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The Real Problem Isn't Assassins

Alpharite·1/21/2015, 10:13:14 PM·179 votes·10,137 views

Recently, the callls for nerfs against assassins have gotten out of hand. Riot has responded, and there are currently nerfs on PBE for Zed, Akali, Fizz, and Kat.

The problem isn't that they are necessarily completely broken, it's that almost everything else has been nerfed/changed to benefit assassins. Almost every class aside from them has been nerfed in the past few months.

Mages took a massive hit with the Grail nerfs, and then Rito goes further overboard by punishing people for switching to Morellonomicon. Taking out DFG doesn't help matters. This helps assassins, especially energy based ones, as lanes are much, much easier for them due to mages running OOM after just a couple spell rotations. Also, Blue Buff time was cut.

Junglers (outside of a small handful) are not as capable of early ganks, making it easier for assassins to pull off risky plays and not get punished for it.

Supports have been getting nerfed consistently, oftentimes for no reason. Better nerf Sona, amirite??

ADC's have been relatively untouched outside of IE crit reduction, and wouldn't you know, are the class that assassins are made to counter.

Tanks are being shredded left and right. Very few remain truly viable.

If Rito nerfs assassins now, we're just continuing this cycle. Remember just a few months ago, when Akali was unheard of and Zed had to be BUFFED?

What I propose is that after these nerfs go through, try bringing back up the other classes. Tanks need help, mages need help after the merciless gutting they've just faced, and jungle needs an overhaul (no one else is sick of the same 3-4 junglers doing SOMETHING while the others get shit on? Worst part is they ALL build Stalker's Blade, due to Poacher's being useless and the other 2 being nerfed for no reason). Once all this happens, I can guarantee assassins will feel nowhere NEAR as oppresive as they do now.

222 Comments

MotherChurch1/21/2015, 10:25:46 PM47 votes

I kind of agree. Riot takes too activist an approach to balance changes. Slow and steady seems like the best approach. Riot usually seems to focus on nerfing instead of buffing the weaker champions.

Alorasence1/22/2015, 4:05:38 AM26 votes

Well said.

The idea of season 5 "strategic diversity" is a fucking joke.

Remove dfg, nerf fizz, zed, akali, katarina, mana, mana regen, syndra, et cetera et cetera...

I'm not even sure what Riot wants us to play at this point. It feels like they hate their game and all of their own champions.

Except Lee Sin. Obviously.

Stephenizgod1/22/2015, 2:22:30 AM19 votes

To be fair it is kind of hard to balance the roles after all that has been done.

Tanks cant tank because if they do, they are almost unkillable and thats no fun.

Assassins blow people up instantly and that is never fun, but if they couldnt do that then they would be useless.

Marksmen deal a ton of damage and everyone agrees their items are too cost efficient, but they are the main damage, without these items they are almost worthless.

Mages need burst, safety, and CC/Mobility, the ones that dont have these are forced into support role where they force normal supports out.

Supports are tricky, some of them get too strong if built AP and need to be nerfed which inadvertently nerfs their supporting, buffing their supporting usually makes them OP in other lanes. Also they are forced into building the same items on almost all supports.

Fighters are like assassins but not as reliable, if they go in they usually cant come back out easily (usuallee haha get it?). When they are good they are better then assassins because they usually come with sustain and higher base damage. A good fighter is really strong (think Riven and Lee Sin; mostly Lee Sin) and has no obvious weakness other then specific champions.

Bruisers were OP once and no one wants them to rise to the top again and when a bruiser gets too good they are miserable to fight.

everything is so hard to balance, when you change one whether nerf or buff, it effects all the other roles. If you make assassins too strong it makes Marksmen weak and then only certain supports that can peel or sustain really well become meta. Stuff like that.

Pvt Yong Tai1/22/2015, 3:19:52 AM12 votes

When everything is the problem, nothing is.

No but really. Riot needs to fix everything.

disregardable1/21/2015, 10:24:06 PM11 votes

Better nerf Sona, amirite

Sona is still overbearing. These nerfs she's getting are just Riot's typical slap on the wrists. Her Q's range and base damage need nerfed.

agbudar1/22/2015, 12:03:53 AM7 votes

wna know who counters zed? rammus wana know how slow his clears are in the new jungle? btw he got nerfed too and people are still screaming for more (mainly assasin main's btw) i remember making the life of an assasin a living hell aka counter him but nope no one was smart enough to get a merc threads to counter my melee range taunt.

jungle should be the place to go for tanks but its not. bruisers should duke it out in toplane not go to the jungle and then do a better job do it faster and basically carry the game starting lvl 2-3

BITE ZA DUSTO1/22/2015, 12:41:17 PM6 votes

Riot ? Buff something ? Ahahah

Cindikle1/22/2015, 2:12:33 AM6 votes

Assassins feel over the top because of the shift from S4. They were still strong in S4, they just didn't favor the meta.

I do agree to a point though. The obvious ones do need their rebalancing. But a lot of mana-using champions also need some help.

Lux having a 130 mana cost on her E for example is huge.

Assassin are somewhat a problem. But the problem goes further than that.

Havik2231/22/2015, 7:37:19 PM5 votes

I agree with OP, Assassins have never really seen a round of large buffs; it's that every thing else has been nerfed.

Kassadin for example was completely unknown after he was reworked. But with the new jungle changes he's actually viable again because he can just buy a catalyst and sit in lane forever. He used to be gankable early game, but now I can barely get a chance to gank him until he's level 5. Before it was blue, red, gank at 3 and then possibly get another gank in if he summoner 4 ed successfully. Now it's gank at 5, he es, and he's ungankable the rest of the game. Nothing to do with his recent ulti changes or any kit changes, just the fact that the jungler can't get to him.

Being a jungle main, I can tell you the new jungle has changed how junglers play A LOT. Now that we can't gank early on (or we can with the prospect of falling WAY behind looming), CC-heavy tanks are pretty much worthless. Last season I could get some serious map control with Nautilus . The new jungle and mastery changes, combined with new Sunfire still being terrible have made him next to impossible to clear with. That was the kinda the case last season too, but I could gank straight out of level 3 and have some success. Now at level 3 I NEED to go back. By the time I'm back around I'm 2 levels low (easy to 1v1 if a gank isn't perfect) and my buffs are running out.

Mages are weak, as they've always been after the mana changes and the additions of Zed and Yasuo . It's not that these 2 are too strong (you can argue that if you want, but it's not the point I'm making) it's that they just do everything mages do, except better. From the moment I saw the 'Nomicon and related mana regen changes, I knew mages were in trouble. I understand the design philosophy of "they should have to build things they want" but have you seen an Orianna who's forced to build item 3174 against someone going straight damage? It's laughable. Yet, she needs mana, but the chalice alone is hardly strong enough to keep it together. Without building it she either has to go back all the time or pour money into pots. Yet Zed and Yasuo can still clear the waves and still have a huge impact on team fights without worrying about this. Where's her advantage? Sure she has harass in lane, but most champs are able to over come that and, surprise, it takes mana to do it effectively. Having mana should matter, but there's no good way to over come its disadvantages without humping blue buff all day. Right now there are just too many choices to clear waves, team fight and blow up single targets that over come the current mage meta.

Xtremey1/21/2015, 10:25:47 PM4 votes

well said op.

Mellori1/23/2015, 8:36:15 PM3 votes

If they keep nerfing everything, pretty soon it's going to be like every champion is going around bopping each other on the head with pool noodles.

Boop.

Wallaroo02261/22/2015, 3:02:52 AM3 votes

Sorry, but this just sounds like another pointless thread with no purpose that advocates buffing everyone else (completely illogical) as opposed to dealing with a huge problem. Strengths are relative. The whole point of balancing is to make their relative strength balanced among the whole. Anyone who advocates buffing every other champion is usually the same type of people who cry rivers of tears because their flavor of the month champion is no longer completely broken.

Elk Whisperer1/22/2015, 11:55:48 PM1 votes

no, the real problem is zed, he's just broken beyond all relief.