This might be the end of Tahm

SpecterVonBaren··3 votes·410 views

Tahm Kench Thick Skin (E) active duration lowered to 4 seconds from 6 seconds Abyssal Voyage (R) bonus magic damage bonus health ratio lowered to 2/4/6% from 4/6/8%

Yes yes, I understand, bench the Kench, etc etc. I understand people don't like how he can do so much damage while building tank but I think the thing that people forget a lot about Tahm is that he only brings two special things to a team, his W and his ability to do damage while building tank. His W got a harsh nerf with the removal of the speedboost which weakened his only real contribution as a support since he's a poor initiator making it so it's now only truly strong for getting someone out of hard CC because saving someone who's on low health can often just mean a delay in the inevitable or a double kill since its so easy for the enemy to keep pace with his slow ass. His slow is something that other supports provide, his ult active is only useful in organized play, and his E is a completely selfish ability.

And now his ult passive is going to lose HALF its damage for most of the game, because most of what determines a game happens before you ever even get a second point in your ult and seeing a third point in someone's ult is a rare occurrence that only happens in the most drawn out of games.

Tahm is actually not a good teamfight champ, currently he's able to work because he can be so tanky while still dealing a lot of damage but his utility is wrapped up in his W, which is also his biggest source of damage. Taking away the damage on his ult passive means once he's blown his W on saving and ally or eating an enemy, he's done, that's the end of his unique contribution to his team for that fight and now all he does is Q people.

I'd prefer if they nerfed these things while also improving the active on his ult so I have a fucking reason to use it for more than just getting back to lane faster or give us a reason to use his W spit for more than just helping to clear a wave of minions. I understand nerfing his numbers so people can't just play him as a wrecking ball smashing someone to death, but if you nerf that without giving him something else to provide for his team then the power his W provides won't be enough to balance out his weaknesses and so there will be no reason to pick him aside from being a fan of the champion.

Once again, these nerfs are deserved, I understand why he's getting nerfed in these areas, but they need to give him something back.

8 Comments

OurLestrade4 votes

Still has one of the best disengages and damaging tools in the game and can half health super minions. No problem.

Uiraya4 votes

No they fucking don't

Tahm is a great champ with a unique kit and is also relatively not-overloaded, which is always appreciated. But he is Too Damn Good right now and everybody knows it. Having to kill him twice WHILE he deals tons of damage is a problem, full stop. He's still going to be able to catch anybody he wants and eat them for a billion, he's just getting his two tank-level health bars and his bonkers free damage trimmed. If anything these nerfs are conservative.

SpecterVonBaren2 votes

I really don't think I'm asking for the moon when I ask, "Hey, can you make his ult active more useful since you're taking out quite a bit of his damage?" I just want them to shave like half a second off of the arrival time or make it so his W doesn't go on cd when he ults. It's currently only good for flanking enemies that are horribly out of position or for getting to lane faster. Even in organized play it's so heavily telegraphed that I question why they even bother using it sometimes.

Uiraya3 votes

If your kit is strong enough your utility ult doesn't need to give a powerspike at 6, just ask Rek'Sai or TF or any of the form changers.

If Tahm is useless after this change then compensation can be discussed, but this recent trend of not-nerfing champs that quite blatantly need nerfs does not actually accomplish anything. Less strong is not the same as weak.

SpecterVonBaren2 votes

If you're making it so the kit isn't strong enough then your ult probably should give a powerspike.

TF gets a TON of power with his ult. His ult grants true sight of all enemy champions, has more range than Tahm's, and while they both have the same channel time, TF's ult doesn't announce where he's arriving as soon as Tahm's, and he has a point and click stun he can use as soon as he gets where he's going.

Because of how short the range is and how telegraphed the arrival is, Tahm's ult is barely used for anything other than getting to lane faster.

Uiraya2 votes

Pretty sure Tahm's kit is more than strong enough. He has a "shitty" ult and he's still a huge problem. That's what we in the business call a red flag.

Depending on how many FoTM riders this nerf shakes off Tahm's winrate could easily go up as a result. Strong champs do not need compensation buffs when they are brought back in line. He's still getting free damage he doesn't deserve, his single target lockdown or extraction will still be among the very best in the game, and he'll still never die. Go look up what they did to Diana back in the day and then realize how good you've got it. Your easy ride isn't going anywhere.

SpecterVonBaren2 votes

Yes, because my only POSSIBLE reason for liking tahm is because of me wanting to clime the ladder.

Zarkkast3 votes

I wish they wouldn't have made it so hard for him at level 6.

Damage is literally the only thing he gets to contribute with when he gets to 6, because his ultimate is useless for laning, while other supports get awesome ultimates, like Janna, Braum, Alistar, etc...

I wish they would've changed it to 4/5/6 instead of 2/4/6.

Or, I don't know, leave the passive damage untouched but add a cooldown to it? Like, every 10 seconds his next ability or basic attack will deal additional damage.

This will definitely will not destroy Tahm, but I think it might have been an overnerf to his early game, considering how damage is the only thing his ult brings once they reach 6.

Then again, I feel like this is more of a nerf to top Tahm than anything else.

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