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Even as a mid lane main

Mewko·1/28/2018, 3:16:56 PM·42 votes·2,306 views

I would love for stopwatch to be removed. It should only be applicable in the process of building Zhonyas. I'm an Ahri main overall and I mainly play mages within my champ pool. Coming from a mage player, I despise this item from being over abused. I also main support and seeing ADCs with it really pisses me off. I can support my ADC fully and even when they're playing well, the enemy adc gets away with the item. Back to the mage talk, not only will I have a lack in dmg with Ahri including her nerfs, etc. but going in full combo and landing everything just to see that the ADC procs stopwatch and even survives at the last minute? Isn't it enough for them to get enough peel?

Reminder: several mages begin to powerspike mid-late game. You still have to land skill shots to deal the same amount of dmg as that of a Vayne+ardent who can fully combo you with auto's and a support EVEN without ult and shred you. Almost every mage I play, I have to consume a chunk of mana or less depending on the trade, possibility of missing a skill shot = punishment of CD, mana cost and loss of dmg. The only thing we need to toss away assassins and mages are stopwatch entirely.

Riot thought that by giving stopwatch freely in a rune that it will be a great advantage to mages ONLY to counter mages and assassins. Why? Because supports and ADCs are running around with it and it's cancer. All it takes is for an ADC with a support abusing ardent censor to AA you. GG. It is already hard to get to the ADC or any damage carry with today's peel and frontline. Now we're running on stopwatch making it no longer possible to try.

I don't know where Riot is taking the game so far but from what I see, bot lane is completely supported by Riot. Top lane has crashed, mid lane assassins are falling, mages are tumbling and now ADCs got it all good. Hell, even supports are abusing stopwatch. I don't know about the position of junglers with it but it's annoying af.

[slayer-jinx-unamused]

35 Comments

Taliyah Rocks1/28/2018, 4:19:23 PM32 votes

As much as Stopwatch is a cool concept, i wish it would just get removed too. It just breaks the game at this point.

They added it to stop snowballs by helping people survive burst once, but adding stopwatch did the complete opposite. The winning team can just sit on their unused stopwatch for when they really need it, while the team that fell behind has probably used theirs already.

Stopwatch doesn't promote defensive play, it promotes aggressive play.

Edit: Guardian Angel ran into a similar problem once, the winning team would buy it and would just sit on it, and since the defending team couldn't punish them properly, even if they burned a guardian angel, they'd probably get away.

Ifneth1/28/2018, 6:27:01 PM9 votes

I play an immobile and squishy mage mid. That item is one of the best things to come from the preseason. :)

RenownedWheat421/28/2018, 3:30:33 PM7 votes

It's a one-time use so I don't mind it too much. Bait it out and then all-in later, once it's broken. What I've been doing and it works fine.

Stopwatch is great, imo, because of the aggressive plays it enables. If you force your opponent to use it defensively, you can all-in them in a dive later and get out before that last turret shot takes you down with a stopwatch reset.

Way better use.

Seenan1/29/2018, 3:35:26 AM4 votes

Yeah, a free 1-time stopwatch for adcs and mages alike is sorta broken.

Abibyama1/29/2018, 12:17:48 AM4 votes

I like how everyone was silent about the stopwatch and now when pros are spamming they all speak up

Ahri Baka1/28/2018, 8:01:33 PM4 votes

As a fellow Ahri main , Yeah ,, I find it annoying playing against a Yasuo to use it to dodge my E when no minions are around and even after I baited his w , he uses stop watch and sells it to get some gold , I main mages in general and I see most of champions that aren't mage are using it , I'm ok with the Stop watch item coosting 600 gold , just not ok with the rune that gives u a free stop watch for no reason

An Draoi1/28/2018, 11:59:33 PM3 votes

They could probably fix stopwatch if they made the rune not give stopwatch, but made stopwatch and stopwatch related items cost like 100 gold less or something. That, and maybe make the stasis time on stopwatch only work for half the time of a Zhonyas.

Ahri Inari1/29/2018, 2:40:48 PM3 votes

Stopwatch feel like a second life in the early-mid game. It deny so much kill and a lot of people are abusing it.

Longtowel1/30/2018, 12:44:04 AM3 votes

The stopwatch is here and it is a part of the game which you have to consider.

I've gotten into the habit of looking at the enemy inventory when everyone shows up at lane to see who has it. And as a jungler (I play mid sometimes too), I check if the enemy has the stopwatch available before I gank.

If you are prepared, its really not as bad as it seems, since if you are an ADC, you are still trading some power for the rune.

What I will suggest though, is perhaps change the stopwatch a little bit, and make it last a bit shorter, maybe 50% or 60% of the duration. Right now I think it is basically a one time Zhonyas, but we could make it a bit weaker, so the potential of the item is still there, but it just means that the invulnerability is a bit shorter and the enemy has more of a chance to kill you even after you use the stopwatch.

You also have to think that for an ADC, Guardian Angel is one of the last items you build, so most likely you will hold onto that broken stopwatch that does nothing for the majority of the game, while in the meantime you lose out on powerful runes like celerity and gathering storm from the Socery Tree, if you chose inspiration as your second tree. Most mages build Zhonyas, and they build it quite a bit earlier, say third or fourth item. At least that's what I do.

Stopwatch is a godsend to Vladimir though. It allows you to make the typical Vlad play a lot earlier in the game, and it also makes Zhonyas a bit cheaper to buy, which happens to be one of your core items.

PlsTouchMeGently1/29/2018, 12:58:17 AM3 votes

Agreed 100%

Iffy Jarl1/28/2018, 11:17:55 PM2 votes

I think adding a little more time b4 use would make it fine, and maybe making a cutoff time where it breaks if u dont use it

Recon12121/29/2018, 3:53:50 PM2 votes

Stopwatch is a cool idea, but I feel the problem with it is, it is too prioritized. For some reason there are no other runes that work well enough to be taking over it. Like if it were just a purchasable item it wouldn't be as bad, but it's actually just a free one time use zhonyas for whoever wants it.

ChaddyFantome1/31/2018, 6:02:17 PM1 votes

Dunno why anyone defended Stopwatch since its introduction. it was a bad idea from the outset.

paisy1/28/2018, 11:47:19 PM1 votes

You sound really bias. It's not abused by other classes because it wasn't not meant for them. An example of abuse would be relic shield on adcs, because it's an item not meant for them. They made the stasis effect available for everyone, meaning it's not abused just overused. But yes it should be removed.

Also about that Zed comment, Zed can only full combo-to-death-without-ult later on to the game if he's ahead or you aren't building armor. Plus he, too, has to land all 3 abilities for it to even happen like that. His q, shadow q, and shadow e.

Flemman1/29/2018, 12:23:43 AM1 votes

it's not a stopwatch problem imo but more of an inspiration one being less situationnal than they expected.

That tree was supposed to be the one you take from time to time when you want unortodox playstyle but is so overloaded with good stuff who far outclass raw stat provided in other tree that it make it an always good option at least as secondary tree (stopwatch+boots never a bad combo)

They kinda want to counter that in pbe atm with boot and stopwatch on the same tier but I doubt that it will impact a lot since they nerf boot too (no reason to take it anymore over stopwatch whil biscuit/5% cdr can stil be a good second rune in the tree)

Imo, that tree will never be balanced till it include item in it. It is a tree that is should help you explore certain playstyle (base on increrased cc, more use of abilities, conditionning stat amp), not give you free item for pressing 2/4 buttons in champ select (reason why klepto is also a problem to balance, too good on certain champ but near useless on champ who can't proc it effectivelly, creating one more item difference in game)

At this point, I just wish that during mid season, they got rid of the 5 runes who give item (maybe keeping minion destruction one that seems the healtier one) to replace them with actual "working around situation" stuff

rtbf2216514121/29/2018, 3:46:14 AM1 votes

Enemy item 2420 + Ally Soraka + Ally Soraka E = Death. Enemy item 2420 + Ally Veigar + Ally Veigar E = Death.

Skins Project1/29/2018, 8:26:39 AM1 votes

http://na.op.gg/summoner/userName=mewko

Indeed such a mid lane main.