.:: Reworking Zac Megathread ::.
So recently I dove into a thread that had a disgruntled Zac main and others discussing how Zac should have a certain number of changes to be more relevant in the meta game. Since that thread was an appeal to Riot, I decided to make my own thread dedicated to a more concrete rework; possibly with Riot's comment.
"I mean, he REALLY needs it. I love playing Zac, his kit is just fun and the stuff he says is great, but damned if he's not nigh impossible to do well with."
Hmm.
"I suggest buffing either his defenses or his CC to make him feel a bit better, because right now there's literally no reason to play as Zac and that just plain sucks."
I really don't like seeing players bitter about playing their favorite champion. This was the inspiration for even making this thread in the first place, so let's take a look under the hood.
Zac's kit is certainly lacking in comparison to other Champions. Above each champion is a quote giving a reason for playing Zac, below are the reasons why the example champion performs in it's role better than Zac.
"I play Zac for his ultimate/vast CC in teamfights."
- In lane, and teamfights, is a tanky damage dealer.
- Can gain up to 40 free armor/MR for diving into the enemy team.
- Low cooldown dash with high base damage and gives attack speed, requires a target.
- Auto attack reset that shreds armor by 30% (55% with Black Cleaver)
- Ultimate that shreds entire enemy teams armor by 25% with Black Cleaver.
- Has a great means of escape and initiation with Decoy/Nimbus Strike.
- With proper items can be a very large threat in duels OR in teamfights.
Summary: Zac is envious of him during teamfights because of his high-damage stunbomb ultimate, and superior follow-up/disengage. Wukong's only disadvantage is not being as tanky, though they provided him with an escape to make up for this. (Plus, he can usually just fight his way out!)
"I play Zac for his ability to tank and pin targets down."
- Has far superior sustain once he hits level 6.
- Does not rely on goo or positioning for health regeneration. (Has no way to heal for using abilities instantly however.)
- Has a slow built into his kit that costs less HP, has a larger range, and does more damage than Stretching Strike. (Unless you are building alot of AP on Zac.) It's only disadvantage is being a skill shot.
- Has built-in 30% Tenacity reduction when maxing his W: Mercury Treads, the Tenacious mastery and his W active adds up to a staggeringly high 80% tenacity.
- Gets a free 15% MS buff from his Ultimate, along with insane regeneration.
- Single target attacks and abilities.
- Scales better with Tank items, and overall gets more tanky by the end game because of his ultimate/passive.
Summary: Dr. Mundo is far better at sticking to targets than Zac, as his innate MS boost and long-range built in slow lets him chase near endlessly. (As long as he keeps landing the cleavers.) Mundo may not have a dash to make for an easy gank, however if he caught the enemy out of position you can bet Mundo will capitalize on it harder than Zac. Especially across long distances. (Providing that, GET OFF ME! effect.)
Understanding this, we can use the process of elimination to determine what Zac is not.
- Zac is not a highly mobile damage dealer designed for riskier play.
- Zac is also not an indomitably fast tanky wall of endless damage designed to stick to targets.
Zac SHOULD be the one character you will always want to zone. If he engages and stays by you, the chances of your escape will gradually be more slim. The closest comparison I can make to a champion that has a kit like this is Sejuani - who by attacking; slows and damages enemies to keep them in range. This is the direction I would like to see for Zac.
Now how do we iron out this ideal at a mehcanical level? Ability by ability, I will attempt to show you.
Unfortunately I am not an employee of Riot, or I would do internal testing.
**Cell Division **
Cells now provide less sustain in lane than before, scaling with level: (2%/3%/4%) maximum HP. Cells can no longer be stepped upon by enemies. Cells now drop in front of Zac as he is chasing targets, much like Draven with his spinning axes. When not chasing targets, cells drop as they were previously.
The revive portion of this passive remains unchanged.
Stretching Strike - Ability cost now scales with level: (2%/3%/4%) current HP. Deals 70/110/150/190/230 (Deals 2% of enemies current HP + 2% per stack of Unstable Matter +1% per 100 AP) magic damage in a line. Hitting with Unstable Matter reduces the cooldown of this skill by 1 second. Reduced cooldown to 8/7.5/7/6.5/6 No longer slows.
Unstable Matter - Ability cost increased and now scales with level: (4%/6%/8%) of current HP. Cooldown has been reduced to 4 seconds. Applies stacks of Unstable Matter each time an enemy is hit, which slows movement speed by (10%/15%/20%/25%/30%) and attack speed by (3%/6%/9%/12%/15%) for each stack lasting 5 seconds. Base damage remains the same but now scales on HP more instead of AP: 40/55/70/85/100 (+ 4% Max HP + 20% AP) HP% Damage has been removed. Range Increased to 550. Retains ignoring neutral monster collision.
Elastic Slingshot - Ability cost remains the same. (4% current HP) Cool-down remains the same. (24/21/18/15/12) Magic Damage now scales with HP: 80/120/160/200/240 (+ 5% maximum HP) Upon landing Elastic slingshot, applies two stacks of Unstable Matter.
Let's Bounce - Cooldown is now STATIC. (Cannot be effected by CDR.) Cooldown now scales with AP: 130/115/100 (-0.07 per AP) Damage ratio changed: Per Bounce, 140 / 210 / 280 (+ 50% AP) Maximum Damage 350 / 525 / 700 (+ 200% AP) No longer able to use unstable matter during duration. Knock-up remains the same. Applies a stack of unstable matter per bounce. Zac is healed when he knocks up a target for (5% targets current HP + 1% for each stack of Unstable Matter.)
This kit has two sides.
The first gives Zac a reason to build HP and tank, yet still makes him relevant as a damage dealer and disrupter when building as a tank. Recommended items for Zac when building as a tank should be:
The second side to this kit makes Zac into a bursty AP assassin/mage that has massive assassination potential, by leaping onto an enemy using elastic slingshot, unstable mattering and then stretching strike followed up by Let's Bounce should do enough damage to secure the kill if not open up the entire enemy team for a powerful follow-up. Recommended items for this kit would be as follows.
That's all the time I have for now, comment below and let me know what you think!
