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Restuffing the Scarerow: Improving Fiddlesticks

MrHaveANiceDay·11/29/2015, 6:53:16 PM·28 votes·2,461 views

I'll drop most of the flowery fluff: Fiddlesticks is not a particularly viable champion in any area right now. Here are some brief thoughts/suggestions for a tweaked kit that improves viability while maintaining thematic identity:

-Passive: Growing Dread. Dealing magic damage to enemy units adds stacks of Growing Dread. At 3 stacks units become Terrified for 1/1.25/1.5/1.75/2 seconds (1/4/7/11/15). Terrified targets are immobile for half of the duration and flee for the second half. Once a unit has been terrified it cannot become Terrified again for a short time.

Why move Fear to the passive? One, because Fiddle's current passive is mediocre and doesn't scale well. Fear iconic to the character's theme, and constant threat of Fear should be central to his character. At early levels in lane or while jungling, Fiddle will use Drain to rapidly build stacks and quickly fear solo targets. In mid to late game, a combination of Crowstorm, E, and a new Q will make him a terrifying fight disruptor due to rapid-building AoE stacks.

-Q: Scarecrow's Scythe. A medium-speed left to right sweeping AoE. Deals 25% bonus damage to Terrified targets.

Something along those lines. Another AoE would greatly aid his wave clear, as well as allow him to quickly build stacks of his passive on minions in order to slow/control them.

-W: This should be reworked to allow Fiddle to move while channeling the ability at 40-60% speed.

Also...that voice. Those lines . Please no.

42 Comments

Spoofghoul11/29/2015, 11:00:50 PM16 votes

How about turning Fidlesticks into a juggernaut and renaming him into Fiddlelogs

Illâoi Evê Siôn11/29/2015, 7:29:19 PM12 votes

Dealing magic damage to enemy units adds stacks of Growing Dread. At three stacks [...]

This is not well-worded at all, since it would imply that Fiddlesticks can fear someone with 3 ticks from Sunfire or three basic attacks with Wit's End, or even just hitting them with one spell and have Deathfire Touch.

I'd rephrase it to: "Fiddlestick's abilities apply stacks of Growing Dread." Then you simply need to determine which ability applies how many stacks at what rate. If Drain applies a stack with every proc he would fear his target in 0.75 seconds (since Drain applies in half-ticks), leaving no room for counterplay.

If you want Drain to be able to apply multiple stacks, I'd increase the stack amount to 5 or so, and have it apply one stack per second up to 3, similar to how Vel' Koz's ult works. His Birdies (E), new Q, and Ult could also all apply two stacks, meaning he can fear someone with two abilities -- Drain and one other -- or three -- everything but Drain.

Depending on how long Growing Dread lasts, he would become a combo or poke Mage in lane.

I like your ideas for his new passive and Q, though. Of course, Riot would need to find the optimal balance for everything, but the concepts are nice.

I would not support him being able to walk while draining a target. Not immediately, at least. If he had to stand still for 3 seconds, then the target would get health sapped automatically per tick in the last 2 seconds, that would be great. Like Trundle's ult, but with a three second rooted channel time and life-stealing tether.

Overall, +1 for controversy.

Auryiel11/30/2015, 2:01:39 AM5 votes

This passive is Kennen's... except better?

undesirable team11/29/2015, 7:02:42 PM4 votes

middlesticks csing still wants me to kill myself

zmmby11/30/2015, 12:25:57 PM3 votes

Im a simple man, i see fiddlesticks i upvote.

Swift256811/30/2015, 3:01:31 PM2 votes

The problem, as I see it, is that Fiddle was an ambush predator and he was too good at it. You would be farming and suddenly the whole Fiddle combo hits you. you get no options and then you die. That is what his kit is designed to do. But he was nerfed away from that. I love Fiddlesticks, but I agree he is not really viable in Summoner's rift. Take him to twisted treeline or Aram and it's a very different game. I love jumping walls with the ult to ambush the way Fiddle was designed to. Those are environments when he can go back to what he does best. And I say encourage it. Encourage him to be used outside of the Rift. Encourage a breed of non-Rift champions.

Nekusen11/29/2015, 8:23:11 PM2 votes

this doesn't solve any of his issues:

  • mobility
  • dies too fast

the damage he deals isn't a big issue and doesn't really need waveclear as he isn't a lanner.

his passive potentially allows him to do what little in the game can, have the target MR below 0.

in this this thread i explained his issues and justified changes to him: http://boards.na.leagueoflegends.com/en/c/gameplay-balance/fwoFmA18-fiddlesticks-suggestion

Kuroi8611/30/2015, 3:59:50 AM2 votes

-Q: Scarecrow's Scythe. A medium-speed left to right sweeping AoE. Deals 25% bonus damage to Terrified targets.

No... just no. Please no. Fiddle is a mage, not a bruiser, this just would not feel right on him.

SirHeavyScrotum11/30/2015, 4:53:13 AM1 votes

I feel like that passive with his current W would be too strong, unless you want to take the route of having his abilities apply a stack instead of magic damage in general.

DarthOdium11/30/2015, 6:58:39 AM1 votes

another Fiddlesticks thread lmao if i can play Fiddlesticks top of all things just fine then i sure as hell can play him good any were else fiddlesticks is fine as is. dont fix what dont need to be fixed or you might just ruin it instead dont say i didnt warn you

Swift256811/30/2015, 3:03:06 PM1 votes

You do not accomplish anything by messing with his fear. He is not a very fast champion and that fear is his only escape mechanic.

It bugs me when people look to "fix" his fear. You are targeting it because you hate it. The truth is that the fear is nowhere near as bad as some of the other CC in the game.

Levik11/30/2015, 3:48:58 PM1 votes

I think they should just make it so he can move while draining during his ult. That way he doesn't have to rush zonyas to be at all effective.

Ryuku Cruxis11/30/2015, 9:41:49 PM1 votes

Riot should totally use this as a draft.

Using his scythe for more than throwing magic rangs? So much better in a cosmetic sense.

Giving him laning power since he sucks with jg items and more viable teamfight strength in exchange for the point and click? Beautiful.

If everything only adds one stack, seems fine, you'll fear your priority target for sure, and have stacks on others. Each e hit can add a stack but can always be removed if it makes his jungle teamfight too strong, though plenty of champions have ways and places you dont wanna fight them at. Can be balanced by changing stack length.

MyBardyIsReady12/1/2015, 12:17:20 AM1 votes

or how about this(here comes the cringe ladies and gentlememes)

Fiddlesticks

Passive: Every basic attack removes a small portion of MR and adds a stack of some un creative name I can't think of. If you or an ally uses a spell on the target if the target has 5 stacks, the target will have more MR shredded off of them and the next incoming debuff to them has the duration increased by a small amount. 10 stacks, the effects will double and deal 30% of AP and a portion of current mana as magic damage in your basic attack. This could kinda support support fiddle with MR reductions and debuffs and Ruinglaive Fiddle from on-hit shit.

Q: The Terrify now applies a debuff that makes them take more damage from anything excluding True Damage by 20%. This could be a slightly be more useful for engaging/killing crap in camps because of the debuff.

W: Heals less with a little more tether range and slightly increased cooldown.

E: Places a field which deals damage over time to enemies in it and after 3 seconds, "crow hands" come out and snatch 1 champion/large monster only to bring them to the middle and stuns them. This stun applies passive as if it was 5 stacks. ihate crows This would be great for another good jungle clear tool and a good stun for ganking lanes and pooping on them.

R: nah his ulti is bs, i love it

time to drink bleach TahmKench

DevlinCrow11/29/2015, 8:38:40 PM1 votes

I like those abilities, would be good to make the passive actually a passive of his Fear ability and change his passive to:

Passive: Fiddlestick's crows accompany him on the battlefield, dealing a small amount of magic damage to nearby enemies every few seconds.

La Bello11/29/2015, 9:43:26 PM1 votes

to add onto that OP

I would move silence from his E to his Q and make it Silence Terrified targets.

then I would change his E to :Fiddlestucks summons a swarm of crows that first circle him then launch themselves in targeted direction

This way Fiddlesticks would seem like more of a composer when it comes to utilizing his crows

MunchCrunchLunch11/29/2015, 10:16:14 PM1 votes

any champion with a flat damage passive. has a bad passive. they need to remove all of these flat damage passive.

qetzel11/29/2015, 10:31:59 PM1 votes

this would be stepping on Kennen a little bit. It is basically the same.

If we decide that doesn't matter then it still needs a large amount of work. You can't buff his CC potential that much without nerfing him a lot. It would require major retuning (a long, long, long cooldown per target, not affecting champions in a large AOE) and probably nerfs to the rest of his kit.

I mean, think about other champions that have that much CC. None of them are as strong (from almost any point of view except CC) as Fiddles is now.

Xela Syab11/30/2015, 12:20:51 AM1 votes

Really the best way to buff fiddle would to give him some way to lane.

chide da jungler11/30/2015, 12:26:12 AM1 votes

He just needs his fear to cause random movement again + a cheaper jungler item that makes sense for him

Zenfro11/30/2015, 12:29:33 AM1 votes

" i havent got a brain... but soon, neither will YOU!" is SO annoying