Where did Swain go? The only champion we are not talking about right now.

taleofsonata·Dec 28, 2018·24 votes·12,426 views

I haven't seen Swain in any of my match ever since his bottom lane Meta. What happened to him? Ever since the upsurge of ridiculous champions (Akali, Aatrox, Irelia) Swain hasn't been played in any of my games. I felt that Swain really got the backhand of Riot Balance team which would explain why no1 even thinks of him. His identity was suppose to be of a Battlemage, but his Damage got nerfed, his ratio got nerfed, his durability got nerfed, he lost so much. Battlemages are the equivalent of Juggernaut and bruisers, except they are squishier but do way more sustained damage. Their survivability comes from Spellvamp, Shields.

The old swain was strong way stronger than this current one, this one got nerfed beyond recognition.

30 Comments

Noor SakataDec 28, 201813 votes

Because his mains stopped playing him since he got reworked and became weaker imo he needs some heal buffs on his ult , he can't live that long to heal from it and healing is easily countered anyway

Sewer SideDec 28, 20182 votes

[{quoted}](name=Noor Sakata,realm=EUW,application-id=3ErqAdtq,discussion-id=FWrYIAE4,comment-id=0000,timestamp=2018-12-28T20:15:42.960+0000)

Because his mains stopped playing him since he got reworked and became weaker imo he needs some heal buffs on his ult , he can't live that long to heal from it and healing is easily countered anyway

Swain doesn’t need buffs.

His healing is already insane in a teamfight.

Noor SakataDec 28, 20181 votes

How about playing him ? His healing is at it's worst in team fights , he is only good at 2v2's , in fights he just gets bursted and dies.

jocomotionDec 29, 20182 votes

I don’t think he needs healing buffs, I think he needs just better base defenses first. And if that’s not enough then maybe up the healing.

Noor SakataDec 29, 20181 votes

Makes sense , he just doesn't have the time to survive to heal , but anyway , the old Swain was much more Tankier , better heals overall

ZardoDec 28, 20187 votes

He's a great champion, just not a popular one which is fine.

SanKakUDec 29, 20184 votes

That's exactly what I thought about pre-rework Swain and he got deleted.

InfernapeDec 28, 20184 votes

Still pretty niche.

I enjoyed pre-rework Swain and love the current one. That reminds me, I haven't played him for a while now.

LTK KoRoDec 28, 20184 votes

His AP ratio on R recast shouldn't been nerfed imho, he was in a balanced state before this. Now he's pretty bad/mediocre in early, but he doesn't scale as well as he's expected to

BisaknospDec 28, 20183 votes

too unreliable imo

JeaneGreeneDec 29, 20183 votes

Old swain was crazy strong, and actually had an identity (as an early game lane bully), but now the new swain is just another burst mage. Right now you are experiencing what "balance" feels like. In the right hands, this swain can do great, and in the wrong hands, he can't. Unlike some other popular picks, he has a pretty middle of the road win rate.

GayFluffyUnicornDec 29, 20183 votes

Man gimme back my old swain.

IfnethDec 30, 20181 votes

I met one late-game once. It was terrifying. He ate my whole burst, and his health-bar didn’t even budge.

GFREEMENDec 29, 20183 votes

Yep I really miss his OLD kit.

I wish they would Keep is VGU and revert his kit.

I mean I like some aspects of his new kit but the numbers and how they are applies are all wrong. Also Riot really missed out on the use of Souls as a resource. Its stupid that you work to collect 5 souls to have it ONLY apply to the pop at the end of his Ult. If they made it so each soul gave him +5% damage and Healing it would have been great. You dont fight him when he has 5 Souls and you do when he has none.

Also his Ult should be on a 45s CD because he HAS to have a soul to even use it.

Yasuo has a 30s CD on his ult because he needs a displacement to use it same as Swain.

His old kit was better.

After3permaDec 28, 20182 votes

Swain got picked in Kespa cup today but “Where did Swain go?” Apparently

ShadowArchonDec 29, 20182 votes

He's in a pretty balanced state, but balanced champs are meh tier in the damage meta ruled by <1 second killing combos dealt by champs who sometimes feel tankier than tanks.

His ult might actually feel like wow so strong, but the damage creep is too high and is also easily countered by heal reduction. Also ...120 seconds cooldown and minimum one fragment ...

GFREEMENDec 29, 20181 votes

120 seconds cooldown and minimum one fragment

Yep Yasuo needs a displacement to ult and his is 30s

Swains should be 45s with the CD staring when his Ult finishes.

Flawless FetusDec 28, 20181 votes

He was op on release. I hit diamond with him shortly after he came out. They decided to buff him even though he was already broken. This resulted in him getting nerfed and nerfed and nerfed and nerfed. To the point wherr his viability is questionable. It makes me said. New Swain was my favorite champ.

GreenKnightDec 29, 20181 votes

Good, keep that reworked Lucius Malfoy wannabe in the sewers, where he belongs.

Also, take all other reworks and drown them too.

Ionian VulpixDec 29, 20181 votes

He's not bad, but he's not as strong as others. Then there's the fact that a majority of the playerbase, contrary to what juggernauts seem to think, LIKE mobility spells.

SociaI JusticeDec 29, 20181 votes

swain is still pretty strong, well in mid lane anyways.

Jerry SeinfeIdDec 29, 20181 votes

Battlemages are the equivalent of Juggernaut and bruisers,

I get this sentiment. Imo that's what the class should represent too. but for riot it's apparently any dps mage in the game.

as for swain, good riddance.

Support PositionDec 30, 20181 votes

As a Swain support main I'll let you know something's of why hes not being played.

His movement speed is one of the worst in the game. If he gets caught hes literally JUST dead. Instantly. No clutch plays. Dead.
Swains kit is... A hindrance. If he doesn't get soul fragments for his ult, he can't even use it. Forcing him to land W with a HUGELY long delay. Its AGES and not big enough. Or his E that almost always you have to to fucking get the stupid thing to hit them. Unless your support in lane its easy then.
His Q does no damage so truly he only has W for damage, and E for CC.
His ult doesn't heal him enough unless you have and even then you dont heal enough. His ult also deals 0 damage.
Ult doesn't proc when you die. So you die during it, waste of an ult have fun with a 120+ CD for no reason. Should be somewhere around 80 seconds level one for how bad the damage and healing is.
Tank swain is really good but the issue with tank swain is all you do is... Well tank. Tanks are NOT viable at all right now.
if you dont rush this item first. Literally FIRST item PERIOD. You literally lost the game. (Maybe this, still need to test.)
When you play swain you NEED to rely on your teammates to not be hot dogshit garbage. LOL This season. And you also NEED the enemy to not focus you AT ALL. If they do... GG :( your dead and you wasted your ult engaging.

Rush items if you do wanna play swain :D (he is... A lot of fun but his ult needs MASSIVE buffs. - When you die it explodes for full damage. 1.5x more healing and x2 is not x3 more damage per fragment.)

item 3135 first ALWAYS, item 3157 item 1001 (All boots are situational especially on swain.) item 3065 {{item:306 item 3165 item 3102

Runes are also why Swain sucks. Nothing for him really. Sure Dark Harvest you COULD go.... Maybe (not tested.) since its the only good mage rune.

Grasp of Undying is also AMAZING.
Klepo

But anyway why swains never played other than me in the support role is because his rework was a failure and they put too much and keep putting too much damage in the game to let him actually be played. [slayer-jinx-catface]

VelasanDec 30, 20181 votes

As a Swain player it's quite simple really.

Swain, even the old version, had a very specific play pattern that is not typical for mages. That is to be close to the target, tagging them with spells, and then all in with your ult (not that different from an assassin really, except your mid game goal is to become a bruiser not a glass cannon).

So, he is what they define as a "battle mage" through and through, but has a unique play style. There isn't much reason to pick him for burst/crowd control because there is always someone who does that better. He sustains quite well, but so does Vlad if that's all you wanted was a safer laning phase.

His dedicated mains mostly dropped him after the rework, then he was temporarily popular when he was strong; now that he is nerfed to being balanced he doesn't have a solid enough niche to choose him over something else. I feel the loss of a lot of old Swains fun mechanics, but I connect with the thematic and play style enough that I keep playing him anyways.

The old version was less healthy for the game in that he had point and click DOT's, but had a defined and powerful niche. The new one doesn't have as much crowd control or defined strengths.

In summary think about it like this...

Want more reliable burst on an immobile mage?... Syndra, Velkoz Want better sustain?... Vlad Want higher amounts of crowd control?... again Velkoz, Syndra, could debate Veigar with his stun cage, Lissandra, Malzahar

That's just considering immobile mages. Then you got things like Galio who is mobile, comes with a shield, and still has the crowd control and burst.

Swain is completely still playable and fine... but "fine" isn't strong, or makes you want to pick him up for anything. I still like the character and will continue on with him (been playing him for over 3 seasons now), but I totally get why he doesn't show up that often.

Projectile VomitDec 30, 20181 votes

The only champion we are not talking about right now.

RekSai cries

Sex With AnnieDec 30, 20181 votes

49% wr is "nerfed beyond recognition"?

Have you taken a look at gnar or ryze?

SharukenDec 30, 20181 votes

He's an amazing champ with carry potential. He's just not as popular as some others.

PlsBuffMyMainDec 30, 20181 votes

He got nerfed a lot because of pro play. Honestly the only reason I'd pick Swain over Vladimir is because of the cc on his passive, otherwise he seems like the same niche except worse.