Let’s talk Draven-moving away from Ebenezer Scrooge Executioner and back to the Glorious Executioner

You’ve all been in His games. You know when you hear a double kill bot lane, the game is already over- your Draven is either untouchable or unbearable until the 50 minute mark. He is the Akali of bot lane. So let’s talk Draven. Let’s talk about clarity and character identity. Let’s talk about champion reliability and liability.

Clarity and Character Identity

From the champion spotlight

Draven is a ranged physical carry, built around throwing and catching spinning axes. Through his gameplay, Draven can dish out tons of damage and dominate a game.

From Draven’s lore

Unlike his brother Darius, victory in battle was never enough for Draven. He craved recognition, acclaim, and glory. He first sought greatness in the Noxian military, but his flair for the dramatic went severely underappreciated.

This is where Riot really hit the target with Draven’s rework. His unique desire for recognition and glory translated beautifully with the roar of the crowd. But Riot is a company that hits the target and doesn’t stop until they find the bullseye. Draven was born to create drama so where is the adrenaline of his BLOOD Rush? Why is our pure executioner now tainted with avarice?

Champion Reliability and Liability

We have reached the current state of Draven because of the overwhelming bleed Draven once possessed. When the old Draven was presented with a window of opportunity in the early game, he smashed through and left the house burning. Flashes were burned only for the bleed to take lives. So why wasn’t Draven’s bleed tweaked?

We lowered the early game damage output Draven got from his passive since it wasn't adding much in terms of satisfying gameplay. Unfortunately, to get the numbers right, we realized we would need to reduce his passive damage to a point where it would be even less satisfying. We instead opted to rework Draven's passive altogether into something that reinforces his current gameplay, something so... Draven... even his opponents will feel begrudged to applaud: Welcome... to the League of Draven.

Here is where the conflict of Draven’s identity and gameplay began. Many would agree that high-risk, high-reward defines Draven. I agree. This was iterated well in the mechanics of catching axes. This is the core liability of the champion. A whole other layer of risk and reward was placed on Draven post-rework. Now Draven is focused on not dying until he gets an execution. This mejai/occult-like snowball passive now shackles Draven’s playstyle. And it makes the game less fun; regardless of which direction the lane goes, it cements the outcome of the game leaving neither team a good opportunity to outplay and bounce back.

We can all acknowledge that too much reliability in a champion’s kit is unhealthy. It leaves us cringing at the Ziggs era of competitive play. The problem is, when Draven is picked neither team has enough reliability. Draven either throws BF swords at opponents early or safety scissors all game. So let’s break Draven up from TF and Ashe and reinstate the Blood Brothers.

Executed properly , replacing the gold passive with a new bleed would bring Draven into a golden age (or should i say pink?) of balance. Here are some of my ideas:

1. Draven’s Wicked Axes apply a bleed of N*X damage over 4 seconds. This effect is capped at a maximum bleed like Darius. N is an integer that scales at 1/7/13. This scaling would add a balancing lever. Draven’s passive, Bloody Execution (renamed from League of Draven for clarity) temporarily amplifies Draven’s bleed based on multikill. Single kill X=2, Double Kill X=3, . . . , Pentakill X=6. The duration of this passive would give another lever of balance.

Pros: Rewards play for axe-catching and executing/killing enemies. Windows of opportunity for massive damage are extremely rare. Quite a few balancing levers. Cons: Potential for massive damage. Bleed available at level 1. Passive not named League of Draven.

2. Draven’s Wicked Axes DO NOT apply a bleed UNLESS Blood Rush is active. Draven would have the Bloody Execution passive, but its window of opportunity would be limited by mana and axe-catching skill.

Pros: Rewards play for axe-catching and executing/killing enemies. Window of opportunity for massive damage output limited further. Quite a few balance levers. No bleed at level 1. Bleed damage limited to mana pool. Cons: Potential for massive damage. Passive not named League of Draven.

3. Draven’s Wicked Axes apply potential bleed marks similar to Kennen- upon being hit by Stand Aside or Whirling Death, an opponent would bleed based on those stacks. This could be Draven’s passive or it could also be affected by Bloody Execution since the bleed would be so limited by cooldowns.

Pros: Rewards axe play. No massive damage output. Even more balance levers. Cons: Bleed severely tied to E and R cooldown. Passive not named League of Draven.

I would love to hear all thoughts on the topic, so please chime in!