The Current State of Singed and Anticipated Effects from the Item Changes

To preface this, I understand that there aren't many Singed mains, and that Singed isn't a very well-liked champ by those that don't main him. I completely understand this, but please, hear me out on this. I think that what I have to say is reflective not only of my own opinion, but of the common sentiment among many in the Singed community. I'm not here to change your opinion on Singed, but rather, to shed some light on his dismal current state.

I love to play Singed. Like many other Singed mains, I love how different he feels from any other champion in the game. There is nothing quite like tracking the enemy jungler, waiting for the perfect moment to make plays with the Mad Chemist. As of recent seasons, however, Singed has had quite a few problems plaguing him. This isn't the first time that anyone has communicated this, of that I am certain. But I think that the weight of the problems affecting him is much greater than those at Riot seem to think or believe.

Singed, since Season 6, has had a pretty rough time. For the short period of time Colossus was a good choice on him, he felt to be in an okay state. With the exception of those few weeks, however, playing Singed is a labor of love more than anything else. To rephrase, the only people that actually play Singed right now are only doing so because they REALLY like the champion.

If Champion.gg is to be trusted, Singed's winrate is currently sitting at 49.61%, with a 2.42% pickrate. That alone isn't too great, but when one takes into account that the average Singed player has 207 games with him, the ugly myriad of problems befalling him can be seen.

Singed is in a bad spot right now for quite a few reasons. Chiefly among them are that he is an AP bruiser that can't actually itemize like an AP bruiser. Building more than one AP item leaves him too squishy to survive a teamfight, while building full tank renders him unable to be a threat to the backline. Now, this isn't the first time Singed has felt useless in the backline, as he's always had problems with AD carries kiting him and out-lifestealing his damage. The problem comes now, however, because AD Carries don't even need to kite him any longer! Singed doesn't do enough damage to be a threat to the backline once he's there, to the point where his damage (or rather, lack thereof) is laughable.Since he can't itemize AP, he can't do much other than run in and try to fling a carry, and he'll probably die for the trouble.

The more perceptive among you may know that there is another build for Singed, a more utility-based build relying on Righteous Glory for engage. While this is true, the advent of items like or the upcoming rework to makes his engage non-existent. Singed has no good way to pop a spellshield without blowing E, wasting a bit of mana and a long cooldown. I foresee this only being worse when the changes to Banshees on PBE hit live.

To add insult to injury, Singed is one of few AP champions that can't buy Morellos for grievous wounds, but also can't buy Void Staff for magic penetration, leaving him with only Liandrys or Abyssal Scepter to attempt to mitigate a bit of Magic Resist. Because of this, he has a large amount of trouble brawling with champions that can sustain, and he deals very little damage against enemies with even the tiniest bit of Magic Resist. An item like will nearly completely end any kill potential that he has in lane if his opponent isn't a brain-dead monkey and realizes that they can buy it. Not only does it give Magic Resist, but the instant shield is also very difficult for Singed to break through given his inability to effectively itemize for magic penetration, leaving his poison feeling very unsatisfying and useless once late game rolls around.

The reason I wanted to make this post is to point out that with these changes on the PBE, this is not going to get any better, rather, Singed will be left in an even worse spot. Adaptive Helm, I think, is going to be one of the bigger nails in the coffin for him. A champion like , who is supposed to have a very weak early game, will rush Adaptive Helm into Singed, nullifying any kill potential Singed has on him. The combination of being unable to effectively itemize Grievous Wounds or magic penetration will render him unable to deal damage to any champion that first buys the Adaptive Helm, or even buys it at any point. AD Carries having the spellshield from will nullify most engage potential that he can have, save for significant error on the part of the carry. The removal of crit reduction from will also hurt Singed very much.

While I understand that members of the balance team have stated multiple times that they do not wish to buff Singed, or even touch his kit at all, I think that at least giving some serious thought to Singed is in order. Singed mains have dealt with two terrible seasons in a row, and it's incredibly frustrating to hear things from Rioters like "[Singed] have always been op. You just didn't believe in yourself." (ManWolfAxeBoss's Twitter, 18 January 2017). Statements like this, and the reluctance to examine the problems Singed faces and has faced for the past few seasons, feels very shortsighted and ignorant of the balance team. A champion played almost exclusively by one tricks/mains with a low pickrate and a sub-50% winrate is a clear indicator that something is very wrong.

I'd implore Riot to consider taking a closer look at Singed, and some of the aforementioned issues that he faces that will only be made worse by the update currently on PBE.