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What Karma Needs to Get in her Update

SilverSquid·10/30/2017, 10:54:13 PM·34 votes·3,838 views

Shieldbomb. And we could end the thread right there.

But while this might be the most popular opinion on the boards, it's not the only one out there. I wonder what other people think she NEEDS to get, once her kit gets the well deserved touchup. (If you are wondering what I am talking about, click HERE .)

My Opinion

I personally think, that Karma needs skill expression. Badly. Her Q is a generic skillshot, W and E are just point-and-click and even her passive is nothing that you need to mind. Once you are playing good, your passive just rewards you. She also has no complex combos or interesting outplay potential. or much of anything that distinguishes a good from a great Karma player. Hitting your Q is already the pinnacle of skill.

Which is a shame, really. Because there is potential for that in her kit!

Shieldbomb

I reckon both the shieldbomb and mantra have most potential for this. Shieldbomb, because it asks you to mind so much; who to shield, who to hurt and WHEN. Since it's not to be freely placed anywhere, but uses allies as... points of origin intead, you need to predict the battlefield and positioning of enemies and allies alike. I like this idea a lot.

Also it has some historical meaning to her.

Mantra

Karma's mantra could be used way more creatively.

Currently, it is more a test of how well you understand your build, rather than how well you understand the current fight. Since the mantra effects scale with different stats, once you have chosen your build, there is no more mental work required; One mantra is nearly always superior. A good mantra design would challenge you to spot the different situational advantages, instead of being a 20 seconds checkbox whether you remember which lane you are playing in.

Currently it feels too much like an elaborate EvolveKhazix mechanic for one of your 3 spells.

What do YOU think?

So, skill expression (mantra) and shieldbomb. Those are my two choices. But what are yours? What would you like to see? Are there certain animations that you would love to see added? Any ability you miss from her old one or created yourself, that you desire to be used? Do you have an idea for a certain tweak to an ability, that you crave to have in game? Something that would make Karma more viable, deep or fun?

Let me and your fellow Karma players know :) And please upvote, so more people see it and chime in ^_^!

153 Comments

IxtaliKing10/31/2017, 1:00:52 AM12 votes

Silver, I am convinced that your idea to make RQ ground targeted, along with an ally RW function and shield bomb would fix Karma - easy. Those key points address all of her gameplay issues without a drastic overhaul of her kit.

To summarise for those who don't know:

  • Ground targeted RQ

  • Decreases the reliability of max range casts, while increasing the reliability at closer ranges (more fitting for battle mage).

  • Allows for competitive wave clear.

  • Improves target selection.

  • The ground placement lends itself better to utility uses as a slow zone for engages/disengages when supporting.

  • Ally RW

  • Increases 'contextual decision making' - the failed goal of her last update.

  • Increasing her decision making increases her skill cap.

  • Pays homage to original Karma by allowing her to heal allies again, even if it is just single target.

  • Bonus points for bringing the tether clothesline mechanic (not essential).

  • Shield Bomb

  • Increases 'contextual decision making', it was misguided to remove this in the first place - but anyway...

  • Pays homage to original Karma in the way a rework should (retaining iconic abilities).

  • Playstyle shifts

  • Revert the passive to 2 seconds at all ranks - the passive scaling to 3 seconds and now 4 encourages a hit and run poke playstyle, unfitting of a battle mage.

  • Allow W to tick every 0.5 seconds for increased synergy with her passive - being within retaliation range of the enemy with W should reward Karma more than poking.

  • Revert the 0.9 AP scaling on W.

  • Change RW healing to be more effective with AP, and less with HP to curb tank build abuses.

  • Removing the unnecessary bonus root from RW and give back the bonus damage (or something else that isn't extra root).

  • Backload some of RQs initial bonus damage to the delayed explosion - because counter play.

OverpoweredSoap10/31/2017, 3:37:55 AM10 votes

Honestly she needs some more animations. You can tell she was rushed animation wise, seeing she doesn't have a haste animation or shield animation as well.

Kit wise, she just needs an identity. She's suppose to be jack of all trades but right now she's just a weird mix of kite and poke, and Lulu's usually better at that most of the time imo.

NTrumpWeTrust10/31/2017, 2:56:05 AM7 votes

People saying she's good are missing the point. It's not about being good or bad it's about being bland and uninspiring with little to no decision making or flavor. Now that that's out of the way...

The problems with shieldbomb are very layered.

  1. The problem with putting offensive AND defensive capabilities onto the same ability is that when one aspect of the ability is used properly, in this case the defensive aspect of shielding someone, the loss of value from not properly using the damage aspect, makes the ability feel extremely unrewarding because the player essentially feels like they didn't use the ability to its fullest, which leads us into the next problem:
  2. If both the offensive and defensive power are used properly, the ability is probably too strong.
  3. Abilities like this ALWAYS create toxic, uninteractive laning phases. Karma already has a design that encourages her to run up to someone with shield, W them into a root then Q them and turn away or throw in a couple more autos. That gameplay is incredibly uninteractive because her CC ability is a point and click one, so there's no way to avoid this aside from turning and running. This design is only made worse by adding a shieldbombing aspect to her kit, providing more damage and incentivizing an already pretty frustrating gameplay experience for your opponent, not to mention it's really not all that fun for the Karma player, unless you enjoy being annoying.

She needs a complete overhaul. It is painfully apparent how outdated she is. Nothing about her play style fits her lore, she is extremely one dimensional which makes her predictable, and her visuals are pretty bad.

Peacewick10/30/2017, 11:43:36 PM3 votes

karma is in a really good spot right now

her mid lane is strong, and she can translate to a support shielder late game

it makes her a very niche pick

i'm still averaging 4.5kda on her while only playing her mid ap mage

only thing i would change is her w, Id like it to be fiddle's drain but with lower ratios and then the snare is just a snare, not extra damage

Queen Sansa10/31/2017, 12:36:31 AM3 votes

is it just me or its always the same user posting about Karma?

Yeah if I were Riot , Id give Karma her shield bomb back. Also I would change her W into something more skillshot-ey.

Ooooooooor give her temporary resistance when tethering enemy :D