Boards›Gameplay

Karma's Identity

Bombkirby·2/17/2015, 12:23:55 AM·5 votes·4,994 views

So Karma is an interesting champion. She can perform pretty well anywhere. I've seen some high tier players jungle/top/mid her as well as the usual support spot she's put in. However I personally think she'd be a stronger champion if Riot focused on one role and gave her an identity, an area she excels at. All of her three spells are good but everyone can do them far better. Janna's shields are way better for example, while there's stronger and longer range poke champions in the game. Ones who's skillshots dont get stopped by minions. Her CC is some of the worst support champion CC in the game. It's huge build up for a single target root. Not a stun or knockup, but a root.

Basically first thing's first. They/we need to figure out where we want Karma to excel. As a mage or as a support. As of now she has two Mantra spells that are vastly superior when you build/play offensively as a mid or top or etc (Mantra Q and W) and her mantra shield/speed boost is something you'll cast more as a support. Once they figure out if she's going to be a ap mage or a support, all of the mantra spells should focused on serving that role. Her Mantra W personal heal was ONLY put in (according to Riot when they rereleased her) because old Karma's passive made her deadlier the closer she was to death. That passive lives on in that spell. That spell is useless as a support though. If Riot wants her to be a support it should be remade and Mantra W should amp up the CC by make the tether infect other nearby targets or changing the rope into a stun or pulling the target towards you at the end, etc. Anything supportive instead of a selfish heal. Just spitballing. If they want her to be an AP mage then they should rethink Mantra E and make it something more suitable for a midlaner or something. It's alright as is though but an Ap carry might enjoy something else.

TL;DR: Figure out what Karma is and focus on making her that by editing her Mantra spells. Currently not all of them work well in every role so you end up just spamming 1 or maybe 2 of them at most. Not as much depth/choices as you'd think a champion like her would give the payer.

Other things that are noteworthy would be:

  1. Her Mantra. Some people note that old Karma was more fun because Mantra had two stacks that could build up. Currently you only have one stack. If you fire off a Mantra spell you have to wait a long time for the next chance to use Mantra again. Mantra Q is typically the go-to Mantra spell on current Karma, but on old Karma since you had two Mantra charges it was impossible to fire off two Mantra Qs in a row due to CDs. This encouraged players to mix things up and mix in the less go-to Mantra spells. I think its something Riot should consider bringing back after hearing someone describe this. Generally Mantra W is gathering dust when playing Karma, only being used situationally while you fire off at least 50 times as many Mantra Qs. With two charges there's more excuses/chances to fire off something other than Mantra Q.

  2. Karma jungle damage. It'd be nice if Karma could use W tether on monsters. If I play her mid and go and take blue it's kind of sad how few abilities she can use on jungle creeps and I have to fire off a Q every like 5 seconds to help them damage it. And if you fail to kill the Blue Buff with a Q you have to stand around an embarrassingly long time before you can Q again.

  3. Skins. Nothing to do with gameplay but this poor girl could use some cool skins. The last one was nice but personally I think the pants were a little disappointing. They looked a little misshapen, probably so the artists could avoid clipping errors. I was fonder of the concept art: http://fc09.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2014/279/c/c/order_of_the_lotus_karma_skin_ingame_art_by_yideth-d81vssg.jpg One thing I love about Karma is her tattoos light up like Avatar Aang when she uses Mantra. With the pants and sleeves you just can't see that at all in the final skin so she ends up looking generic.

  4. THE CAPE! Nothing to do with gameplay but on her default skin her cape is very flat looking Like it flaps up and down like cardboard behind her. It could use a more graceful animation if possible.

10 Comments

Cindikle2/17/2015, 6:58:45 AM3 votes

My Karma wishlist:

  • W useable on monsters. RW heals for 5% instead of 20%. (Balance reasons)
  • RW useable on allies. Heals champion for a small amount(about Sona's amount) and reduces the duration of CC by 35%. At the end of the channel all CC is removed and Karma gains 20% missing HP. I don't feel this would be OP because most CC will be over by the end of the channel. You can't use it as a cleanse. More as insurance you help them escape. Although this could make her a mini-Morgana vs someone with massive CC like Leona or Naut.
  • RE's damage is increased by 1% for every 1% missing health of the target it was cast on. This will still be weaker than RQ even if who you target is at 1% HP. While it will scale a little better, the base damage difference is much larger. It would take 900AP to make up the difference. It is mainly something to give back those who loved her shield bomb. Could also create some advanced tactics with her. Where you RE a near dead minion as they go into CS. But this would push the lane probably and again, is overall weaker than Q.
  • W's CC starts after 1 second of the tether. What I mean by this is that the CC will only apply after it ends/is broken. But if it breaks after one second but before it finishes it gets a reduced CC. Something like "After the tether is attached for one second, target is rooted when it breaks or ends for 0.5 seconds, increasing up to 1.5 seconds the longer it holds". I stop at 1.5 instead of 2 as I feel this could be a buff. This would also be a way for Riot to make an anti-mobility tool. Failing to get out soon enough could make you get rooted anyway and die.
FERViD RAGE2/17/2015, 1:06:38 AM3 votes

I APPROVE, RITO PLEASE ADD THIS INTO CONSIDERATION. I NEED THAT SKIN TO LOOK LIKE THAT!

SunGold2/17/2015, 4:12:20 AM2 votes

yes i approve too < 3 i love karma everything here is so true ^^ and i wish we had a fire of flame red skills skin ^_^ my dream

MrSc0tty2/17/2015, 4:23:40 AM2 votes

Two mantra charges would be fun, but at the same time with what, a four second cd on Q.... I think it'd be most efficient to fire off mantra Q-W-E-finish with another mantra Q.

What I like about Karma currently is her fairly unique "ballsy Mage" identity where she's squishy but she has some clutch defenses in her E and usually Zhonyas where she runs circles around enemies and boinks them down with big satisfying chunks of burst

Kitten of Evil2/17/2015, 5:29:06 AM1 votes

I think Karma's already a pretty solid utility/kite mage. All three of her moves can be used as disengage or engage, and while she can hit really hard with a mantra+Q, she doesn't have the burst of someone like Veigar or Leblanc. She's a bird of a feather with utility-mages Lulu, Zyra, Morgana and Lux, who can occupy mid or support (and some even top.)

That being said, I do miss the days of old Karma, when she had a lot more flavor. She's more viable now, but most of her moves are very common and she's missing a lot of her old feel as a character.

Passive = good, but the least interesting thing about her kit. You hit enemies, you get more Rs. Simple, but boring. Q = Ezreal's Q with Iceborn Gauntlet W = Nocturne's E except staying in range snares instead of fears (though honestly, a fear is worse than a snare in this situation). E = Name it. Janna/Lulu/Orianna shield, but instead of bonus AD/MR+Armor/fairy attacker, it gives MS. R = Heimerdinger's R. Like his ult, it provides an empowered version of her other skills.

Basically, she does nothing unique move-wise, but combined, she is a very decent kite-mage who can be played safely in support/mid/top roles due to almost ungankability.

I would like to see her mantra+W stun enemies instead of snare and self-heal. That would be a neat change!

OyddAWqJ5r2/17/2015, 5:39:45 AM1 votes

What is Karma about, you ask? Why, MANTRA E SUPER SHIELD BURST DAMAGE!

Oh wait... She got reworked? Damn :/

Oleandervine2/17/2015, 2:12:36 PM1 votes

I think Karma is a mage generalist that is truly that - she can excel as a mage or support, but isn't overtly focused on either role. This is how a generalist should be. She still has weaknesses, but due to her flexibility, she can still do a lot more than a typical mage or support.