Let's Talk Singed
http://img1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20120703145639/leagueoflegends/images/1/1a/Singed_AugmentedSkin.jpg Singed was the first ever champion designed for League of Legends, according to RiotUdyr. He's one of League's most recognizable characters outside of the game, and appears on many a Riot merchandise with the wise words of "Don't Chase Singed." Infamous and, if properly utilized, very deadly. So why do I feel he's missing something?
Well, it's quite blatant what he doesn't have. Singed has no dashes whatsoever, being an older champion, but then again most fighters don't; his abilities aren't terribly exciting or multi-purposeful; not to mention, he's not particularly interesting visually (though his upcoming TU might help). None of those are singularly the problem, but I'll touch on that. What I think Singed is truly missing, despite being characterized as a fighter and tank who I often enjoy playing, is visceral feedback.
As I said before, Singed's abilities aren't that exciting―in fact, they're pretty flat, even when compared to other similarly-old champions.
- His innate gives him more health the more mana he has; a boring but nonetheless strong passive.
- His Poison Trail, without a doubt his defining characteristic, slowly eats away at enemy health. Watching an entire minion wave fall before me accompanied by the lovely sound of an inflow of gold, is satisfying, I admit―but that's only after-the-fact. When I'm in the process of actually killing the wave, there is no gratification in the act. When I play Nasus conversely, accomplishing the same task, I feel like I'm doing work.
"Another wave down. Push forward!"
"Hey, another wave. Cool."
- Mega Adhesive slows a substantial area at the push of a button. Other than sidestepping it entirely, which isn't always possible, you have no counter-measure to it. A well-placed W from Singed will doom a team.
- Fling: mechanically simple, but brutally effective and very satisfying when used correctly―if you've ever seen someone dive a Singed under his turret, you know what I'm talking about. It's practically a cornerstone to his role as a tank.
- Singed's ultimate is a stat buff. Pure and simple. It literally enhances everything Singed needs. It's a "Press R to do everything better", which isn't saying much, considering his tactics basically fall back upon "Run around in circles and spam laugh." Really, there is no reason to not use it whenever you can.
I heartily believe a character needs to be satisfying first in the execution, then the accomplishment. If I play Yasuo, make plays and completely destroy the enemy team, I feel accomplished and want to keep going; as Singed, it's more like "Woah... they're all dead. That probably won't happen again." Even as a tank, I want to feel like "I'll take you all on!". http://hd.wallpaperswide.com/thumbs/optimus_prime___transformers_revenge_of_the_fallen-t2.jpg Singed doesn't feel like he can deliver on that, though. He most certainly can, but it doesn't feel like his territory... outside of the realm of likelihood.
To wrap up this ad nasuem-packed argument of mine, I'll list off a few things I think he needs.
- At least one reliable, damaging-dealing ability you can use consistently. Most fighters have this: Garen, Nasus, Gangplank, etc. have a Q that does just that, and those abilities generally feel awesome and reliable.
- More kit interactivity. Have less stat buffs, or at least make them more interesting.
- Singed has less counter-play than most. I didn't cover this in the main post, but I asked a friend what she felt about Singed, and she said "he can't be shut down." I thought about it, and concurred. When I'm fighting Singed, there isn't much I can do other than delay him, it seems. Even when he's behind, Singed remains a valid threat, with his wave-clearing and CC.
