Hecarim Movement Speed Problem and Balance Change Suggestion
Hecarim by far is, for the most part, a balanced champion except for one thing that makes him stand out way too much and makes him far too oppressive against a lot of champions. This would be the ability called "Devastating Charge." For those that don't know what this ability does, i copied the status behind the ability and posted it below, but what it allows Hecarim players to do is build one item or two items to increase his Movement Speed (ms) drastically like; Trinity Force, pretty much all the boots, and other items. With this in mind, Hecarim is by far, without any competition, the fastest character in the game that doesn't need to rely on an ultimate to get to an area quickly, like Pantheon. This movement speed, combined with the damage benefits it provides, is in my opinion way too strong and violates what constitutes as a fair game balance for League of Legends.
Current Ability: Devastating Charge Cost: 60 Mana Range: 300
Hecarim gains increasing Movement Speed and can move through units for a short duration. His next attack knocks the target back and deals additional physical damage based on the distance he has traveled since activating the ability.
Hecarim gains increasing Movement Speed and can move through units for 4 seconds. His next attack knocks the target back dealing 45/75/105/135/165 (+50% bonus Attack Damage) to 90/150/210/270/330 (+100% bonus Attack Damage) physical damage based on how far Hecarim has traveled during Devastating Charge (knockback distance also scales).Devastating Charge's remaining duration pauses during Onslaught of Shadows.
Gains bonus movement speed for 4 seconds, beginning at 25% and increasing to 75% over the course of 3 seconds
With all this said, I'd suggest changing the ability so its more reasonable to both parties, the Hecarim player and the opponent.
Suggested Change: Devastating Charge Cost: 70 Mana Range: 275
Hecarim gains increasing Movement Speed, but can be slightly impeded by enemy units if they're on his path. His next attack knocks the target back and deals additional physical damage based on the distance he has traveled since activating the ability.
Hecarim gains increasing Movement Speed and can move through units for 4 seconds. His next attack knocks the target back dealing 35/65/95/125/155 (+50% bonus Attack Damage) to 70/130/190/250/310 (+100% bonus Attack Damage) physical damage based on how far Hecarim has traveled during Devastating Charge (knockback distance also scales).Devastating Charge's remaining duration pauses during Onslaught of Shadows.
Gains bonus movement speed for 4 seconds, beginning at 25% and increasing to 65% over the course of 3 seconds
This shouldn't be too substantial of a balance change, I just feel that this would make the character more reasonable to play around. When i thought about how to change his ability, my focus was more so towards the movement speed and slightly towards the damage. Considering that he can build items that can make him much faster also served as a major factor in why his ability felt oppressive and essentially overpowered. This change should make it so he's more reasonable to play around while also forcing the player to be slightly careful with using the ability and to be more aware of what's on the map.