Rabadon's Deathcap needs to be reworked

Radiant Seraph··2 votes·1,025 views

It's widely known that this item is bad. It has a huge cost (being the most expensive item in the game), shit build path, and isn't even cost effective (93% efficiency). The thing is, Rabadon is too generalistic of an item to be buffed. If it's any strong, all mages will but it, no question. That kills item diversity. Also, it's a boring item and doesn't come with an interesting gameplay niche, it's just a ton of AP. I think the best solution is to divide it between two items: one for burst mages, and other for dps mages.

[NEW] Rabadon's Murder Cap +120 AP Unique Passive - Eyes of Pain: +15 magic penetration Unique Passive - Magic Hat: Landing two unique attacks or abilities in enemy champions within 3 seconds will empower your next ability for 5 seconds, which will deal 50 (+30% AP) bonus magic damage against all enemy champions hit. -Its new passive it's kind of like Electrocute, but enabling you to hit a different enemy each time. This has got magic pen in it in a named Unique Passive shared with Liadry's, however I don't expect Liandry to conserve flat magic pen after the AP item pass, so it shouldn't be necessary.

[NEW] Rabadon's Focus Hat +100 AP +10% Cooldown Reduction Unique Passive - Magic Hat: Every time you land an ability on an enemy champion, you gain 10 Ability Power for 5 seconds, stacking up to 5 times up to 50 bonus AP. -This new item is focused in Battle Mages, allowing them to deal tons of damage over a long fight. This item is the one with the most Ability Power once stacked. The 150 AP could be problematic with burst mages, however if it ever becomes an issue both items could be tuned. Murder Cap's proc should deal more burst damage than a Focus Hat fully stacked ability.

Both items sharing a named Unique Passive prevents them to be used in conjunction, that way forcing mages to make a decision on how they want to scale, instead of just getting +35% AP.

12 Comments

k wìx1 votes

I agree that Rabadons needs some love, but I'm not really fond of your changes. I think these changes would put it a bit over the top. Even if you scale back the numbers then, you still don't solve the crux of the issue - Rabadons is facing an identity crisis. Hell, mages are having trouble from an itemization perspective.

The solution is not 'more burst power on late game items' .

Radiant Seraph1 votes

Remember that without Rabadon's %AP increase, overall AP value is heavily decreased. However, my changes are just ideas anyway. Do you have any suggestions?

k wìx1 votes

{quoted}

Remember that without Rabadon's %AP increase, overall AP value is heavily decreased. However, my changes are just ideas anyway. Do you have any suggestions?

Yes!

item 3089 **+120 AP Unique Active: Bloodmagic Your next damaging magic spell deals an additional 10% maximum HP (only 5% for multi-target spells) damage to any champion and restores 33% of the spells total damage back to you as health. If this spell kills the champion, you instead regain 66% of the spells total damage back to you as health. **

(This would have a 60 second internal cooldown. - should have a graphic surrounding the caster when it is used, so he and his opponents know this powerful active is ready.)

This item accomplishes the following:

1.) Rabadons has the potential to make a single spell deal some pretty crazy damage, and since its activatable, and has a graphic attached to it, players would know its coming.

2.) Since its especially potent on tanks, Mages have a new item for lategame power - which is exactly what they need.

3.) Mages have an item that lets them at least BEGIN to approach an ADCs lifesteal potential. A well placed nuke could give a mage back a lot of health.

All of these reasons would make the item appealing in a late-game scenario. Helps a mage stay powerful and less fragile, but you have to put up with the obnoxious cost and build path.

Radiant Seraph1 votes

A form of Spell Vamp that it's not as abusable by Vlad? Gimme! This could work wonders, but high ap and anti-tank damage should not go hand to hand IMO. Maybe as a new item would be really interesting!

Gibberwatt1 votes

honestly, this seems kinda meh.

I like the idea, and I agree with your statement that the old killer hat is a bit boring, but I think that you portioned out the power too strangely: giving the assassin mage an extra .3 scaling on their third ability, would make people like Diana/Brand/lux OP af, while also giving them the 15 mp, which they generally don't get (if im not mistaken, liandries is generally built by battle mages, rather than the bursty ones).

meanwhile, the battle mages get an extra 50 AP (only 30 more than the murder cap) when fully stacked, giving them maybe 30-40 extra damage on each ability. They also get 10% cd, but honestly if they get a morellinomicon (inominconimom) and a banshees, they're already at 30%.

I like the idea, but maybe this:


R's Murder Cap: 150 AP Unique Passive - Starting Strong: For the first 5 seconds after entering combat, this champion deals an extra 10/15/20% magic damage (disables unique passives named Approach the Peak)

R's Focus Hat: 125 AP Unique Passive - Approach the Peak: After entering combat, this champion deals increasing % magic damage, up to 30% after 10 seconds (disables unique passives named Starting Strong)


This gives a very clear separation of the two hats, as well as preventing people from buying both (or they could be treated like Hydras for mages). It also forces the mages to buy damage, other than this, as I could see the ap scaling tanks (cough cough galio/rammus/jax'ish) taking great advantage of a free 150ap/thunderlords. It also keeps the original R's deathcap theme of Moar Daamaage and not much else

Good ideas tho. very nice

Radiant Seraph1 votes

How to make things simpler, more creative, and overall better, holy moly.

I assume your AP amounts account for the loss in the % AP, but they seem to be a bit too high.

And currently basically every mage builds Liandry's because most of the alternatives are just plain bad, and has a little bit of everything (good AP, good HP, anti-squishy stat (flat pen) anti-tank passive). Liandry's needs a rework, too.

z63XnLCMwX1 votes

I think the %bonus should scale as time increases, going from a +10% ap to +35% ap which would allow Riot to reduce the cost of the item.

Radiant Seraph1 votes

That is weird and still boring, but you just gave me an idea. We could keep Rabadon's current identity as a Lategame AP Carry item while lowering the price... giving it a Quest!

Maybe it just starts out without any % bonus AP, but you get that passive after meeting some requirements, maybe an interesting mini-game.

Example: Powerless Deathcap +80 AP Unique Passive: Your cap is weak. Each time you participate in the kill of an enemy champion or epic monster, you gain a Soul. When you acquire 10 Souls, they empower your cap and this item upgrades to Rabadon's Deathcap.

This way it gets interesting, it has delayed power, and it gets to keep its full power while being able to have a lower price.

Thanks sir, for your help

KindredAndWolf1 votes

Dude Riot doesn't give a rats ass about item diversity or champs that can build either ad or ap. I don't know why they don't just lock champions to specific items at this rate. Every new champ has pigeon holed builds and any old champ that had build diversity (Like Old eve) they rework and nerf the shit out of them (Shaco,Poppy,Akali, kog maw, old master Yi, ap tryndamere, Ad fizz, and so on and so on). God forbid they can build tank when they are supposed to be assassin but they are built like divers Ekko, old Eve, Fizz). Build diversity? Item experimentation? that shit is quickly dying off in this game.

If they wanted to change rabadons, they would change all the other ap items to account for the change.

Radiant Seraph1 votes

AP Kog, Yi and Tryndamere were unhealthy for the game and cancer to play against. Same goes to AD Bruiser Fizz and Tankko. They left it clear with Evelynn in EvelynnMains so I won't even start with her. One thing is having build diversity and other very different is having a Champion that is perfectly fine and healthy being played as one role, while it has this one build that if strong makes the opponent feel like shit.

KindredAndWolf1 votes

{quoted}

AP Kog, Yi and Tryndamere were unhealthy for the game and cancer to play against. Same goes to AD Bruiser Fizz and Tankko. They left it clear with Evelynn in EvelynnMains so I won't even start with her. One thing is having build diversity and other very different is having a Champion that is perfectly fine and healthy being played as one role, while it has this one build that if strong makes the opponent feel like shit.

You may be right about those champs being unhealthy and bad for the game, but that doesn't change the fact that Riot balance will limit build diversity if it is ever successful. They can't figure out a new or interesting way to balance these concepts and build strategy so they change the champ in a way that will make them predictable. No more surprises and alternative item strategy. That Tryn is not gonna build ap if he seriously want to win anymore. Fizz wont surprise you going in the jungle, then surprise you again when he's built ad items after you bought MR.

Eve and her stealth has become the most predictable. Not only did they make sure Eve would always build magic damage, but they even limited what type of ap items she can buy because of her High ap scaling and low base damage. They went a step farther and tried an experiment to finally make permastealth's value measurable, reducing its effect till level 6 and giving her player a choice. "Do I give away my position or do I try to kill them with the slow but lose 30% of my damage". They took her speed away so she couldn't bypass those choices by just rushing in and filling in the gaps of her damage with auto attacks. Old Eve wasn't just unpredictable with her play pattern, but she had more viable item builds than any other champion in the game. You could experiment forever with her and still find new ways to get what you want out of her. I had fun for season getting new champions and trying out new builds, thats what I did for seasons, before I even touched a rank game.

We have traded diversity for balance and experimental abilities and items that continue to break the game. I get that Riot wanted to keep things fresh, I really get it. But at what expense have we paid for a false sense of balance? Instead of nerfing those champions, why not build on them as diverse champions and add other weird champions and items and abilities that counter those playstyles and add balance? Well it's simple really, it's easier just to nerf them and force them into cookie cutter builds every game.

Honestly, i was super angry about the Eve rework but i'm not anymore. She wasn't butchered, she was just deleted. You guys made her new move more visually appealing and they feel like they are doing alot of damage, but doing the math I know that she does a good bit less damage than old eve over the course of 20 secs-a minute less than old Eve. Most people were too noob to see how good she was. Riot definitely saw, thats why they did what they did, and thus the Eve rework. She was the last true and viable diverse building hybrid, so why not just rework her into the most sexual invisible burst mage. But I get why they did it. They have change the atmosphere of the game completely from what I started playing, and Old Eve will not fit in their cookie cutter world.

If Riot is reading this here is my question. If you guys are so opposed to champions building away from their intentional style and you guys are so worried about game balance, why not just limit what items each and every champion is designed to build. You guys say you like item diversity and champs that are diverse, but as soon as a champion proves successful with these off builds or diverse strategy (like old proxy singed) you guys nerf them back to their respective positions. You guys hardly let champions leave their intended lane. Whats the point in all these items available to you that you can't even build or items that aren't part of the "best" build... The cookie cutter. I really didn't think that some of the smartest people in the world would make a biased and subjective opinion and really go with it as far as they did. I accept what the game is now though and i accept what the company truly is. Acceptance was the last step for me, I went through every other stage of grief. I think you guys are killing the game. It doesn't matter much to share holders i suppose, the game has been profitable and if they pulled the plug today everyone would still have their money.

Radiant Seraph1 votes

AD Eve is back on PBE

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