Azir Balance Suggestions

Hey I just wanted to give my thoughts on Azir's some changes that I believe may bring him to a healthier more cohesive place.

To be clear, Azir's power had to be cut somehow. He was enormously powerful after his first AP purchase and he only got stronger as the game went on. The amount of damage he could pump out while sieging was oppressive, and he had more than enough fail safes to self-peel as long as he had his soldiers set up.

Riot envisions Azir as a DPS mage with strong zone control and strong objective control. It goes without saying that once Azir is in play he should be the top priority for the enemy team. His presence demands an immediate response or else he will roll over he unprepared and the unorganized.

• **Alter his interactions with his Sun Disc Passive ** As in stands, Azir's turret is a very strong thematic ability that has no apparent tie in with his kit. It does create yet another obstacle when dealing with Azir but what if it inferred more gameplay wise? I suggest that so long as Azir is under his **Sun Disc that the duration of his Soldiers be increased. **One could imagine a suitable compensation could be lowering the damage of the Sun Disc or having it offer a combat buff of some kind to Azir's team instead of a traditional turret. I believe there would be no greater visual in LoL than watching an Azir form an army under his Sun Disc before surging forward and crushing the opposition. This would encourage the enemy team to take preventive action before Azir comes to overwhelm them. Furthermore this could be highlighted by the fact that Azir could mismanage his passive and pass up an opportunity to push down a tower.

• **Remove damage from Q ** Q is first and foremost Azir's way to reposition his soldiers. This fact should take precedence over all other utility that this skill provides. By removing the damage from this skill Riot is free to allow Azir to be able to reposition his units more frequently OR have greater range. Azir expends a lot of mana to reposition his soldiers, as it should be. So perhaps a good compensation would be too **Slightly increasing slow amount on Q and/or narrowing the skillshot ** . This way a veteran Azir is rewarded for pinpoint aim with an AA or two.

• **Increase the range of Q such that Q+Solider AA = 1200 range. ** A mage with no burst and a sustain damage/zone pattern should be allowed some safety due to range. My ideal world would include an Azir with a very large Q range but a very small Soldier AA range. This increases the importance of positioning soldiers while giving the enemies more counterplay. I'm all fine for the Soldier's AA to extend beyond their range but I feel like the initial attack should be on a target very close to them.

• **The turret nuke change, from W to Q ** This is a very personal observation but the fact that Azir can expend his Soldiers to damage a turret makes A LOT of sense thematically. Running up and christening the turret doesn't. Azir's W smite is a strange added pit of power that eventually amounts to staggering turret taking power late game that leaves the opponent little opportunity to defend. **I believe it'd be better if he had to "Q" his Soliders onto turrets to damage them. **This would immediately expend all active soliders and Q to blow up a turret. This creates a HUGE window for Azirr's opponents but also allows Azir to mow down turrets when it's his right. Also combining this with the suggested interaction with his Sun Disc Passive above would create HUGE sieging moments for the Azir player. Imagine building your army under a Sun Disc then Q'ing 7+ Soldiers onto a tower, blowing it apart! Also this could justify the impact of his "turret smiting" because he greatly reduces his options coming out of it.

• **Remove Damage from R ** Once again this is a skill that undervalues the utility it provides with upfront burst damage. Remove it. The point of his ability to sculpt the battlefield. Compensation could be given in the form of increased, width or duration or even increasing the movement speed bonus. Or add the damage component to when a unit gets knocked back by the phalanx (capped ofc so you don't die getting stuck on walls or something).

**Final Thoughts **

The removal/reduction of damage from Q and R, would tailor Azir as an AA heavy mage relying on the positioning of his soldiers than the upfront damage provided by his spells. This alternation may afford him more power by being able to reposition his soldiers more frequently or over a greater distance. It should be highlighted that a reduction to his Soldier's AA range is not bad so long as his "effective range" remains the same - which I believe to be around 1200. By lowering his Soldier's AA range more importance is placed on how Azir manages his soliders while simultaneously giving opponents much needed breathing room.

The recommendations concerning the Sun Disc Passive and changes to Tower nuking are largely subjective: however, I believe they do a better job of sharpening Azir's identity than on live. Azir's theme as a sustain damage mage should be this : if you give him the time to build up his forces or position himself optimally he'll trample you in his march.