A brief list of issues with the Soraka rework

The following is just a quick summary of comparisons between new and old to put things in perspective.

Her kit before her rework had all of the following: -Red bars go up -Global red bars go up -Armor buff -Blue bars go up (could self target originally) -Passive MR aura (old) -MR Shred -Sustained damage -Wave clear -Free poke with silence (free because of the mana costs on her Q and W)

New kit has: -Red bars go up (with health cost) -Global red bars go up -Speed boost towards weaker allies -Skill shot slow with variable damage -Skill shot silence with avoidable root -Disincentive to build health -Passive that lowers bonus AR/MR and adds to AP (shouldn't this be on a glass cannon AP mid?)

Roles Old Soraka could fulfill: -Passive healer -Mana battery -Aggressive support (especially early S4 when her Q helped her heal) -Sustained damage mage -Tank-mage -Channeled ult canceller -Ambulance jungler (rarely done) -Spammable AoE slows with Rylais (common item on her)

Roles New Soraka can fulfill: -Healer -Peeler

Strengths of the old kit -Global heal -Versatility -Multi-lane champ -Sustained AoE damage with mr shred -Was a counter pick to channeled ults -Starcall was a anti-Teemo Radar -Able to shove/counter-shove lanes -Limited dueling potential -Help allies with mana issues -W heal had an EHP boost with huge temp armor buff -Old MR aura helped EHP of entire team in the area vs AP damage -Able to take over lane if ADC was fairing poorly -Became tanky mage if fed -Q was strong in base assaults and base defense -E and W helped sustain sieges -Free poke with silence

Weaknesses of old kit -No burst -Weak to burst (esp AP burst)/heals don't work after you are dead -No mobility in league of gap closers -Some items and skills in the game reduce her heals -High mana costs on her Q and W (up there with syndra and anivia without considering ults) -Needed rylai's for CC -Needed to build mana or mana regen for sustained damage -Trading with Q in bot lane did push the lane

So it's pretty obvious that the new Soraka is giving up a lot. So what does her new kit do well and what issues does it have, especially compared to the old kit?

Strengths of the new kit -Spammable heals -Global Heal -2 forms of CC -Spammable Skill shot that has potential to heal you -Passive gives you limited mobility boost -Passive boosts AP at expensive of defense

Weakness of new kit -Heals can put you low enough to kill (noob trap/requires awareness) -Only healer who is damaged by healing other -Disincentive to build health makes you weak vs burst -Building health disincentives you to heal (increasing health cost for no heal boost) -Passive reduces survivability -Can't self heal with W -Self healing requires hitting a skill shot -No poke -No anti-teemo radar -Both forms of CC are a skill shot -Only one source of damage, it is a skill shot, and has variable damage -Very weak alone -Now more dependent on ADC during laning (weak alone) -Extremely squishy, will require peel -Extremely squishy and kit requires her to be front line/mid line -Lacks mana battery -Lacks armor buff (were great for bot lane trades or helping against AD ganks) -Mobility boost may not be there when you need it (unreliable for escaping) -Current meta will be murder on her -Things like Void Staff and Last Whisper are common -Glass cannons builds are common -Assassins are popular -DFG would quickly come to mean Delete Freaking Goat

Unknowns of new kit -Wave clear -AP ratios

Other thematic changes -Was protector/defender, is now martyr -Was blue, is now purple

So what does all this mean?

Well I can only speak for myself and I've been trying hard to be objective here on this post, but it really seems like the stuff for this rework should have been slated for a new champion. Soraka is giving up a lot of everything and is taking on a lot of weaknesses for her new kit. I really suggest riot consider saving this new kit for a new support champ so they can explore their ideas in a fresh start (new name, new model, new theme, etc) and try to find another avenue to rebalance Soraka in a manner that hits most or all of the notes of the older kit.

I'd like to argue what has been presented is not a rework but a new champ so let's be fair to both this kit idea and to soraka fans and put this kit where it belongs: on a new champ. You've done most of the gameplay work for this new healer, it shouldn't be too terribly difficult to come up with a model, animations, a theme, and a lore for it if you want to give it a priority. No it won't be done by the end of the next patch, but it could be doable soon while you let some of the ideas incubate and explore them a bit further before pushing them on PBE or live.

This is a new champ you've created, not Soraka. It's evolved or iterated past being Soraka; this is something different. Do the right thing, call it that, and give this kit its own champ. If you really believe in it, give it the fresh start it deserves and try to figure something else out for Soraka. There's no shame in admitting your rework turned into an idea for a new champ. Hey, at least you have the support you are going to release next year figured out already. ;)

This is just my opinion, but I think a new champ for this new idea would be much better in the long run than taking a polarizing old champ and giving it a polarizing rework. At least it'd put your player base at ease in knowing you guys are committed to getting reworks right and make people feel safe in maining a champ in knowing that they won't turn on the game one day and get something that's completely unlike the champ they've spent a lot of games playing.