Kassadin's Ultimate doesn't give the reward it should

Rew711·Dec 5, 2014·8 votes·1,117 views

Kassadin is still tough, don't get me wrong. I've won a lot with him recently. But his ultimate still scares me on how much mana it eventually costs.

I like the idea of it costing 75, then doubles to 150, then doubles to 300, and then doubles to 600, but yet it continues to 1200. That's a lot of mana Riot. 600 mana is a lot. That's 6 times the amount of any other ultimate. Why does it have to go to 1200 but get no good buff for such a cost?

I can handle his Q. It's nice for other assassins.

His W makes for a good sustain but can't keep up with even 600 mana. So 1200 may be too much.

His E is only available if you continue to use spells.

So, you should either give Kassadin a stronger 5th buff or take the 5th double away. Either way, that is not fair to give any ability a 1200 cost.

17 Comments

DiostukosDec 5, 20144 votes

If only he had a skill that returned some mana to him :/

Honestly though you have to rememeber how good his ult is, and how good mobility is right now. It costs so much mana because when it didn't scale up as much it was kind of broken.

Kassadin needs a rework.

Ro0kiDec 5, 20141 votes

i cant tell if you are being sarcastic or not. Kassadin has a skill that can return mana. 40% of missing. he doesnt need a rework. his kit fits him. but his ulti can be a little more rewarding for the stacks. something like this.

Magic Damage decreased to : 80 / 100 / 120 (+ 1% of max mana) from 80 / 100 / 120** (+ 2% of max mana) **
Bonus Damage per stack increased to : 40 / 50 / 60 **(+ 2% max mana) ** from (+ 1% of max mana)

so damage from rift walk is increased only after his 3rd stack which cost 300 mana. but then again Kassadin isnt a champion that really needs a buff.

Rew711Dec 5, 20141 votes

The W'S 40% mana return is only at max level, and only against champions. Also, can't it be instead 1.5% per stack and keep the 2% for the first use?

Ariel the CruelDec 5, 20143 votes

He has a flash on 7/5/3 second cooldown. Except is does damage. Has 300 more range.

Let me re-emphasize this. He gets the only summoner spell that is mandatory on every champion. At worst, every 20 seconds. At best, every 3.

I don't play Kassadin, so maybe I'm missing something. But his ult as far from weak.

AnonagonDec 5, 20144 votes

He has a flash on 7/5/3 second cooldown. Except is does damage. Has 300 more range.

Let me re-emphasize this. He gets the only summoner spell that is mandatory on every champion. At worst, every 20 seconds. At best, every 3.

I don't play Kassadin, so maybe I'm missing something. But his ult as far from weak.

People really need to stop using the "b-b-but its flash on a 3 second cooldown!" as an argument against Kassadin. First off, its a fucking ultimate, it does pitiful damage so its utility should be strong. Its not like this is the only "flash replacement" spell in the game - Arcane Shift exists, and while it has a higher cooldown, it does more damage and is on a basic ability slot, meaning Ezreal has a very powerful damaging ultimate in addition to this spell. Oh, and did I forget that Arcane Shift doesn't have ramping mana costs? There are several champions with infinite dash/blink moves, its just that those have some kind of requirement whereas Kassadin doesn't because its his ultimate.

"But it does damage!" Yeah, and it does pitiful damage, even when it costs 1200 mana and you have a full mana build. And its not like Kassadin's other spells do lots of damage either. Both his nukes only have 180 base damage at max rank. And its not like his Q and E are low cooldown spells either - their cooldowns are 9 and 6 seconds respectively, and his E also makes you wait for enough spells to be cast in your vicinity. Because of his reliance on his W and Lich Bane for damage, its not like he can simply hit-and-run, he has to get into melee range of you to do damage. His damage is balanced around his ultimate, around his powerful (but nowhere close to unlimited) sticking power.

Also you should realize that Kassadin doesn't reach that golden 3 second cooldown until level 16. Kassadin is a lategame champion. He is a hypercarry. He is supposed to be ridiculously strong lategame - that's why the standard build includes Archangel's and Rod of Ages. Early game, his ultimate has a 7 second cooldown, and he barely has the mana to cast it twice. His lane phase is pitiful, and consists of last hitting with Q and W where you can.

His ultimate isn't anywhere as ridiculous as people think it is, but it should be, because the rest of his kit is terrible for it.

CaptnJakSparrowDec 5, 20143 votes

Kassadin is one of those champions where a tiny buff turns him into a God, and a nerf makes him poopy.

Yxion the YordleDec 5, 20142 votes

I have mixed feelings on this but I am swaying more towards agreeing with you.

Jungle Lux GodDec 5, 20142 votes

The mana cost gets so high because it HAS to be gated by mana. Every other ultimate has a lower mana cost because nearly every other ultimate has a cooldown at least 20 times the cooldown of Riftwalk, with the only exceptions being the transformation ults, ults that use a stack mechanic (like Shadow Dance and Missile Barage), and other ults that use the same sort of mana gating as Riftwalk, like Living Artillery.

Not to mention how much mobility his ultimate gives, and mobility is king in League of Legends.

poopoo peepeeDec 5, 20141 votes

1200 is a lot. He should get something. Maybe that cast gives a much larger damage radius, say 1000, and deals 200/300/400 true damage.

CenturosDec 5, 20141 votes

The buff is you just got to blink 5 times in a short period. That's one more time than the previous cost gives you.

Rew711Dec 5, 20141 votes

But that means you're putting the costs together, and that's 2325 mana in total for his ultimate to do the max damage.

Desmond LawDec 5, 20141 votes

My version: He now revolves around using energy from the void in the form of stacks. It's a little Stashu, but I hope you like it. Passive void stone: Kassadin takes 15% reduced damage from spell and restores mana equal to the amount of damage reduced. His spells also unleash void energy that can be used for other spells.

Q: Null Sphere: (single target nuke) Kassadin fires a sphere of void energy at a target. The release of energy grants Kassadin more move speed. This can stack up to 3 times. The duration lasts 5 seconds. Each new stack will refresh the duration. The duration is refreshed if a spell is used and Kassadin already has 3 stacks. If Kassadin has at least one stack, his other abilities can add stacks. Only this spell can place the initial stack.

W: Nether Blade: Active: Kassadin's next X auto attack(s) will deal bonus magic damage. Passive: When Kassadin casts a spell, including this spell, he gains a "Blade" stack. Kassadin can hold up to 6 "Blade" Stacks. When this spell is activated, it will consume all available stacks. Every 2 stacks consumed will grant an additional empowered auto attack. If this ability is activated and no stacks are available to be consumed, Kassadin will instead gain a minimal amount of mana for one auto attack. Single consumed stacks also have this restriction.

E: Force Pulse: Passive: Kassadin draws energy from spells cast in his vicinity, gaining a charge whenever a spell is cast near him (including his own spells). Upon reaching 6 charges, Kassadin gains the ability to cast Force Pulse. Active: Kassadin can emit a pulse of void energy, dealing magic damage in a 80 degree cone in front of him.

R: Rift Walk: Active: Kassadin teleports to a nearby location, dealing magic damage to enemy units within 150 range upon arrival. Passive: When Kassadin casts a spell, not including this spell, he gains a "Walk" stack. Kassadin can hold up to 6 "Walk" Stacks. When this spell is activated, it will consume 2 stacks. This ability cannot be activated unless at least 2 stacks can be consumed.

Paradise ProxyDec 5, 20141 votes

make his passive W dmg increase per level pls ;_;

BeatzBoyFTWDec 5, 20141 votes

Having the ability to pass through walls multiple times with cooldowns & early ranking ups is pretty much a good deal with the cost of high 1200 mana.

Drunk RummateDec 5, 20141 votes

if the cost is too low then he can just build roa + athenes and blink around like the old kassadin did. continually rising the costs forces him to stop spamming the ability on cooldown and makes him catchable.

Rew711Dec 5, 20141 votes

but this also takes away from Kass being able to use any abilities except W which will always be on cooldown. btw, 600 mana per use is still a lot... Kass would only be able to blink around another 2 times instead of 1.