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Fizz changes

Great Wolf Sif··11 votes·3,833 views

Hello everyone! I'm a player you could say has no real main, and flip flops around with champions trying to find out what works for me (although I've been playing since mid season 2). Lately I've been extremely depressed due to Fizz being CHANGED and heavily nerfed on top of that. He was the champion I felt closest to as far as design goes and I really enjoyed playing him. I do agree that his pre-nerf form was very powerful, as it was easy to punish anyone who was squishy and then move on to disabling tanks, but what I dislike the most about his changes is he was hit with a million different things at one direct time. I have four major topics that I'd like to dive into and hopefully elaborate on what really drives me into a deep sadness about this champions fall from glory.

  1. Becoming completely ult reliant: Fizz always played like a champion who didn't have to rely on his ult for damage and instead relied on his slippery ability in his other three skills to really show us who he is. To me, I feel like making him so ult reliant that it's ridiculous is rather harsh and throws his gameplay in the complete wrong direction. Not only do you have to rely on a skillshot that can be dodged for counterplay, but you run the risk of missing and having it cleansed. His other three skills are crap other than his E (which should be used for ulility/mobility not the main damage dealer.) What drives me insane is that new Fizz feels nothing like old Fizz because all his gameplay begins if he lands his ult or not, and if that falls through you just have to sit around and wait until next time or watch as the enemy team realizes that you're useless. I think my biggest argument against the damage changes and shifting his power into his ultimate change is this: If you removed his ultimate from his kit, would he even be strong enough to play or any fun at all? What's left after you remove his ult is what makes Fizz... Fizz.

  2. Lot of changes, untested, and thrown into live: Basically, Fizz's Q was ninja hotfixed and people started noticing a considerable change of pace for the champion (if they played him.) This was something that is completely understandable and I have no objection towards. What I feel is that this was not even considered for the nerfs that followed into the PBE. It's disgusting that these fizz changes were put on the PBE and then thrown into live almost immediately as if it was completely fine and there was nothing wrong with it. Imagine if they took Zed and took away his ult dash, or cut Lee Sin's ult damage in half on the PBE and then pushed that to live without even seeing if that change had an EXTREMELY adverse effect on the champion. I feel like these Fizz changes (other than the Q dodge) were extremely untested and just thrown out to please a lot of people which brings me to my next point.

  3. Too many people saying "He won't be missed": What do you mean he won't be missed?!?! He's a champion in the league of legends! You shouldn't want him to be GONE FOREVER AND GUTTED, you should want him to be balanced! I strongly feel like these changes were way overboard and have thrown him far away from his identity. People shouldn't be happy about any champion being extremely weak, all champions should be at least playable in a sense that you can find fun in them, but having to rely on your skillshot ult for everything is not fun to me. I hate these sheer ignorance posts on reddit when any thread about Fizz comes up that addresses his problem and all they have to say is "Good." I care about the champions in this game whether they are too strong or too weak and I want to see them all at least capturing their themes and able to be played as a bunch of unique personalities. (Even Teemo.)

  4. Grievous Wounds: You saw this coming, and boy did it really really break my heart to see this one go. The reason behind why it was removed is that it didn't fit him thematically, but that just doesn't make sense to me. He's using a trident which would cause some insane wounds, most of us already thought it was covered in some kind of poison that was sea related, and he empowers it when you activate the ability so obviously something magical/technical is going on there. ***This was the biggest thing I could have identified Fizz with before the change. It was one of his staples that made me love him so much. ***

As a person who loves Fizz thematically, I hate to see this shift happen to him. To be quite honest I wouldn't even mind if they would have just made him AD, just as long as his kits design left untouched. As a final note I want to make it clear I think that making his Q dodge-able was a step in the right direction and should have marinated a bit before throwing up all over Fizz.

78 Comments

Stephenizgod5 votes

Well i agree that making him entirely Ult reliant probably isnt the best way to go, but pre-nerf Fizz was ridiculously powerful. His mobility+damage made him absolutely no fun to fight against and when he killed you he still had his ult to kill someone else... I like that now he requires his ult to kill someone (just like everyone else) it makes for better game play for him and his opponent, but making him rely on his ult removes the variety of his combo.

The Grievous Wounds needed to go and nothing you can say can change that, a champion with such high burst does not need the ability to make sure they cant heal. If he failed to kill them then thats that, he didnt need Grievous Wounds.

Why wont Fizz be missed? We are tired of seeing him, he has been an OP annoying strong pick for waaay too long, im sure people want to stop seeing Lee Sin and Jarvan too.

Alot of Fizz threads over-exaggerate this nerf, he is still plenty strong he just isnt Freelo strong now, i understand thats a big difference but he was not healthy for the game as he was. I would be mad too if they nerfed Malzahar, but i would get over it because i know there are things about him that lack counter-play or are somewhat random. Besides there is no variety in Malzahars combos (even AD Malz has a similar kill combo) so if a nerf comes i hope it helps to change his one kill combo. The thing is Fizz is just harder to use now, that doesnt mean he is bad i have seen several Fizz that have done extremely well because they knew how to use him after the nerf. Instead of spending time coming up with reasons why this nerf sucks, start practicing with new Fizz, learn how to play him.

Great Wolf Sif2 votes

I don't find him strong at all. On top of this, he was nerfed AND removed Grievous Wounds. Your point would make sense if they removed Grievous wounds in his previous state. Not all champions rely on their ult, and even the ones that do don't rely as heavily as Fizz does now (other than Zed but his is much more reliable). I can't really argue about the healing and Grievous wounds because I always saw the complaint against Fizz was along the lines that you couldn't bullshit him. Why can't I have a champion that stops ADCs from just sitting there and healing on me for days? Or mundo running around in circles? I'd like to learn new Fizz, but right now every game I've played has been unfun. Even the ones where I remained positive throughout the game (KD wise), they were just.... Un-fun.

Stephenizgod1 votes

Most champion rely on their ult actually, im having trouble thinking of any champion that doesn't (im sure there are a few i literally can not think of one thoug). Fizz is strong, his damage is still there if he can and his abilities, my first game against him i underestimated his damage and he took out 70% of my life with one combo, i played safer after that but it was a surprise when i thought they had gutted him.

Uh Fizz usually 100-0 the ADC, like i said if he fails to kill them then thats that, not many other champions get a free kill if they fail (ignite doesnt count).

I dont mean to sound rude or uncaring, but now you know what its like for your opponent when you get even the slightest bit ahead :, fighting pre-nerf FIzz was just un-fun, nothing about it was fun unless you directly countered him or he was complete shit with him.

Great Wolf Sif2 votes

I've made points in my post to say that pre-nerf Fizz was not fun to play against, I definitely agree with that statement. The problem lies in the fact that he's too ult reliant. If he doesn't land that shark the damage he did to you would have been much less.

Katarina relies more on resets than her ult. Ezreal, Jinx, and Draven typically don't NEED their ults to do what they're designed to do. Ashe is a prime example of somebody who relies on it because she lacks the mobility to escape. Garen doesn't rely on his ult but it is nice to have. People like Jayce, Nidalee, and Elise aren't actually using an ultimate in the same way as other champions. Shyvana hasn't needed her ult in a lifetime. Riven doesn't RELY on her ult to do damage. The problem is most champion benefit from their ults, don't get me wrong, and some benefit so much that it looks like they need it. Fizz is so much different because his damage is laughable without landing his ult. He absolutely has to land it, he is almost 100% reliant that he lands his ult for him to be useful at all.

The biggest deal is that in a team fight you probably will not find your target with your ult and have to settle for tank/front line. It is not easy to assassinate as Fizz when you have all the pressure to land one skillshot, and even after it's been fired you're not guaranteed you'll even get to touch the target.

Stephenizgod1 votes

Katarina does rely on her ult actually, Ezreal, Jinx, and Draven i agree dont rely on it so much as use it to secure kills from long distances, Garen does rely on his ult as he has no sticking power once his Q is down meaning he would miss out on a lot of kills without his ult, I dont count champs like Jayce and Nid cuz thats obvious and technically they do rely on them since to them its just another ability, Shyvana does need her ult idk why you say she doesnt it has huge teamfight utility, Riven relies on her ult mid-late game, not so much laning phase unless she needs it to secure kills.

Fizz's damage is not laughable, he deals a crapton of damage still. I thought he did crap damage until one jumped on my head and took out a third of my life.

Well that means you need to play differently, it means you cant stand in the front lines and just murder your way to the back line anymore.

Great Wolf Sif2 votes

Kills aren't what I'm focusing on when I say they need them. As far as ADCs go that's another story but Garen doesn't need his ult to function the way he is intended to. Garen's E is what makes him who he is. His ult is just icing on the cake (that feel when they flash but that ult still goes off, Oo mama). Likewise try looking at Fizz's damage without the ult landing, and not build as an AD.

Narasimha3 votes

Most champion rely on their ult actually, im having trouble thinking of any champion that doesn't

Udyr Well screw you too.

Though to be a tad bit more serious Pantheon

Stephenizgod1 votes

Yea i dont count Udyr because to him its just another ability :I

Idk how you play Pantheon but i use his ult all the time, its how i get to lane ;D

Narasimha2 votes

Oh, his ult is definitely useable, but I don't think Panth RELIES on his ult. Its more a means of fast travel than anything else.

Llanite5 votes

He is now 42% win rate at plat, 41% diamond. So when you have the skill, knowledge and willingness to play him, and yet can't pull a decent performance, there's an issue. Overall, he is now 4th lowest win rate across ranks, was top 20th 5 days ago. Over-exaggerate? Doubt it.

Last time I saw something this bad is Elise nerf.

Stephenizgod1 votes

well winrate doesnt really judge how good a champion is, you dont know if it was those guys first time play FIzz ever... Also give it time, once people learn how to really use him now he will rise again. I think people are using him in the way you use old Fizz, he needs to be played differently, idk i didnt want to play him because i dont like playing Freelo champs (i even stopped playing J4 when i noticed he was too strong) but maybe now i will pick him up and see for myself how bad or good he is.

Llanite2 votes

No one plays their first something in ranked at high ELO. Especially not with a dead horse, do you buy urgot and jump in your diamond ranked game?

Win rate IS reliable at high ELO, people know how to play with and against him, they have the skill AND knowledge, and willingness to play seriously. For the record, when you have someone in the top 20 fallen to the bottom 10, something fishy is going on.

Stephenizgod2 votes

True but what i said about learning him still stands, they may do fine with him in normals or customs but then they take him up against people at their ELO and suddenly its not working so well anymore. If in a week he is still bottom tier then ill agree that he was nerfed too hard, but honestly he needs to fall for a bit and let someone else shine, personally id like to see Mordekaiser be considered OP lol.

I remember when Lucian first came out and everyone at my ELO was all "OMG worst adc ever he is garbage" then they buffed him and then people finally learned how to play him and with the buffs he was bot lane monster for awhile. Now he is both really balanced and super fun (just recently started playing him cuz of free week) so i feel people just need to give it some time before these kinds of threads are springing up non-stop.

Kürama3 votes

You just spit out bullshit I'm sorry. I agree pre-nerf he was OP, and yea, a nerf was expected, but not this hard.

  • Buff Urchin Strike to +0.45 AP (It will still be less than his pre-nerf state)
  • Re-add Grievous Wounds to his Seastone Trident.

I think then he'll be just right.

Stephenizgod1 votes

Well first you aren't using the word 'spur' correctly. Second, idc what you say the Grievous Wounds was bullshit and it needed to go.

Kürama3 votes

Fixed, and that was the bullshit that made him unique, he should get it back.

Stephenizgod1 votes

Unique? It was the bs that made him over-the-top OP... Id rather him have more burst then Grievous Wounds back...

Kürama3 votes

And then players will complain he's too OP because of it...again. As Great Wolf Sif mentioned, he's striking you with his trident, wouldn't that wound you? -_-

Raxicor4 votes

I agree he feels really odd now. I'm pretty much limited to all-ins or nothing in order to get a kill(maybe). I've only played him a few times since the change and there's a reason for that. I agree with their high risk/high reward idea, but now it seems like the risk outweighs the reward. And there is only one good combo R-W-Q-E. Fizz's poke is not very good or reliable right now and it eats mana like no tomorrow.

I've been meaning to try AD Fizz. I hear its a pretty fun time.

Great Wolf Sif1 votes

I tried a new build a few times that prioritized on hitting a lot. It included Wit's End, Nashors Tooth, and Lich Bane. In the initial bot game it was extremely powerful, but every game I tried after that my laning phase was so bad that I never got a chance to see what I could do.

His original Risk/Reward was that once he went in he was in. Obviously his E was a means of escape but that was because you had to be smart enough to use it properly. His gameplay rewarded people for thinking ahead of time like an assassin should, but also rewarded people who didn't do that with massive damage. I love Talon as well, and prior to his nerfs my big arguement against them was that he was one of the few assassins that were extremely unsafe and had a lot of decision making. He had to commit.

Baron of Bread1 votes

His original Risk/Reward was that once he went in he was in. Obviously his E was a means of escape but that was because you had to be smart enough to use it properly.

I am not usually the guy to swing by and tell you you are wrong, but this is wrong. I had almost never seen a Fizz (pre-nerfs) require his entire combo to kill someone once he gets a couple of items. If he has an "obvious" means of escape, he did not have a "go in, stay in" play style. Combine these and you get a guy who blows someone up and then hops out with very little available counter play, especially if he hit his ult. What thinking was necessary before going in? Sure, you might worry a bit about some cc but anything else you just troll pole and get out. For the only(?) Assassin in the game with a hard cc he better be reliant on it.

Oh, and in regards to needing to hit skillshots: Lux Everything is a skill shot

Need to hit a skillshot and ult reliant: Amumu The skillshot isn't the ult, but still.

Great Wolf Sif1 votes

I'm not sure why you're picking apart my statement. There were risks involved with going in regardless of if he was able to get out or not. You put yourself on an enemy and have to commit to a kill. I already know his E is an easy means of escape but you have to use it as such. The big problem here is in a 1v1 situation he is going to not have to think twice about anything and his E is just frustrating, but this is a team game. An assassin thrives on picking people off and taking out high priority targets. When he goes in on a target he risks throwing his life away for nothing if stopped, and a better expression of this would have been if the Q hotfix would have stuck around a bit longer before all these other changes.

Assassins are meant to be able to kill people in 1v1 situations, and normally offer -less- (not none) counterplay to their style IN A 1v1 SITUATION.

Baron of Bread1 votes

When Fizz went in he could be out again very quickly and reliably without losing anything and thus did not have to commit. There was very little risk to any action he took when he could just become untargetable and a decent distance away with the click of a button. With the change he does have to commit to a kill, more or less. If he throws his fish he basically has to go in on it or forgo taking someone from 100 to 0, whereas previously he could chuck the fish into the wild blue yonder and then have a decent shot at killing you anyway. If you "commit", fail, and then get away without losing much, you did not commit. Before he got out of everything scott-free, now he loses his ability to kill. While still not getting killed, it is better than it was before.

Yes, he should be hard to 1v1 (but not impossible). Yes, there was some minuscule amount of counterplay to him before (taking your word on that). Now the counterplay involves him making a mistake and being punished for it instead of him just waltzing off to try again when his E is off cooldown.

Malix Farwin1 votes

simple math with contradict your statement. Fizz never at any point of the game came out the gate with only having to kit qw to lane kills, you likterally had to be retardedly fed to do that and your target had to be so faar behind that it was stupid

Baron of Bread1 votes

Feel free to provide that math.

TSM Hai3 votes

Fizz was too strong. He needed nurfs through the ass.

/close

Great Wolf Sif5 votes

It's like you didn't even read it. 90% of my post was about design rather than pure damage. I don't mind numbers tuning at all, but I tackled them changing too many things that identified him as "Fizz."

TSM Hai4 votes

I actually agree with almost all of what you said, although he still needed a nerf. I think that Riot went about it the wrong way, though.

Great Wolf Sif1 votes

I guess I took what you said the wrong way. I definitely believe he needed a nerf, but I wanted to point out (even emphasize) I was upset with the changes rather than just the nerfs.

TSM Hai2 votes

Yea, tbh I agree. I just made first post after not reading much and thinking you were just complaining about his nerfs lol.

Ashes Arise1 votes

[{quoted}](name=Great Wolf Sif,realm=NA,application-id=3ErqAdtq,discussion-id=HvwNAwuE,comment-id=00000000,timestamp=2015-02-04T15:58:09.616+0000)

It's like you didn't even read it. 90% of my post was about design rather than pure damage. I don't mind numbers tuning at all, but I tackled them changing too many things that identified him as "Fizz."

The things that identify him as "Fizz" are cancer. His kit is disgusting.

Kürama3 votes

Agreed with everything. Well thought out post and you express how every Fizz player (including mains) feel about him.

PolkaDotPistol3 votes

Honestly, the win rate says it all. He went from having an average to good win rate to the bottom of the barrel with Urgot. Riot is on an anti assasin rampage. They took them out of the jungle and now they are talking them out of mid lane. Correct me if im wrong, but arent zed and ahri the only viable assassins in the game right now? You could say many champs are viable, but strong? They ruined fizz, plain and simple.

I understand that many of you had trouble with him in the mid lane and like it now that he really cant be played. The truth is he had so much power because he is a MELE assassin. It took more risk for him to get in and deal damage. This is why all mele characters have higher scaling and base stats than ranged. I am bored with mid lane nowadays. It used to be a real fight, but now it is more like the afk pushers are taking over. Its sad really.

It may surprise you to know that I dont main fizz. I hardly play him. I am just sad because he was one of the few mid laners left that might actually fight with me in lane is gone. I cant tell you how boring it is to sit against xerath and watch him as he sits back with flash and heal whilst spamming his q to farm all day.

I just think that Riot new direction has been supporting passive, boring, safe gameplay.

Great Wolf Sif1 votes

I agree with you, but the biggest argument people have against the "melee assassin's have to go in" is that they're getting killed very fast. I think there needs to be some more thought behind this though, because most people complain about a champion strength (assassins) with what they can do to you alone. If Fizz finds you in your jungle and you're the adc, support, or mid and you're by yourself, don't come crying that he's OP because you died. He's an assassin and you were caught out. In a team fight scenario Fizz thrived if his team was already doing well, that's any champion for you. If his team wasn't doing so well Fizz couldn't just walk up to a team and do whatever he wanted. People think his trollpole is an end-all and can't be countered, he lives every time, but that just isn't true. A smart Fizz player uses his pole wisely and is rewarded for that but it in no means makes him invincible to counter-play.

Stonington3 votes

[{quoted}](name=Great Wolf Sif,realm=NA,application-id=3ErqAdtq,discussion-id=HvwNAwuE,comment-id=,timestamp=2015-02-04T15:50:20.811+0000)

Becoming completely ult reliant: Fizz always played like a champion who didn't have to rely on his ult for damage and instead relied on his slippery ability in his other three skills to really show us who he is. To me, I feel like making him so ult reliant that it's ridiculous is rather harsh and throws his gameplay in the complete wrong direction.

Not only do you have to rely on a skillshot that can be dodged for counterplay, but you run the risk of missing and having it cleansed.

His other three skills are crap other than his E (which should be used for ulility/mobility not the main damage dealer.) What drives me insane is that new Fizz feels nothing like old Fizz because all his gameplay begins if he lands his ult or not, and if that falls through you just have to sit around and wait until next time or watch as the enemy team realizes that you're useless. I think my biggest argument against the damage changes and shifting his power into his ultimate change is this: If you removed his ultimate from his kit, would he even be strong enough to play or any fun at all? What's left after you remove his ult is what makes Fizz... Fizz.

Let me start off by saying, I hate Fizz. I used to permaban him when I was new and overall he was always my most hated champ. Then I figured out how to not feed him in lane and what his counterplay was(he has very low waveclear, you need to deny him kills, and wait for him to troll poll to clear a wave.) Once I figured out the key. I felt very rewarded playing against him successfully.

With that out of the way, with his most recent changes he's shit tier. I highlighted the part of your thread that I feel is most important. The only time he can do any damage is once every 100-85-70 seconds. His ult can be sidestepped, cleansed, crucibled, or flashed away from. He's useless now. Was he OP before this? I don't think so. I don't play Fizz, so I really can't offer suggestions on how to fix him. Suffice to say, the nerfs hit him way-way too hard.

GummyBearWookiee3 votes

When you take an AP mage....and you nerf them into the ground so hard...that the only way to play him is AD....you've probably gone about it the wrong way.

Great Wolf Sif2 votes

As much as I like being able to try different builds, this is accurate. Their main style shouldn't be outshined by an alternate style.

Rebonack2 votes

Crazy idea: Reduce the base damage/AP ratio on Fizz' ult dramatically, then reduce its cooldown so that it's closer to a basic skill in terms of up-time (cooldown of 12 seconds or so). Up the damage on his Q slightly.

A damage amp tying a kit together is fine if it is on a relatively low cooldown skill. Fizz' Ult is far from a low cooldown skill.

Great Wolf Sif1 votes

I definitely see his ult being more reliable with a lower cooldown. Although I detest Fizz's strength coming from his ult I would have to say that is the best thing they could do to improve this current "land ult" gameplay. (Really hate that gameplay though)

mi ramfan1 votes

[{quoted}](name=Great Wolf Sif,realm=NA,application-id=3ErqAdtq,discussion-id=HvwNAwuE,comment-id=,timestamp=2015-02-04T15:50:20.811+0000)

Lately I've been extremely depressed due to Fizz being CHANGED and heavily nerfed on top of that. He was the champion I felt closest to as far as design goes and I really enjoyed playing him. I do agree that his pre-nerf form was very powerful, as it was easy to punish anyone who was squishy and then move on to disabling tanks, but what I dislike the most about his changes is he was hit with a million different things at one direct time.

Fizz's kit wasn't really CHANGED, just his numerical values; the only abilities that function significantly differently than before are his ult (same thing but gives damage amp) and his W (%HP and regular damage flipped, Grievous Wounds removed). Other then that, his changes were pure numbers.

  1. Becoming completely ult reliant: Fizz always played like a champion who didn't have to rely on his ult for damage and instead relied on his slippery ability in his other three skills to really show us who he is. To me, I feel like making him so ult reliant that it's ridiculous is rather harsh and throws his gameplay in the complete wrong direction. Not only do you have to rely on a skillshot that can be dodged for counterplay, but you run the risk of missing and having it cleansed. His other three skills are crap other than his E (which should be used for ulility/mobility not the main damage dealer.) What drives me insane is that new Fizz feels nothing like old Fizz because all his gameplay begins if he lands his ult or not, and if that falls through you just have to sit around and wait until next time or watch as the enemy team realizes that you're useless. I think my biggest argument against the damage changes and shifting his power into his ultimate change is this: If you removed his ultimate from his kit, would he even be strong enough to play or any fun at all? What's left after you remove his ult is what makes Fizz... Fizz.

See, before the Fizz changes, Fizz hardly had to use his ultimate at all because with a Lich Bane he could usually score kills with just his regular abilities. His ult was a "win more" ability; Fizz players who were good at landing it would burst you for 120% of your health instead of 105%, but Fizz players who were bad at using it would still kill you.

I don't feel that forcing Fizz to land his ultimate is a bad thing. No other champion can really just ignore their ultimate and succeed like pre-5.02 Fizz could. You state that Fizz is a worthless champion without his ultimate, but there are a great number of champions, probably over 50%, who wouldn't be strong enough to play without their ultimates. Fizz just isn't an exception anymore, and that's not a bad thing.

  1. Lot of changes, untested, and thrown into live: Basically, Fizz's Q was ninja hotfixed and people started noticing a considerable change of pace for the champion (if they played him.) This was something that is completely understandable and I have no objection towards. What I feel is that this was not even considered for the nerfs that followed into the PBE. It's disgusting that these fizz changes were put on the PBE and then thrown into live almost immediately as if it was completely fine and there was nothing wrong with it. Imagine if they took Zed and took away his ult dash, or cut Lee Sin's ult damage in half on the PBE and then pushed that to live without even seeing if that change had an EXTREMELY adverse effect on the champion. I feel like these Fizz changes (other than the Q dodge) were extremely untested and just thrown out to please a lot of people which brings me to my next point.

The change that was made to Fizz's Q was simple: if you flashed out of his Q's range, you would now actually not take damage instead of taking the full Q+W+Lich Bane proc's worth of damage. It added some counterplay to Fizz that was much needed with his pre-5.02 kit, where the skill with the most significant counterplay (his ult) wasn't even necessary to secure a kill most of the time.

Everything on the PBE gets tested by players, but the reality about PBE is that in 99% of cases Riot tested their changes internally before sending them to PBE. That's why the content on PBE is usually 99% bug free or has some minor bugs, because Riot already caught all the big ones. While Riot certainly considers PBE feedback, usually by the time something is on PBE it's already been decided on.

  1. Too many people saying "He won't be missed": What do you mean he won't be missed?!?! He's a champion in the league of legends! You shouldn't want him to be GONE FOREVER AND GUTTED, you should want him to be balanced! I strongly feel like these changes were way overboard and have thrown him far away from his identity. People shouldn't be happy about any champion being extremely weak, all champions should be at least playable in a sense that you can find fun in them, but having to rely on your skillshot ult for everything is not fun to me. I care about the champions in this game whether they are too strong or too weak and I want to see them all at least capturing their themes and able to be played as a bunch of unique personalities. (Even Teemo.)

I can't blame anyone for wanting Fizz gone forever. He's an extremely, extremely annoying champion to play against thanks to his high mobility, high burst, and that E. It's extremely frustrating to lane against him with any AP mage because he can use E to flat out ignore whatever spell you're maxing first, while his other abilities still do large amounts of damage even when not maxed thanks to the on-hit proc on Q and Sheen. He has a thousand ways to outplay any given mid laner, while most midlaners have no good way to outplay him.

I agree with you that all champions should be viable and nobody should get gutted, but there are plenty of champions who need help much more than current Fizz. In the jungle, champions like Sejuani, Nautilus, and Amumu just have no reason to exist when compared to Jarvan, Lee Sin, and Vi, all of whom have better clears, better ganks, and just bring more to a team than the above junglers. In mid lane, it's impractical to pick immobile burst mages like Brand, Veigar, and Viktor, because they simply can't deal with champions like LeBlanc, Zed, and pre-5.02 Fizz in lane. And before them, we even have champions like Urgot and Poppy who are just useless for any conceivable purpose.

Fizz can get a slight buff next patch if necessary, but more than that and he can get in line. Urgot, Poppy, and Brand are waiting.

  1. Grievous Wounds: You saw this coming, and boy did it really really break my heart to see this one go. The reason behind why it was removed is that it didn't fit him thematically, but that just doesn't make sense to me.

I don't know what to say to this because his Grievous Wounds provided nothing to his kit other then removing counterplay (and he already had little enough counterplay as it was). It was vague thematically and all the damage that came with the GW proc has been left in place.

As a person who loves Fizz thematically, I hate to see this shift happen to him. To be quite honest I wouldn't even mind if they would have just made him AD, just as long as his kits design left untouched. As a final note I want to make it clear I think that making his Q dodge-able was a step in the right direction and should have marinated a bit before throwing up all over Fizz.

AD Fizz has always been more balanced than AP Fizz because AD Fizz has never had the ability to kill you instantly like AP Fizz did up until 5.02.


I'm going to be completely honest with you. Fizz's burst has been hysterical for a long time now, despite every effort to reduce it or give it more counterplay. His burst has not been reduced all that much, and it's even higher if you land his ultimate.

You know why? Because much of Fizz's damage doesn't come from his kit, it comes from an item.

item 3057 item 3100

If you want real damage buffs AND you want Fizz to be balanced, then something has to be done about his synergy with Sheen/Lich Bane. Right now, his damage at all stages of the game is balanced around him having Lich Bane and being able to proc it with every QW combo. It's the reason his burst was so stupid pre 5.02. The simple reality is that Fizz can't receive any kind of straight buff until his Q no longer procs Lich Bane, or it'll be "lol I kill you in 2 shots without even using my ult" all over again.

You're a big fan of Fizz. Would you be willing to give up Lich Bane procs on Q in exchange for straight number buffs?

Great Wolf Sif2 votes

He was changed. His ult has to land, his Q does not apply if they dash, and he has no Grievous wounds. Numbers aside those are some hefty changes.

mi ramfan1 votes

But his playstyle is exactly the same as before. His trading pattern is the same as before. None of those things change how you play Fizz, they just give Fizz's opponents one or two very situational options to deal with him. Any good Fizz player who knew how to land his ult pre-5.02 will still be good at Fizz post 5.02.

Great Wolf Sif1 votes

His playstyle is definitely not. Your damage with W->Q is unreliable and the Q itself is now unreliable. You don't find yourself skirmishing and trading with enemies anymore. Until six you're walking scum. Post-6 you're not even guaranteed to hit a spike (like so many other champs do like Akali and Diana) because his damage is a lot lower and he lacks his reliability.

mi ramfan1 votes

How is your W->Q damage unreliable when it works 99% of the time? You hold your mouse and press W->Q, and unless they blow summoners or a similarly fast gap closer they're going to be eating damage. If they do beat your W->Q with an escape (which requires them to be EXTREMELY fast as well as even having a move that's fast enough to beat Q), odds are they won't be returning to the fight.

You get a similar sized power spike at level 6 as everyone else...some might argue greater because of the damage amp. If you don't hit your ult, then of course you lose damage, but the power spike still happens. There are plenty of other champions with skillshot ults, but nobody argues that they don't get a power spike at 6.

Great Wolf Sif1 votes

It's unreliable because it's weak

Charter1 votes

I still enjoy the new Fizz as an AP Assassin but, they could have shifted the damage in a slightly more rational manner. I believe the Q change was well needed as if it missed and still did damage it wouldn't make very much sense. I would rather have the Q do more base damage but not apply on hit effects (Excluding W). Although since it is an ability it should proc Lich Bane as normal.


I find this nerf/buff(however you look at it) to be less than what is needed to completely balance Fizz, but I think as stated above there were a few steps in the right direction and more than a few in the wrong. To add to the steps taken in the right direction I believe the removal of grievous wounds was a step in the right direction as now, situationally, I must considering removing some more damaging items for something like Morellonomicon, if I want to secure a kill with the new DoT. One step I found in the wrong direction was giving Ahri's damage buff to Fizz, if Riot want to make people unreliant on items they can't just leave the items actives "Hidden" within the game. If Riot found an interesting way to allow Fizz's burst to move from his ult to something focused more around the trident it would be much more kit related (Not saying get rid of the ult or change it completely, that is lore related and lore is important to some people). There are many different routes that Riot can take with this; if they change it again in the wrong way Fizz might be lost at sea forever never to be played again.

I find Fizz still plays the same but the new ult shouldn't be the way it is. There are plenty of champions who are way on the extremes of the spectrum of balance but since Fizz is somewhere in the limbo zone I think they should figure out how to work him into a balanced state, before working on those others... (Zed Akali KassadinDiana) For reference, although some need drastic measures taken.

I want more counterplay and strategy when playing Fizz, I don't want to feel like scum when playing him but I still want him to be fun. It won't be enjoyable if he is too weak or too strong.

Great Wolf Sif1 votes

I think this would be an overall buff if his ult wasn't so unreliable. On top of this since it was optional to hit it before, everyone who loved Fizz and played him now have to adapt to fully relying on it and have to practice that. I still find him weak even when he hits his ult, though.

Charter1 votes

There is definitely room for improve as most will agree. And the ult projectile speed is slow for it to be something to rely on.

Talinis1 votes

AD fizz is pretty good, and he doesn't exactly need the AD scaling on E or R, as both have heavy utility for AD fizz. E can gap close/gap open, dodge and slow and add some good base magic damage. R adds good base magic damage, a ranged slow, a knock-up and a 20% damage buff. His Q and especially his autos with W make him very powerful in the damage department and sustain through life steal and a couple tank items with the dodge on his E and mobility from E + Q make him very survivable. AD fizz trashes match ups that near hard countered AP fizz. AD fizz has sustain in lane, has stronger autos for extended engages when his abilities are down (key during early game as he has extremely high cds early) and doesn't rely on the high mana cost ability E for any kind of damage. He has counter play since it takes a bit longer to kill a target, than an instant kill so he is not nearly as toxic as the old fizz in that he would just blow up a carry with one Q. However there is literally nothing a large majority of carries can do against bruiser fizz 1 v 1. He has the play ability in top to become the bruiser to carry his team through dominating his lane or become a yi with tank ability in the jungle. He is also very effective mid against some match ups, such as LB and Ahri as AD fizz can go hexdrinker for the MR/shield.

Chespin20131 votes

i do agree with all u posted but i do think making fizz ult reliant was a positive speaking as a fizz lover i could how many times where i never really felt i needed a ult unless if it might have been overkill i feel like riot went sort of the right direction with fizzs ult in some way and making his q dodgable seemed fair but everything else just seemed like they raped the poor guy basically ghostcrawler came and nerfed him to the ground just like ret pallys from wow

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