Is Rabadons Balanced For The Current Meta

Professor Ward·Jan 18, 2017·1 votes·306 views

Not sure how i feel about rabadons current health?! 162 ap single item(over** double** any ap item save stacked ) , 35% max ap gain

Does nothing but give ap, though it empowers ap on any purchase before or after by 35%, increasing the gold value of every item.

Thoughts on the strength of this item especially after most every mage item was nerfed?

6 Comments

venomous frostJan 18, 20173 votes

IMO the relative value has decreased over time.

It used to be all about the ap numbers in earlier season due to lack of cdr, but now you have all these items with added effects (zhonya active, morello 20% cdr, abyssal mr + pen,...) And basically every mage item right now has added CDR.

CDR is basically a damage multiplier, just like AP is (only cdr is dps and ap is burst, but in a certain time frame the damage is equal). You have less ap, but more cdr => equal damage. And considering the huge cost of rabadon's it's more convenient to go for the cdr options WITH addes bonuses.

And since cdr has mostly replaced ap, the % multiplier from rabadon's is much lower.

just my thoughts, cheers

Professor WardJan 18, 20171 votes

[{quoted}](name=venomous frost,realm=EUW,application-id=3ErqAdtq,discussion-id=UEWZvmFo,comment-id=0000,timestamp=2017-01-18T23:12:36.557+0000)

IMO the relative value has decreased over time.

It used to be all about the ap numbers in earlier season due to lack of cdr, but now you have all these items with added effects (zhonya active, morello 20% cdr, abyssal mr + pen,...) And basically every mage item right now has added CDR.

CDR is basically a damage multiplier, just like AP is (only cdr is dps and ap is burst, but in a certain time frame the damage is equal). You have less ap, but more cdr => equal damage. And considering the huge cost of rabadon's it's more convenient to go for the cdr options WITH addes bonuses.

And since cdr has mostly replaced ap, the % multiplier from rabadon's is much lower.

just my thoughts, cheers

i agree but what is wrong with?- item 3089 item 3165 item 3157 is it the massive gold cost thats keeping peeps away? or that they want these passives early?

venomous frostJan 18, 20172 votes

most mages want cdr early item 3165 or another cheap item for early game into midgame, you want some kind of defenses to not get 1shot item 3001 item 3157 After you get fed enough and have some ap, you might consider item 3089 BUT by this time, you would want some pen if the enemy also has defenses item 3135

But with current game pace, most games never go to the 5 or 6 item build that complements rabadon

Professor WardJan 18, 20172 votes

[{quoted}](name=venomous frost,realm=EUW,application-id=3ErqAdtq,discussion-id=UEWZvmFo,comment-id=000000000000,timestamp=2017-01-18T23:21:03.020+0000)

most mages want cdr early into midgame, you want some kind of defenses to not get 1shot After you get fed enough and have some ap, you might consider BUT by this time, you would want some pen if the enemy also has defenses

But with current game pace, most games never go to the 5 or 6 item build that complements rabadon

makes a lot of sense thanks for the input

DynikusJan 18, 20171 votes

over double any ap item save stacked

??? item 3027 stacked gives you 500 health, 400 mana, and 100 ap item 3165 gives 400 mana and 100 ap item 3285 gives 100 ap item 3040 gives 110 ap just based off the 1000 mana it gives you.

ChaddyFantomeJan 18, 20171 votes

Its very simple really.

Its a combination of 3 things:

its that the versatility of utilty items that mages have access to now makes Rabadon's not needed like it was before. Before, Mage itemisation was almost completely just a stat check it was a "who has more AP" game pretty much. Now mages can get away with not using Rabadons because having more AP isn't as needed since it isn't the ultimate deciding factor in how ahead you are or how useful you are anymore. What you get matters more than if you got X y and Z before your opponent did now.
Overall, Rabadon's has an unattractive build path and cost. it is clearly more than stat efficient for what you are spending, but it also takes a while to get, and therefore taking the time to build it can leave you in a window of vulnerability and stagnation compared to your opponent who bought utility and situational power right away. Unlike the other AP items like , Rabadon's components don't offer any immediate rough utility or added affects or power. They build out of purely raw AP and nothing else. This makes it harder to sit on your components when building it to and creates the situation i described above.
Damage creep. Another partial reasoning is AP champs and mages just don't need the raw AP as much as they used to. With how squishy champs are and the damage they get from runes mysteries, mages are perfectly capable of doing their job without the raw AP, which makes Rabadon's more a purchase on champs who specifically want/benefit from the raw AP.

Overall, this is a nice change. Having to get item 3089 's every game is silly, and it being more of a conscious choice in where you choose between the raw stats and the utility of other items is a fair and balanced tradeoff, imo.