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Can Someone Explain the Thought Process Behind "Mandrake Ward?"

Owatatsumi Kami·2/25/2015, 1:14:36 AM·1 votes·1,202 views
News of Legends

I ran across this while catching up on PBE news I missed:

"Mandrake Ward [Placeholder icon]

Click to Consume: Places an invisible blind sentry in a brush for 5 minutes. The plant will ping the map if a visible or invisible enemy is within 900 range."

Could someone please fill me in on what purpose this is supposed to hold? I just can't see why this was ever created in the first place. At first glance this item seems OP (though we don't have the cost yet) and seems to be a get out of jail free card against stealth champions, and a lazy addition to the vision game. You don't have to have map awareness with this item because it pings the map for you! On top of that the ward is invisible itself. As someone who still plays Eve jungle this item would hit hard against an already struggling jungle champion.

I'd like some insight from Riot on this item or if anyone else has any news on it I'd appreciate it.

Thanks.

15 Comments

Maximum Zilean2/25/2015, 1:25:02 AM5 votes

To people who say "This will literally make Evelynn 200% more unplayable" All I can say is now they might actually be able to buff her since there is a good item to counter her.

Centuros2/25/2015, 1:19:23 AM5 votes

It's possibly cheap and sees stealth units, but it provides ZERO actual vision, so it won't help you target an enemy over a wall/in brush, doesn't help with stealing objectives, etc.

Basically, you place it to warn you of a gank, but it does none of the other things ward vision is used for. Also, it remains to be seen when/how often it pings if a champion does not leave or if multiple champions are in the area.

SpecterVonBaren2/25/2015, 1:26:11 AM3 votes

Its meant to let them buff Eve. By having this ward in the game, you have no one to blame but yourself for not taking the necessary measure to deal with her.

Skia Asteri2/25/2015, 1:39:48 AM2 votes

http://boards.pbe.leagueoflegends.com/en/c/champions-gameplay-feedback/Gvu9AMil-experimental-wip-217-mandrake-ward?show=flat

Cenobite Azaziel3/2/2015, 5:02:06 PM2 votes

Thought Process: F*CK junglers. Free trinket and cheap motion detector. Probably the next pbe patch they will put a bouncer in every lane "No, sorry mister JArvan, your name isn't in the list, you can't gank here".

wolfax2/25/2015, 1:28:33 AM2 votes

It's meant to give a cheap early alternative for the bottom lane to avoid ganks in the early game. It give no actual vision though, so you have no clue if they're actually coming in for the gank, passing through, or really what they're doing.

Sirsir2/25/2015, 1:32:42 AM2 votes

Last I saw it was 50g, pings through walls, and does it for stealth or whatever.

Owatatsumi Kami3/2/2015, 4:26:49 PM1 votes

Hmm, interesting. We'll see how it plays out. I still feel this early warning system will make ganking really difficult for her. For any smart player they would just back off and play safe when alerted or immediately drop a pink ward preventing any gank. If they can buff Eve maybe, but I'm having a hard time seeing it. The issue is again this item is currently invisible unlike a pink ward, so Eve's lane can't easily help clear it. It is also super cheap, so unless the cost is either increased or there is a small limit on how many one can posses or team limit it has the possibility of being up way too often and in every lane. This just takes away her surprise/burst factor which is what she is all about. She isn't a tankier champion like Rengar and doesn't have the mobility of Kha'zix so she suffers from longer skirmishes or counter ganks. One of Eve's biggest struggles right now is her squishiness. Her early clears are tough but she can still be a mid/late game monster, especially if she gets a few kills (AP Eve). This item would make it almost too easy for the enemy jungle to counter gank her. On top of that if she still wanted the surprise she'd be forced to sit around until the lane thought they were safe again, wasting time. Also, with this item I feel the pressure a stealth champion exerts on the map by default is greatly reduced.

TheDráco2/25/2015, 6:57:38 AM1 votes

Its being added because Xypherous hates stealth champs.