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My thoughts on Zilean: My thoughts on him and EXP-based passives, Ideas for his Passive/W Skill...

71389310_DEL·10/14/2015, 12:50:22 PM·2 votes·581 views

Zilean is a champion that is very close to my heart. He was the support I turned to most on my first account and since returning to League he is still. the support I enjoy taking into the bottom lane the most. The new passive they have for him on the PBE ( click the link to see; he stores experience, is able to give it to a team mate to finish their level and gets the same sum he gives ) irks me and I really don't want Riot to ruin a champion that is on a tightrope between bad and good. I feel giving him any sort of hard-to-balance experience-based passive will hurt him with the direction the game has gone and I want to make Zilean into a healthy champion. That is why I've thought of this and would love your feedback on it.

Passive: Chrono-displasia; Using an ability causes parts of Zilean's mind to be stuck in time for 2/4/6/8 seconds allowing him to recast that same ability 2/4/6/8 seconds after use for 2/3rd the normal mana cost. Chrono-Displasia does not stack with other abilities and does not work with Zilean's ultimate.

If Zilean were to use a bomb he would have a countdown of 2/4/6/8 seconds to use another bomb before it went on cooldown. This countdown would not apply to his W or his E. If he were ti use his E to speed somebody up he would have 2/4/6/8 seconds to use his E on another target but this countdown would not trigger for his Q or W unless he used his Q or W.

Q, Time Bomb; same.

W: Time Heals all Wounds; Zilean passively increases the flow of time for certain objects around him, giving a 50% bonus to their ( items/buffs ) health and mana regeneration rates.

If Zilean activates this he focuses his flow of time onto another person, giving their items a 100% boost but disabling the passive effect until boost wears off.

E: Time Warp; same.

R: Chronoshift; same.

I'd love feedback on the thought from anybody in the community.

1 Comments

HonkLord10/14/2015, 8:09:01 PM1 votes

You're thought is to basically buff his current W, turn it into a passive, and then give him a fairly alternatively weak W to take it's place. Seems backwards. While I'm not completely opposed to shifting his W to his passive as you put up there, the W you proposed is just not a good replacement - what you suggested is EXTREMELY situational at best since it's based off the regen stats of the folks you're using it on. So taking your adc passive 2.5 health regen and knocking that up to a strong 5.0 is going to be pretty underwhelming. Alternatively you can either switch the W into another utility item that does some damage or generates a vulnerability that would also help the mid Zilean. Mark an enemy, generate a distortion field that increases damage, cone knockback (syndra style). I dunno, I'm not a designer but I feel a damage/utility move is missing from zilean to bring him into a competitive level which I will explain below.

One of the reason Zilean feels out of place constantly is because of what you stated, Zilean effectively gives up an ability to be able to use the other 2 abilities more often, only 1 of which can lower an enemy health bar directly. While this makes him feel more unique it also makes him horrifically easy to read and very susceptible to outplay. Sure it sucks to get slowed to basically a root for a few seconds (probably the best change zilly has had in a while) but he needs another move so that he can vary up things up in fights and be less predictable. In the end anyone playing against zilean knows his a 2 trick pony - albeit an effective one when things line up, but VERY unforgiving otherwise. Just look at other Mids and supports and it's easy to see how zilean can be considered under-powered just because he is lacking an additional move to provide damage or utility.

Zilean vs Xerath AS A SUPPORT: Xerath has a quick projectile stun, an easy to land slow and pretty decent mana regen from passive so you dont have to leave lane very often. Zilean is a mana hog that requires tons of mana to get off an unreliable stun.

Zilean vs Anivia AS A SUPPORT: Anivia has an AoE stun on reasonable CD, long distance terrain creation to prevent escapes and forces rerouting, and point and click burst damage on lower cooldown. Also Anivia can carry into mid-game as a support better than most mids.

Zilean vs Lulu (probably the most similar comparison as the other 2 have damage ults) - W and E both have dual purpose which makes her very versatile - Lulu has shield that can also damage the opponent, W on-click VERY strong CC even at lvl 1, clutch Ult that provides AoE slow that CANT be counter-played; it is always beneficially in some respect. Lulu wins this matchup easily due to the fact she brings more reliable CC and safety for her team than zilean pretty only because zilean is missing 1 move... if he were to have a damaging utility spell he's be closer to on-par (they'd have to make his ult beneficially in more scenarios though too)

Zilean is in a pretty bad spot based on his skillset that is attempted to be offset by the fact that they try to give the potential for huge plays on the other 3 abilities. Although I love his concept the way he plays (even after the Q change) feels more season 2 than nearly any other champ and he should be looked at for a true rework. I'm sure that the Riot team has already played with a bunch of ideas to bring him more in line with other champs in his role and they are clearly trying, however I think they would agree; a core issue is the fact that he only has 2 consistent abilities and not having that third makes is very hard to tune him between being under powered and being overpowered.