Put shortly; yes, you can still handle assasins well, but how you handle them is worse now.
I would argue the opposite. Before the shielding value buffs or compensation you would never mantra shield an assassins damage because it was not strong enough to stop their damage. It needed levels and ap. And the shield compensations now allowed you to have that option because the scaling is just so absurd. RQ to straight up kill, RW if you think you can survive and turn later or just escape, RE to just run away. I will admit you lost the power to farm a far with the removal of RE damage. Wait how did you feel about karma not being able to shield minions? I am torn, i liked it and didnt like it. I miss shielding minions to deny minions and get clutch shields or damages off. But at the same time I understand I know some players hated accientally shielding a minion.
This is not about you or me playing her. I know this works wonders, but is also an open invitation to the enemy jungler, based on your elo.
-- Generally the junglers never really expect me to have such great pushing power. And if I feel the jungler may come I can go ward while the enemy laner is under turret csing. But yes sometimes the enemy jungler does come and I die, but I find most of the time they don't.
Back to the RW changes. I hated the old RW because it was not really different from regular W. It just got an increase in damage. So the change to a longer root duration was at least something new. Now the changes should have been RW gives new utility with slight damage. That way both mid and support karma get new ways to get off damage and utility.
- It wasn't broken. It was strong, yes, but not more ore less strong than Jax jumptrading you with his reflect. It's a straightforward combo that guarantees damage and provides some protection and it would work against some and it would fail against others.
-- I think we will agree to disagree on this one. I think its broken a champion can do insane amount of damage and get an insane heal all in one ability, that cant be dodged. And you can only stop it if you were fast enough or had a good escape.
- Even when being beaten by her in lane, Karma wouldn't win the game. Any decent player knew this. Karma did always bully, but did never snowball. Knowing this you could rest assured and play the Nasus game.
-- I would argue that karma's carry potential right now is like parabola sort of. Being a gradual decline going to the mid and late game and then spiking sharing back up at 6 items. Because the passive buffs make her really strong later game in damage and the shield compensation gives her the best of both worlds in terms of saving allies and dealing the damages. Once Karma gets liandries and void she can get through clumped up tanks fairly well compared to other mage supports.
Any minor and major rework tries to keep the powerlevel of a champion roughly the same.
The intent is a mechanics change and power shifts, not a buff.
Even if certain parts of an ability are improved and others are made worse, I don't think using the word "buff" here is useful. You might do that, if you wish, but I must disagree.
-- Agree to disagree x2. Which is fine. We all can't agree on everything but we both love karma.
In my opinion, it became more gambly.
And the low consistency was more troubling to me than the increased damage potential.
-- I love the gamble.
Which I don't find is a good selling point for her character or design.
-- I dont know how to respond to this so I wont.
Because they killed her flexibility, which freed up power budget for the only combo left. Flexibility always comes at a price, so removing it...
-- I think karma got more flexible in saving herself and allies. but less flexible in dealing damage. Ideally in my opinion any changes should make RQ and W the best in terms of damage output and RW and RE need to be more utility focused but also deal decent damage.
You always could?
-- No. Karma could never complete negate a karthus ulti or zed ulti or any huge burst completely. Now RE shield saves your ally from burst from a champion 90% of the time or so. Before RE needed levels and ap to save an ally completely. Now the shield scaling is so much you dont need levels really to save someone. I think ideally all of Karma's ulted abilities (except for RQ) need meaningful utility in order for them to be used even at low ranks. Right now Q is always maxed so RQ is always good, RW the 40% heal is always good so it has a niche, and RE scales too good so it is always goodtoo Before RQ was always good, RW was always good for the heal, but before RE never felt really good because it never had meaningful utility and it needed levels and ap to feel good.
And I can not tell you how much I despise this. To quote myself on this: " It does not fit her theme, it does not benefit her kit, it's not reliable for her supporting. It's just clogging her power budget for no reason."
-- I agree with you that it is clogging up her power budget for no reason but at the veyry least it was something new on RW rather just increase in damage. I think im against just increasing a champs damage so plainly.
Also I don't know if you implied this, but I'd rather have her being "better" than "stronger".
--Agreed
I hated the passive buffs, because I knew they were linked to the shieldbomb removal, which was an utter misstake.
-- I think they could have just gave mantra shield a limit on the number of times it can lower her passive. Maybe two or three? If they had did that I would be very pleased with Karma. And I love the passive buffs because of the micro managing of it, weaving in autos and being able to turn the tables at the last second. If they had done that my only problems would be RW root duration.
Wanna join?
-- Yes I want to join but I have sort of always been there except IM not as vocal as you and right now college is hurting me D:
Also dont you hate waiting for winter wonder karma release?? The new W visual are memorizing to me... IDK why.
My only problem is that they did not make it to where when Karma dies she falls to her knees and she becomes ice and once she becomes ice she falls to the floor and shatter. Oh and they didnt give her long flowing hair. I am a man that loves a woman with long or medium hair...