@Meddler: A "Zerging" Champion; Impossible because of FPS?

darkdill·Jan 26, 2016·3 votes·370 views

Whenever I've brought up the idea that there needs to be a Champion in League who basically acts like the Zerg (i.e. spawns dozens of little "Broodlings" to swarm and overrun your enemy's positions), one common counterargument to my attempts at the design is that a large cluster of minions would cause lag issues for people with bad computers. League's certainly gotten better over the years at making things less laggy, though; the only times I get lag are when there are connection problems (i.e. getting ISP-screwed), not stuff related to graphics, number of units on screen, etc.

How much of a concern is "FPS issues" in relation to you wanting to make a "Zerging" Champion? Are they significant enough that you simply can't do it without causing too many complaints?

9 Comments

WoonStruckJan 26, 20162 votes

My biggest argument against that is Yorick. If it wasn't healthy for him, why would it be healthy for someone else? Especially when spawning minions is already going to be his 'niche' when they rework him.

The concept would still be you dealing damage while being untouchable. Think Azir, but worse because the kind of champion you suggest hardly has to dedicate any thought to them.

darkdillJan 26, 20161 votes

The problem with Yorick is that his gameplay is uninteresting, uninteractive, and oppressive if he's ever strong (due to his sustain and durability).

I have ways to make this Champion vulnerable while still creating bunches of ankle-biters.

Broodlings (placeholder name for spawned minions) do not cause unit collision except with each other, are very fragile, and die after a short period of time.
A Zerging Champion would be bad at team fights and ganks, but designed for pushing, sieging, and objective control.

In making a Zerging Champion, I would be using the Zerg Swarm Host as a template. The ultimate would have you root yourself to the ground and continuously spawn Broodlings to march at a target point, attacking any enemies they come across (NOT prioritizing Champions). Each second you spend spawning Broodlings would increase your upkeep cost (ala Swain), meaning you'll burn out of mana eventually.

But also, the Swarm Host is extremely vulnerable on its own. If its position gets overrun, it's DEAD. As such, for a similar League Champion, assassins would be your bane.

WoonStruckJan 26, 20161 votes

{quoted}

The problem with Yorick is that his gameplay is uninteresting, uninteractive, and oppressive if he's ever strong (due to his sustain and durability).

I have ways to make this Champion vulnerable while still creating bunches of ankle-biters.

Broodlings (placeholder name for spawned minions) do not cause unit collision except with each other, are very fragile, and die after a short period of time.

A Zerging Champion would be bad at team fights and ganks, but designed for pushing, sieging, and objective control.

In making a Zerging Champion, I would be using the Zerg Swarm Host as a template. The ultimate would have you root yourself to the ground and continuously spawn Broodlings to march at a target point, attacking any enemies they come across (NOT prioritizing Champions). Each second you spend spawning Broodlings would increase your upkeep cost (ala Swain), meaning you'll burn out of mana eventually.

But also, the Swarm Host is extremely vulnerable on its own. If its position gets overrun, it's DEAD. As such, for a similar League Champion, assassins would be your bane.

So you want swarm host as a champion? They're the most uninteresting unit.

darkdillJan 26, 20161 votes

Well, not a carbon copy of a swarm host. Think of a swarm host on stimpacks, and given the infestor's "infested terran" and queen's "spawn creep tumor" abilities.

You'd be able to set up zones of control at objective sites and then siege down enemy positions, and if the enemy dives your control zone, your team has the advantage. Of course, said advantage does not Garen -tee victory.

TaoistMasterJan 26, 20162 votes

Why is this downvoted?

It is a GREAT question and I would love to see Meddler's opinion

QuephaJan 26, 20162 votes

Elise has some spiderlings.

I think that even beyond the performance issues, there's an issue with visual clutter on the screen. There is a lot of crap that people already have to track with the movements of 4 team mates, 5 enemies, and all the spell effects they're creating. Several of them can already produce a few long-lasting and moving effects that you need to visually track and having a champion that basically doubles the maximum visual load on player's senses by themselves would just make the game screen look like a total clusterf@#k

darkdillJan 26, 20161 votes

Elise's spiderlings barely even come close to what the Zerg are all about. Her spiderlings are really just an add-on to her damage.

QuephaJan 26, 20161 votes