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The Definitive Word On Lux's Game Balance

Smitemuffin··11 votes·1,864 views

Lately, I have seen a steady stream of qq when it comes to Lux here. As a dedicated mage player as well as Lux player, let's explore the state of the champ:

As an AoE control mage with wave clear, Lux obviously falls into the same category as Azir Viktor Xerath Velkoz and Ziggs . But how does she stack up?

Pros:

  1. Strongest shield
  2. Lowest cooldown full spell rotation (not to be confused with basic spell rotation
  3. Burst from full spell rotation is front-loaded
  4. Bullies a wide array of lane matchups before first back
  5. Able to deal with assassins that rely on linear spells in lane

Similarities:

  1. Spell/passive requires auto attacks for use
  2. AoE slow
  3. Motion-impairing CC
  4. Long ult range

Cons:

  1. Only one viable path to level spells
  2. Primary spell (Lucent Singularity) is very high cost
  3. Worst basic wave clear spells among similar champs
  4. Only mage in category without an interrupt
  5. Lowest base speed in the game
  6. Second-lowest base hp in the game (only Heimerdinger is lower...by a single point)
  7. Very narrow list of viable items and an uncompromising build path
  8. All spells are skill shots (which means she's 100% vision-dependent)
  9. Somewhat long cooldowns for basic spells
  10. Only champ in category without some form of movement enhancement or displacement

As you can probably see, Lux's slight advantage in instant burst is heavily offset by a plethora of vulnerabilities (several of which are unique to Lux). She's not so much overall powerful as she is relatively powerful: mids are favoring squishy AP champs and rushing item 3165 , they're buying/upgrading boots late and can't dodge spells, top/jg are often favoring squishy carries (because juggernauts are all banned), AP mids greed for AP glyphs instead of MR. All of these things make you explode. Hell, there's even bee. Magic Resistance buffs to item 3001 item 3102 item 3065 and item 3060 but the problem is actually that players just aren't buying them

65 Comments

Shroom Junkie8 votes

{quoted}

  1. All spells are skill shots (which means she's 100% vision-dependent)

Not to say any of your other points are invalid but, this is completely untrue. If all her spells were point-and-click THEN she'd be 100% vision dependent. Having skillshots however allows her to hit her targets in the fog of war. Everyone ever is vision dependent if having skillshots means you're 100% vision dependent.

Smitemuffin2 votes

Normally, I would totally agree with you: it's sound reasoning. However, Lux is a special case. She's dependent on her full combo to hit the enemy champs, unlike others. Ziggs targets the ground, Viktor does a Major Payne by shooting blind lasers and knowing if the enemy is in there, they aren't happy. Xerath's stun animation will even stop when it hits something invisible. This isn't the case for Lux; her binding animation is agnostic to whether or not it hits anything. Considering her snare has to be either before or consecutive with her E, she cannot risk wasting all her cooldowns on guessing. Each spell must be perfect or she dies.

SaltyKracka5 votes

...Her E gives quite a bit of vision and her shield is, as you have already noted, very strong.

She's not nearly so dependent on wards for survival as you make her out to be.

Smitemuffin1 votes

E vision is irrelevant. Between the somewhat lackluster slow % on her E (which instantly vanishes when detonated, a drawback unique to Lux) and the quite low missile speed of Q, vision from E doesn't help her land her spells. Nobody stands still in your E and waits for a binding.

As for her shield, I didn't say it was very strong. I said it was the strongest among mages in her role. In fact, she loses half her shield power if you wait for the baton to return (another drawback unique to Lux).

eaglei35 votes

{quoted}

E vision is irrelevant. Between the somewhat lackluster slow % on her E (which instantly vanishes when detonated, a drawback unique to Lux) and the quite low missile speed of Q, vision from E doesn't help her land her spells. Nobody stands still in your E and waits for a binding.

As for her shield, I didn't say it was very strong. I said it was the strongest among mages in her role. In fact, she loses half her shield power if you wait for the baton to return (another drawback unique to Lux).

This might be the first time I have ever seen a shield that has a free refresh being considered a drawback.

Mathbalnase2 votes

It is a drawback relative to a hypothetical analogous shield that applies the full cumulative benefit of both passes immediately with no refresh, but with the same total duration. It is a benefit relative to a hypothetical analogous shield that applies a only single instance of a magnitude equal to one pass.

Tactical Salad1 votes

Dude, fucking, Sir. Isaac Newton over here spitting fire.

Shroom Junkie3 votes

She can toss her AOE somewhere she thinks someone is to see if they are there. If they're not, she doesn't waste the cooldowns. Simple as that.

Plus, as you said, her entire CD rotation is one of the shortest in the game. So it isn't much of a problem.

Smitemuffin1 votes

Full CD rotation is all 4 spells, ult included. I also pointed out that her basic spell rotation is kind of long

Ser Garland5 votes

Why does Ziggs not get picked anymore? Because new Lux is the old Ziggs.

iainB851 votes

Ziggs bomb is just too easy to dodge now. Has nothing to do with Lux.

Smitemuffin1 votes

Wing it at minions as the enemy laner walks by

Tactical Salad1 votes

I find it that a lot of the Ziggs mains moved on to other champions. He's strong, especially if played right, it's just that it's been so long since he's been "In his prime", that all the mains aren't the best with him anymore. I find him really powerful and annoying as fuck to play against if the enemy knows what they're doing; especially if you're a low mobility champion.

Also, he just takes a little bit longer to get used to than other champs, IMO. Not the easiest to play, and definitely not the easiest to master.

And on top of that, there are champs that are much easier to play that give the same reward (Viktor, Vel'koz, And Lux being the main three that I see,). But, again, IMO a good Ziggs player will be far better than any of the other champs that fill this niche (Aside from maybe Azir. He's a pain in the ass.)

(Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, I won't get butt hurt.)

Smitemuffin2 votes

Lol. The Ziggs mini-thread. I need to post one and link it here just for you dudes (and maybe dudettes).

Here's my take on the issue with Ziggs:

Ziggs has great Q harass if you know to nail minions on a 0-hop Q as your opponent walks past it. However, most people don't know to do that and it makes him feel weak.

He's great at clearing, but his need for multiple high-cost spells makes it a little difficult. And he still can't clear baron waves on his own.

Lastly, while his AoE damage is probably some of the best, it's not exactly apparent how much damage he's doing. Basically he doesn't look as good while doing it, so people don't get wrecked by a Ziggs and think "I need to play this champ." They just curse the Jinx who cleaned up the fight after he got all of them low

Smitemuffin2 votes

Here is my as-promised Ziggs post

Tactical Salad1 votes

On point.

SaltyKracka4 votes

Stats don't lie.

She's OP.

Remlap12231 votes

I assume you have sources to back that up other than somewhere between your anus and colon?

SaltyKracka5 votes

I dunno, how about a 54-55% ranked winrate for the last four patches?

Or if you don't trust statistics based purely on Plat+, how about...oh wait, according to these stats she's still OP.

Do let me know if you have any sources of your own which disagree, kthx.

Ravenhale4 votes

{quoted}

I dunno, how about a 54-55% ranked winrate for the last four patches?

Or if you don't trust statistics based purely on Plat+, how about...oh wait, according to these stats she's still OP.

Do let me know if you have any sources of your own which disagree, kthx.

Eh, defining OP by the mere statistic of which champions win the most doesn't seem a correct approach. That merely proves she is META. There will always be a champion that wins the most.

SaltyKracka4 votes

The mere statistic? She's had the highest combined pickrate and winrate in the middle lane for months!

Could you be any more wilfully blind?

Smitemuffin2 votes

Actually, that has as much to do with how few people have been playing her until recently. Like Malzahar (a frequent patron of top win rates), she's largely only used by dedicated Lux players.

SaltyKracka3 votes

Allow me to direct your eye to both the playrate (note how it isn't exactly small) and games-per-player statistics on the given page. Perhaps peruse the handy pie chart.

Now I will allow you to draw conclusions which aren't obviously incorrect.

Ravenhale3 votes

{quoted}

Allow me to direct your eye to both the playrate (note how it hasn't exactly been decreasing) and games-per-player statistics on the given page. Perhaps peruse the handy pie chart.

Now I will allow you to draw conclusions which aren't obviously incorrect.

Allow me to point out that she is middle tier in damage done and total kills. She is a safe, effective pick for mid lane that gets the job done. She's not some ungodly avatar of destruction that has everyone grimacing at champion select and considering a dodge.

What exactly do you want to "nerf" her "op" status? Damage reduction? Heh. Kill potential? Heh. Safety? Possible, since she does have more tenacity than her counterparts despite being a low mobility mage.

You are the one that is willfully blinded by two stats: Win Rate and Play Rate. You are ignoring the whole picture.

Smitemuffin1 votes

Really? Note how her win rate drops like a stone in the 5-15 games played by 4 points, which is a hell of a big number in such a large sample. Even the pie chart corroborates what I said: over half of Lux players are frequent users.

Note also how her win rate and play rate are also falling.

If you're trying to argue that she's OP because of her win rate, then apparently you also think Brand Malzahar Rammus and Alistar are overpowered as well, since their win rates are so similar.

SaltyKracka2 votes

{quoted}

Really? Note how her win rate drops like a stone in the 5-15 games played by 4 points, which is a hell of a big number in such a large sample. Even the pie chart corroborates what I said: over half of Lux players are frequent users.

"Like a stone", you say? There's barely a 3% change between the lowest winrate group of Lux players and the highest!

Fuck's sake, even players with 1-5 games on her have a 54% average winrate.

Note also how her win rate and play rate are also falling.

Sure, her playrate has dropped by 1%, leaving her still the 4th most picked midlaner in the game, but you can't actually look at her winrate and tell me that a change that isn't even a whole .5% is statistically meaningful.

If you're trying to argue that she's OP because of her win rate, then apparently you also think Brand Malzahar Rammus and Alistar are overpowered as well, since their win rates are so similar.

Alistar? 48% winrate Alistar? 51% wr/2% pr Rammus? The fuck are you smoking?

Brand and Malz being strong and underrated I agree with. Frankly, I think Brand support needs all the nerfs.

Smitemuffin2 votes

You DO realize that for a sample size in the millions that a change of even 1% is a big swing? "Barely a 3% change" is a massive swing. If Wall Street suddenly dropped 0.5%, people would flip the hell out.

SaltyKracka1 votes

le sigh

I hate to do this, but I will if I have to.

Look at Winrate by % of games played. This is a chart that shows people who win more often as they play the champion more often, which in turn suggests fairly heartily that Riven is a champ that rewards skill and familiarity with the champion. Charts of this type also appear for Olaf, Evelynn, and Vladimir.

Lux's chart is a sine wave. It starts at 54.11% and ends as 54.11%, and at it's very lowest point is still 53%. It's practically flat.

by the by, given that the sample size is about 53,000, a change of 1% is about 530. Might wanna check your math.

Final Boss Naut2 votes

i'm surprised people read your name and take you seriously.

SaltyKracka1 votes

...And that's material to the discussion at hand how?

Final Boss Naut3 votes

because your name indicates that you are irrational in your discussion's/

Smitemuffin1 votes

Check the same value on LoLKing. They use the full set of picks with similar results. Puts it in the millions...

SaltyKracka1 votes

Aaaaaand she's still got a 53% winrate taking normals and bronzies into account.

Smitemuffin1 votes

Exactly where it should be. She's naturally good against nearly all popular mids, on top of people building less MR and delaying boots in mid lane. Nevermind the greedy mid teleport meta.

"What do you mean I have to dodge skillshots, pick a helpful summoner spell and itemize to fit the game conditions?! Riot nerf pls"

Kitten of Evil4 votes

She's strong right now, but I think that's a good thing. Immobile skill-shot mages should be strong, since they're squishy and vulnerable to assassins/gap-closers. Her E is a bit hard to avoid since it can now detonate instantly, but I never find her to be oppressive (maybe because I main skillshot mages so I know what to look out for).

The changes to her Q and E were helpful to her, but she's also helped by the fact that this is Juggernaut meta, and she's able to kite well without getting into the danger zone of a Darius grab or a Fiora Q. This is the same reason I like to play Vel'Koz and Karma. Kite mages and long-range mages are strong against juggernauts.

The Whamboozler5 votes

^ This guy gets it. Lux is a well-balanced champion, unlike a lot of the overloaded garbage we've gotten recently with a host of bonus stats and extra passives. She has defined strengths and weaknesses. She doesn't have an answer for everything, but if she can force you to play in her comfort zone she is very strong. That is how balance works. You don't make a champ who is sub-par at everything... OR one who is good at everything and has no weaknesses/vulnerabilities. You make a champion who is GOOD at something, and has a weakness that you need to keep in mind when you're playing them or you're going to lose.

I will fight a thousand Lux without complaint... but a single game against Yasuo makes me want to murder his designer. I am not the only one who feels this way.

Smitemuffin2 votes

...are you a candidate for Dalai Lama? Because you're the Enlightened One...

Verxint3 votes

I just hate seeing lux miss most of her Q and E but still farms assists with ults from fog of war until she has 20 stacks.

It's not terribly common but if you play a skillshot champ and miss the main ones yoh shouldn't be rewarded ever.

Smitemuffin7 votes

Are you talking about Mejai's Rengar Bait? Yeah, I don't buy that item. item 3174 item 3285 item 3135 item 3089

As for your second remark, I feel it's a little bit unfair. Loads of champs get far more reward for not having to land skillshots. Look at Ekko: misses his stun, kills you anyway

Verxint5 votes

Lmao rengar bait. That's excellent.

And yes, other champs have that pattern more. Release Ekko was painful.

But regardless of who is the biggest offender, I get bothered whenever someone gets success while ignoring more than half of a champs play pattern.

I hated tank Ekko with a passion.

ømg1 votes

{quoted}

Are you talking about Mejai's Rengar Bait? Yeah, I don't buy that item. item 3174 item 3285 item 3135 item 3089

As for your second remark, I feel it's a little bit unfair. Loads of champs get far more reward for not having to land skillshots. Look at Ekko: misses his stun, kills you anyway

Mejais is actually a very gold efficient item. Most champions only get it when they're ahead because there are better items to buy when you're weighing risk vs reward. In the case of Lux, the reward is high and the risk is low. She's able to gain and retain stacks easily because her kit allows her to get kills/assists out of harm's way. Her shield is especially useful in building stacks - can shield multiple allies and can prevent yourself from getting killed.

Smitemuffin1 votes

Yes, but it also says "Gank me, I'm a cocky asshole". And when playing a mage, death is often only one good summoner 4 away

MudintheWater3 votes

She is overpowered right now. Meddler said they are looking into her and that she seems too strong at the moment last week.

Smitemuffin2 votes

No, Meddler said they were monitoring her to make sure the S6 meta shift doesn't put her over the edge.

MudintheWater2 votes

{quoted}

No, Meddler said they were monitoring her to make sure the S6 meta shift doesn't put her over the edge.

This is what Meddler said about her:

We're keeping an eye on both, with Lux especially looking like she might be too strong. No immediate plans that I know of for either of them though, in part because preseason's coming up soon and that'll shake up balance in general, so it's possible they may not need any changes after that.

He basically said she's overpowered but they aren't nerfing her because fuck it the season is done and maybe it will fix itself.

Your champion is too safe for the power she outputs. She can nuke people from the safety of her back line without ever needing to proc her passive.

Havenscythe2 votes

I find Lux very weak with new champions like TahmKench and Kindred introduced. Tahm can negate her entire combo constantly and Kindred can denies Lux's catches.

For Carthage1 votes

Your "Only one viable path to level spells" should be shifted to similarities as all those champs generally have only one viable build-path.

Smitemuffin2 votes

Yeah, she doesn't have it anywhere near as bad as Viktor. "Do I want my core item Lichbane, or do I want Zhonyas and live long enough to regret not having it?"

For Carthage1 votes

Switch Lich for Luden's.

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