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Question about Brand

PoeticJumpshot ·10/29/2017, 12:44:39 AM·2 votes·414 views

What do y'all think it would take for Brand to actually become esports relevant?

I look at worlds fights and everyone always being grouped so tightly together and think man it would be awesome to see a brand just once. Not support, but a true brand carry role. Unfortunately I really can't remember any time of him being picked this season. I'd assume it might have happened once or twice throughout the entire season and I just missed it.

His damage can be good, but it takes time to get going and requires him to be much closer to his targets than his counterparts. His casting animations could be another culprit, or the fact his stun is only single target and harder to combo/easier to dodge compared to other options. I was really hoping his previous rework would address some of his weaknesses (the passive change was a slight upgrade, less easy early game poke for better scaling and recently giving him some mana back in lane is helpful). Malz is safer, easier, and more reliable all while doing much of the same except with a silence/targeted cc. Syndra has insane burst, way more range, and an aoe stun (not to mention awesome aoe damage in her own right without limitation). Galio needs no explanation. Corki's been a mostly meta mid for years now regardless of how the game changes. Basically all the meta mids have something unique to them that keeps them relevant, where brand is basically a dot mage with less cc and reliable damage. He can't compete with cass or malz for those 2 reasons it seems. Think it's time for a real rework at this point myself. His skill cap makes him fun, but it doesn't feel impactful enough imo.

3 Comments

Nanuk Pihoqahiak10/29/2017, 3:51:40 AM1 votes

I'd wager it's because his damage isn't super reliable. Yeah - he has the potential to do a lot of damage, but his Q is a stun skillshot which is one of his main utilities, and his ult can't directly pick off a carry unless you manage to catch ONLY two people with it so it bounces, or get some minion shenanigans involved. He's also very immobile and item reliant. He typically won't see big numbers and the full potential of his kit until he has things like Rylai's, Liandry's, and Void Staff.

Zane Zephyr10/29/2017, 4:07:58 AM1 votes

He's short ranged, skillshot reliant, immobile and has no reliable CC or defense mechanisms to protect himself and his waveclear is suboptimal and if he uses his abilities for it, it directly puts him in danger while his spells are on cooldown

He's also relatively predictable in lane and if he misses his Q/W it instantly gimps his damage

Psybicilin10/29/2017, 6:14:07 AM1 votes

AOE Mages that don't have a lot of utility are out of the meta. Right now, the midlaner's job is to A: Protect the ADC (galio, Orianna) B: One shot the adc (syndra), C: Melt tanks with focused DPS (Cass, Ryze etc), or any combination of these. Unfortunately Brand has very conditional damage and does not provide enough CC in team fights. That's my opinion on the issue, but I'd like to hear other perspectives.