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Can someone help me understand this?

Lightwellian·10/10/2017, 7:10:25 AM·1 votes·388 views

Generally, every champion has a sort of niche they fill. I like this. It means that for whatever character I pick, there is something it is designed to do.

If I play , I stay in the back, use my Q and W to deal damage, and use E for lockdowns or escapes. If I play , I either stay in the back ansd kill everyone else from there, or get behind the enemy team to kill everything. If I play ... what do I do?

This post is largely in regards to his recent nerf. I can't understand the design decision here. I'll go over the things that confuse me in order.

1,) Auto-attack Azir The changes make it clear right from the start that Azir is meant to be used for constant Auto-attack pokes. he gets less range for burst shenanigans, he gets more AA damage from the patch, and he gets AS for having multiple soldiers out. I don't understand why he hasn't changed to accommodate that. He still summons soldiers slowly, he gains no extra benefit from attacking with extra soldiers, he has less range to use to command them than he did pre-nerf, and they can't move as far to chase a kill. This seems counter-intuitive.

2.) Bulky Azir. So, with Azir's range decreased, we'll need to be able to take hits a bit better than before. How? Sacrifice your damage and build tank? Not entirely certain. Azir without damage is just a bird who can flap its wings once every ten seconds, on average. Not understanding how we're supposed to go for midlaner-level damage while building tank.

3.) Teamfights What am I supposed to do when a teamfight starts? W causes you to stop in place, and your range is both extremely limited and telegraphed. Do you Azirsec in? You get focused down. Do you Azirsec out? If you want your whole team cursing you out, sure. It seems mismatched.

4.) Rock, Paper, Scissors. So, after reading the notes and a few articles about the changes, I've come across a seeming design contradiction. Azir is supposed to be weak against range champs (who can avoid his autos), but he's also weak to anyone who can engage on him, which is pretty much every melee. The only ones who can't do either are Juggernauts. and they're in their own level of scary.

Basically, what am I supposed to do when I play Azir?

2 Comments

Agravain10/10/2017, 7:59:15 AM1 votes

Pretty sure soldier summons are fast enough to not feel like a seeming "root" like you describe...it's just nitpick stuff, and unlike MF's case with E where she actually had no escapes and was an ADC, Azir has means of escape and zoning. Range: He had way too much range to begin with pre-nerf, and he still does do some extent. You just need to EQ properly to extend the Q range to maximum.
Tank: ...Don't.
Teamfights: Why are your options either go in or go out? Where's the stay-behind-the-tank-and-attack-with-good-positioning option? Or, at least you could try using R that pushes away people and creates a wall. Also, Azir's range is not extremely limited and telegraphed. You just used the term "Azirsec" yourself. That's not something you say to a limited-mobility champ.
If you play Azir: Ultimate can be amazing when equipped with a curving dash. Soldiers provide consistent DPS and Q + E provides you means to chase or escape. R is an amazing zoning/trapping tool. Just because you can't press R and kill someone like Syndra, or have crazy confusing mobility like an assassin, doesn't mean Azir has no place on the rift.

Lightwellian10/11/2017, 6:48:05 PM1 votes

"1) Pretty sure soldier summons are fast enough to not feel like a seeming "root" like you describe...it's just nitpick stuff, and unlike MF's case with E where she actually had no escapes and was an ADC, Azir has means of escape and zoning. Range: He had way too much range to begin with pre-nerf, and he still does do some extent. You just need to EQ properly to extend the Q range to maximum."

That's a full commitment to a fight. Not even a poke. It deals heavy poke damage, but from there you can't escape, and you can't reposition your soldiers to follow the enemy. If you don't ult after that, it's just going to be straight punishment.

"2.) Tank: ...Don't." I didn't mean that I wanted to build him tank. It's just that building health and armor is recommended in the post-rework notes.

"3) Teamfights: Why are your options either go in or go out? Where's the stay-behind-the-tank-and-attack-with-good-positioning option? Or, at least you could try using R that pushes away people and creates a wall. Also, Azir's range is not extremely limited and telegraphed. You just used the term "Azirsec" yourself. That's not something you say to a limited-mobility champ.

Firstly, he doesn't have enough range to attack from behind the tank without telegraphing his range. His soldiers can't actually reach very far. Secondly, once R is used, anyone with a small level of mobility or range can generally still kill you. I mean, there are exceptions. You can block off a whole jungle route with your ult, but you still run the risk of being sniped. Finally, the Azirsec is generally a one-time use ability. You have a whole 9 seconds between your first use and your second use with no chasing potential in-between. Use it too early, and you've just killed your ability to reposition yourself or your soldiers. Use it too late, and nothing happens. Use it on time, and you deal a bit of poke damage while sacrificing your ability to follow up unless the enemy just stays there (which likely means they're looking at you).

"4) If you play Azir: Ultimate can be amazing when equipped with a curving dash. Soldiers provide consistent DPS and Q + E provides you means to chase or escape.R is an amazing zoning/trapping tool. Just because you can't press R and kill someone like Syndra, or have crazy confusing mobility like an assassin, doesn't mean Azir has no place on the rift."

The DPS is generally lackluster. Also, the problem is that Azir's chasing tool IS his escape tool, and that escape tool comes at a relatively high CD. More than that, his skirmishing potential against somebody who can move out of range and re-engage is virtually nonexistent. His R can be a decent zoning tool, but it requires pretty much a perfect setup to actually use on someone. In addition, fighting without it is nearly impossible.

Why would they make a melee mage who isn't mobile? Why would they make a mage who has to run into the field and stay there to deal damage? Most of them are in and out. Azir goes in, stabs things, and hopes he doesn't die while he does so. He can't reposition away from melee combat without his DPS dropping to zero because his soldiers can't do jack when he's moving, and he's too fragile to actually combat someone from up close, which leads back into point #2. He can't kill somebody with soldiers (#1) unless he's somehow extremely fed, and that's likely just a sign that your team was fine without you.

He can't fight ranged champs, he can't fight anything with a decent engage, and he can't fight anything in-between (Juggernauts). How is this short-ranged champion supposed to be used?