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Riot's mistake with Cassiopeia was their refusal to give her new abilities

Kingsgrave·Nov 27, 2014·3 votes·339 views

So they just ended up slapping random stacking mechanics on an uninspiring 3 aoes+1 single target Mage archetype from 2010 thinking that would suddenly solve all of her problems. Vlad and Brand are honestly equal offenders to this boring archetype that riot thinks they can balance without a rework.

Huge thematic rework for Sion and various other characters giving them awesome gameplay cementing them as niche thus useful, yet when it came to the confusing noxian snake lady they just didn't put forth any effort story or gameplay wise. Sivir got a visual rework because she was confusing as a rich person that played nothing like it. Cass is a seductress and a vicious person yet why is she a poison Mage lane bully pseudo hyper carry even before the stashuification?

Poison Mage shouldn't be a lane bully. Lane bullies shouldn't have aoe zoning and clearing Hypercarries don't need stacking mechanics to be Hypercarries

Cassiopeia's design is honestly flawed and kinda boring from an archetype and thematic standpoint and maybe we need a real designer of mages like Meddler to actually work on her in the future. I'd also like Ironstylus to give her some actual indicators of style and wealth rather than half naked snake woman.

3 Comments

2pudge1cupNov 27, 20145 votes

There was nothing wrong with her old design. By any metric it was balanced before it got messed with for that Shurima event.

Poison Mage shouldn't be a lane bully.

Why not? What's wrong with lane bully champs? What does that have to do with having poison?

Lane bullies shouldn't have aoe zoning and clearing

Every usable mage has some form of aoe clearing whether they are a "lane bully" or have a slightly later game power curve. Cass's was weaker/slower than others. She also had lower range than others. If that's an issue then you'll have to look at also reworking: Ahri Ziggs Syndra Xerath Orianna Morgana Anivia Lissandra Heimerdinger Annie Azir Karma Zilean Velkoz Malzahar Lux Karthus Swain I'm probably missing some, but you get the idea.

Hypercarries don't need stacking mechanics to be Hypercarries

This I can agree with, which again illustrates why the old cass was fine.

KingsgraveNov 27, 20141 votes

There was nothing wrong with her old design. By any metric it was balanced before it got messed with for that Shurima event.

Poison Mage shouldn't be a lane bully.

Why not? What's wrong with lane bully champs? What does that have to do with having poison?

Lane bullies shouldn't have aoe zoning and clearing

Every usable mage has some form of aoe clearing whether they are a "lane bully" or have a slightly later game power curve. Cass's was weaker/slower than others. She also had lower range than others. If that's an issue then you'll have to look at also reworking: I'm probably missing some, but you get the idea.

Hypercarries don't need stacking mechanics to be Hypercarries

This I can agree with, which again illustrates why the old cass was fine.

The very nature of poison is whittling down someone not constantly spam nuking them

The majority of those champs are not lane bullies

TendrianNov 27, 20142 votes

No. The Cass rework simply went wrong in the conceptual phase, since Stashu and whoever else was involved completely failed to identify the essence of the champion, where her high moments were, what made using her satisfying and for what reasons players were attached to her. Consequently, we ended up with a rework that shifted her into a direction that most Cass players couldn't even comprehend, because it just seems so incredibly silly for anyone who has played her for more than 2 games. It's also the reason we ended up with a passive that clashes with Cass gameplay wise, thematically and on every other possible level, while being horribly boring on top of it.

No, the reason this rework fell flat on its face is not Cass' kit, it's Riot not having a clear idea of what defined the champion - something that could have easily been prevented, had they chosen to communicate with the playerbase before shipping the rework. But oh well, I guess the shitty Shurima event was more important than not gimping Cass.

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