance interactions with the second auto?

Grand Challenge

  • I think we know where I'm going in regards to the stat interactions here. Maximum heal is now based on Critical Chance. The full glass cannon build required for stupid amounts of healing is a risk vs reward interaction here. The higher your crit chance and thus, indirectly, the lower your defense and how much easier it is to be killed while trying to hit all 4 vitals? Gonna be a damn good heal you get out of that.
  • I should note that the two big things I pointed out with Duelist Dance should apply here.

IDK why Fiora's numbers as they are subvert the high risk high reward theme that Riposte and Grand Challenge supposedly are supposed to put into her kit.

Also, to anyone who says Fiora's base stats are too low, you clearly aren't paying attention to all the free non-scaling % bonuses or debuffs hidden all over her kit.

2 Comments

LordGeovanni1 votes

firoa damage carry shouldnt have a team jana ult heal period true damage either but thats almost as annoying as the heal even if it is more op

AlwaysByMySide1 votes

Or we could not change her build path to fit with generic carry builds.

Jax is a melee carry and he doesn't give a flying fuck about crit. Neither does Yi. Both due like attack speed, admittedly. However, Fiora is unique in her class in terms of favoring raw damage (and, admittedly, these days tanky bruiser items). This is a good thing, much like how it's baller as fuck that Corki buys sorcerer's shoes instead of berserker's greaves.

edit: Also, Fiora's base stats are low for a melee carry. Compare to Tryndamere, who has better base stats almost all around, while also benefitting from more steroids and free stats in his kit.

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