Poppy: a Fighter's Kit, a Tank's Stats, a Support's Ultimate

Hi there guys, I'm Anonagon, and I've recently returned to League after a hiatus, and have been mainly playing Poppy since I returned.

Now, I know its a bit late to talk about Poppy in terms of her being a rework, but given the break I took, Poppy as she exists is still "New Poppy" to me. Before the rework came out (which was just before I left), I spoke out briefly against what I mistook as Riot unnecessarily shifting Poppy, traditionally a diving carry, into a much more defensive playstyle. Now that I've had the opportunity to play her a lot more, I recognize I was wrong, and that her kit, for the most part, is still at its most effective when used aggressively, but I still have some concerns with the state she's in, and the place of her ultimate.

A disclaimer before I get into it; I've mainly been playing Poppy in the jungle (my natural main role, and where I played Old Poppy). This probably means I've been having a little bit of a different experience from those playing as (or against) Poppy in the top lane. I know I've heard some complaints about Poppy's state of balance as a top laner, but this thread is mainly concerned with Poppy's place as a rework of the Old Poppy, and so I won't really address her balance top aside from how she is being built.

Poppy as a Tank

While my initial concerns with Poppy's rework had to do with the idea of her turning from "offensive" to "defensive", the big change that occurred in reality was the shift from "light" to "tanky". Admittedly, Riot was very open about this. From the very moment Riot announced that Poppy would be reworked, they expressed interest in changing her role to that of a Tank. However, Old Poppy players decried that idea from the beginning. Its sad for me, as someone who genuinely enjoyed playing Old Poppy (though I will never claim I was a main), that Poppy now builds full tank, and feels infinitely more boring for it. Its even sadder that she was pigeonholed into being a tank despite the fact that her base kit is solidly that of a Fighter, and that with changes to the numbers and ways that the abilities are scaled, Poppy could still be one.

Luckily, Poppy's base kit being so similar to that of Old Poppy still opens up the possibility that, through balance changes, she could return to a more traditional, damage-focused build. There are several ways Riot could accomplish this. For example, if Riot...

• moved power from Q's %HP damage into her ability scalings
• made her W passive give flat resistances based on rank or level, instead of a percentage boost
• made her Passive shield either scale off of AD or simply be a high-value flat shield

... then Poppy wouldn't be nearly as compelled to built as a tank. But you're probably wondering...

Why should Poppy be a Fighter and not a Tank?

The answer to that isn't just "to make her more like Old Poppy". If that were the goal, I'd be calling for a total revert of a update that, on the whole, I quite like. Honestly, while part of it is probably just a preference thing on my part, I think that Poppy, as a tank, simply plays boring. I have taken to building damage on her, despite the fact that I know that building tank is more effective in most situations. Poppy's base kit reads like that of a diving fighter, and playing her as one feels infinitely more compelling than playing her as a tank.

Additionally, I don't think that being a Tank quite fits Poppy's visuals and theme. The most defining part of her visuals is a massive (for her) two-handed hammer. This is something that screams "I do damage". Looking deeper at her visuals, her armor also suggests more of a Fighter-like character than a Tank. Her armor isn't super heavy looking, and takes up none of her visual budget. She lacks a real-deal physical shield. She wears no helmet.

Being a tank also clashes somewhat with her theme. Poppy's lore story is that of a Hero's Journey, with her MacGuffin being "finding the hero", and the true object of her quest "realizing the hero was herself all along". That doesn't sound like a Tank whose relatively good all game long. That sounds like someone who grows over the course of a game to become a primary lategame threat.

That Ultimate This part is somewhat unrelated to the rest of the thread, and I could (and probably will) write an entire thread on just Poppy's ultimate, but I just want to briefly go over this. This ultimate is a cool idea. Its definitely something that can work in League, but really this feels a lot like Urgot's ultimate to me - misplaced. It feels like this ultimate belongs on a dedicated peeling support champion. It does not feel like Poppy. Poppy would not run from a fight.

On a gameplay level, this ultimate clashes so hard with her playstyle that its annoying, unless you just use it point-blank to set up wall stuns. Honestly, I almost never see any Poppy use the charged version of the ultimate, because knocking enemies to safety is unsatisfying. Unsatisfying is the best word to describe how this ultimate feels in Poppy's kit. The charged version rarely feels useful, and the point-blank version just feels like Alistar's Q.

Sorry that this last section was a bit rant-y. Just trying to finish up the thread before I head off to bed. If you actually read this, thanks. Now tell me:

• How you feel about the overall success of Poppy's rework?
• Are there any aspects you don't like?
• Do you agree with me that Poppy should be balanced to be a Bruiser and not a Tank?