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Azir lost identity, rework is a bundle of nerfs

Romno··6 votes·2,844 views

After playing on the PBE I feel as Azir has lost all his identity as a unique champion. Almost every single highlight you see of Azir just won't be possible once this update goes live.

Azir completely lost ability to poke safety, the Q range is laughable considering champions like Xerath, Vel koz and Ziggs exist. The slightly higher early game damage and lower CD do not even come close to making up for the nerf to the range.

Azirs new W is also less effective as the command range and deactivation ranges are nerfed, again weakening his ranges. The steriod is nice but you need items and levels to make use of it. Also the hit to his wave clear is upsetting, azir is going to be even more vulnerable to champions that can clear faster or any poke champion or assassin. It just means more time spent autoing minions instead of being productive in lane. Overall weaker W. Already been nerfed again from 70 to 60.

Azirs new E is nothing compared to the old E. The slow dash speed combined with drastically less Q range make shuffles unviable and combined with the Ult nerf, just downright stupid to attempt because of the amount of danger you put yourself in to shuffle. The shield is 1.5 seconds which will be over by the time azir slowly dashes to the location. Champions will hold the trigger for half a second and then just blow him up. Shield needs to be longer. Overall nerf to escape, and a nerf to shuffle.

The new Ult is a joke at this point. Overtime the Ult has been gutted patch over patch and I thought it couldn't get any worst. Now it doesn't block any dashes apart from initial cast. So many champions have multiple dashes and blinks etc, this wall is just useless. I'd take the wall doing zero damage and still block dashes over what it is now.

Overall he lost what made Azir, Azir. Now he feels like a weaker version of Cassiopeia. Azir has no niche to fill in the game anymore and there is no reason to play him as other champions do the same things but better. I really hope this is reverted this just is so sad seeing azir nerfed like this. No more competitive and soloQ play for this emperor.

5 Comments

Lulu the Support3 votes

I saw a rework idea at some point that proposed removing his E entirely and replacing it with an ability that places a sand general that commands the soldiers Azir cannot reach to attack the nearest enemy. His Q, W and command range would be increased and his R would keep its old functionality of stopping dashes and lasting a decent time on the field after the cast. This change would promote an emperor playstyle of commanding your soldiers from afar, giving Azir a clear weakness, the lack of mobility, squishiness and lack of ways to recover HP. On the other side, his strong points would be sustained damage from afar and zone control, which I think fits his thematic really well.

Edit: the fact that he would lose the E would also mean that the Shuffle is removed, allowing a big part of his power to be shifted in more range and/or damage.

Sukishoo1 votes

It was never really a rework. It was just a heavy rebalancing xD

Deneviel1 votes

He is doing quite fine in PBE actually, but for a regual Azir players they will completely change how you played him till now and are a straight on nerf to the actual playstile

Khâmul1 votes

So much drama..you'll survive

Shuyin1781 votes

Azir gets his shield instantly when using E. You : Nah, that's a nerf. Azir gets a free soldier charge when he collides with someone using his E. You : Nah, that's a nerf. Azir gets more attack speed when he has 3 soldiers on the field. You : Nah, that's a nerf. Azir's wall now has even more soldiers. You : Nah, that's a nerf.

As for the poke, he shouldn't be allowed to poke from half way down the lane. It was extremely unhealhty gameplay that was neither fair for the opponent, fun to play against, or actually felt rewarding to the Azir player.

Also, a rework involves new visuals and replacing an ability or 2 on his kit. This is a simple rebalance.

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