I've tried to ask a couple of times, but never get an answer. As someone who loves this champ, why have you been neglecting to bring him up to speed with the rest of the game? He has no identity anymore. Syndra and Xerath both do his job better, his AoE is pretty standard now, his combo-reliant stun and unreliable ult make him, well, unreliable.
So, Riot, will we ever see an update for Brand?
Sailor Mint2 votesHere's the thing, Brand is a skillshot reliant combo mage with extremely high damage and an unreliable RNG Ultimate.
His skill interactions with his passive, while powerful, make him predictable. If his combo was easier to land and his ultimate was more reliable, Riot would have to nerf his damage to compensate. And that more than anything would reduce him to being a generic mage.
At this point, his unreliability is part of what makes Brand who he is. What could be improved is his durability and lack of options. Since there's already an "optimal" way to use Brand's passive, it really doesn't give him that many tools to play with and very little room for outplays since his opponents always know what he's going to do.
Voidac1 votesUnless his ultimate manages to bounce back to its original target, it's laughable. I usually use it to open into a combo (R > Q > W) since it has more range then his semi-useless E (unless your farming, then it's meh). I get it's an on-click ability, but it's damage scaling is... sad... for it's range. His combos DON'T need to be easier to land. I enjoy trying to position around minions to get that shot on my opponent.
What I'm asking for is just a little bit of an update for the guy. His combos, utilizing his passive to achieve additional effects, are what give Brand his identity gameplay-wise. So what I think would benefit the guy without affecting the health of his gameplay are what follows:
Increase the speed of his Q. Since it's a major part of his combo, it's pretty obvious why. No damage increase, just increase the missile speed a little bit.
Increase the damage dealt to the initial target of his ultimate. This would help him tremendously in solo lanes or river encounters. If the ult bounces back to that person, they take reduced damage. This means if there aren't any minions to keep it bouncing, it's a lot more useful in a 1v1.
Those are just some ideas. I'd love to discuss it with Rito.
Talamare2 votesLook Riot! Look with your special eyes!
Faith Breaker1 votesI legit said that 8 days ago in a match vs an enemy Brand. My responses were pretty much the same =)
vIbvdOwbko1 votesBrand probably is going to be given attention a long time later if he's given any at all.
It's not like he's terrible or overpowered. There are still people playing him in solo queue. Just know that with every nerf to a mage, Brand gets stronger.
And Syndra is almost never played now after her nerfs. Not saying she's terrible, but just back to her original state of never getting played.
I think if they do look at him, they should fix his ult RNG and then adjust its values if it proves him to be too powerful. I also think they should flat out remove his E and add a different ability. Its purpose was probably to just to reliably apply his passive so Brand can follow up with the rest of his abilities, but being instant and point and click, it was given pitiful damage and range. I think I'd even take a small damage nerf to it if its range could be increased.
Voidac1 votesI agree with you on his E. It's useful for nothing more than applying his passive. And I heavily agree to your last statement, damage for range.
We don't need any increases in power, I would like to just see some stuff on him changed is all. Modified to work better, not to damage more.
