Fiora Feedback

I prayed to the Riot gods for years for Fiora, but for a new skin to call my own!

Arguable Fiora main, minus my affairs with Irelia and to a lesser extent the random button(ARAM/Custom games represent). I hope this finds its way to Riot, and those who cares, eyes. I have many complaints, and a few compliments so I'll try to just highlight the big ones. Namely her artistic and design focus. I understand how far you've come in development and odds are hilariously slim anything significant I address here will change but here goes.

Is she's not a fencer anymore? That sword is too large, and she's missing her dagger. The sword is too crude and large to reasonably be called a rapier, or court sword that fencers back then used. The overly large guards do not help it either. The missing dagger begs the question why she even bothers holding her back in the gripping position too. This overhaul was a huge chance to make use of it! Is she a modern day fencer? Even less reason to have the large sword in favor of a foil or epee.

Why does she have rather large shoulder armor? It looks like it would almost impact her fighting ability as she's constantly combating against the extra weight. The light mail and leather style the old model had looked much less contradictory to the focus of the character she was and the one you're trying to make(a Lithe quick duelist).

Her face feels... off? I don't know. Her older one looks condescending while still looking alive. The newer one feels more cold and villain-ish.

./Insert my 2c on the hair bit. I'm a sucker for the hot "one eye covered" look. /drool. The new hair isn't bad though. Don't listen to people saying its trash.

She also totally looks like she's falling over without realizing it in that splash art.

The icon and spell art are beautiful. My kudos to the teams. Each color weaves and blends into each other in a way that suites the character. The passive procs are subtle and elegant too, just as Fiora is supposed to be. My only suggestion it to change the Demacian gold on the passive. The Demacian blue might fit better instead. Since her ult covers that base very well. (Or retain the gold and disregard this if the ult changes)

For the kit itself I take issue with your teams lust for skill shots on a lot of champs. I understand fully what they are, mean, and result in. Interaction is game design 101. This is just a personal quip that not everything needs to obey that. Moving on...

As a whole I think the idea of trading in the 'all in single target assassin(minus ult)' for a more mobile bruiser supporty-type has been exhausted. It's the same archetype done a different way at the expense of one of the few squishy melee assassins the game has. I'm not saying she or meleessassins are perfect, by no means. Being behind with her is an awful experience. On the flip side, much like Master Yi, she is a pubstomper. Being ahead is soul crushing until late game where you slap her around. Yet changing her role from an easy to learn and play assassin to a positional bruiser I believe was not the way to address her issues. I say bruiser because there's no way with that passive people won't go that route. Anyway these are a bit dramatic for the goals I believe you set out for when you thought to make her more suitable to your current game. That of a squishy evasive assassin.

I enjoy the new passive. It's a slippery slope giving her a(presumably) scaling true damage nuke with a pseudo cooldown but it does make her move around the target. Which is unique and is something her old ult would have interacted very well with.

Her Q is cool. A few friends of mine have told me she does not reposition herself to the proper side when you use it so it kinda hurts it there but whatevs. This is one that isn't bad being a skillshot. I foresee a lot of feel good moments on this.

Riposte however, is. I understand you wanted to be all about the countering and counterplay so whoever she's countering can get around her counter; but I really feel the skill would have felt better if it had functioned as a 'blocks next spell/basic attack' but without doing damage and teleporting her to the attackers weakspot. As a concept though this is really sick, and an amazingly fun idea. I'm mostly neutral on it, half a second of saying no to everything is hilarious.

E! I see both sides of this coin. On the one we have a skill that slows so you can snipe that weakspot, and contribute to your team with said slow. While at the same time giving her a would-be increase in damage and fixing her crazy good split push game. On the other, It might hurt aforementioned push game too much, while arguably making it to hit those snipes(more autos, longer move speed buff, more weakprocs). This one really depends on the numbers that I don't know. I'm hopeful for it! I do know her splitpush was incredibly strong and needed a nerf. I was honestly expecting a numbers change not a new skill.

R! I'll be blunt. I can't not be biased on this one. I -loved- Blade Waltz and feel it would have been a much better fit for her new kit than this. So sorry in advance for not being as objective. I read the skill and did not feel excited for this. I felt like I accidentally started reading a different characters kit mid sentence. The new ult is a glorified single target super passive that gives you a massive AoE heal. I understand you wanted to make her more team viable, and helpful late game if she got shut down, but her new passive was more than enough for that easily!

From what I've read the goal was to make it seem like applause for her winning. Why does it not help her more than her allies? Her fans are cheering for -her- not each other. She's a condescending, arrogant, and selfish woman not Merry Poppins! This takes an assassin focused on 1v1 combat and gives her a large aoe heal for playing a minigame. That's... The most support thing I've seen on an assassin since AD Janna back in S2.

You also say in your announcement the following "...this genuine sense of a real time duel, with Fiora moving around looking to destroy the four weak spots, and her opponent looking to defend them. The rewards, if she pulls them off, are impressive."

It does not make me feel like I'm dueling or being dueled In fact in a teamfight that's the exact opposite of what happens. I feel like I'm chasing one target around while burning to death in aoe hellfire or baiting someone into said hellfire. That's just my experience currently interacting with Fiora. There were many tools in your box and I do not feel this was the appropriate 'Morale booster' that would come from your team reveling in your triumphant minigame. Attack or move speed per weakness struck with a final big burst at the end may have been better. She wants to world to acknowledge her as the best. Dandy, this does that to some lesser degree. I can't give you an easy answer to what would, but this is most definitely not that. It's mechanically disjointed from her as a character and as a unit in league.

If I had my way with it, I would have reduced to the damage on her current ult, keep the random teleporting, limit it to champs and have it hit the weak spot on each champ she strikes if one is up. It makes automatic use of her passive in case you really just can't get there(too behind, blown up instantly, etc), keeps the amazingly satisfying and clutch teleport juking, and the beautiful skill name. The people who have issues with her current ult might not understand the fact it's an ultimate. Not a regular skill. It's supposed to be impactful.

Over all, contrary to my nearly never-ending quips the concept has potential. I just feel like it was taken too far down the wrong road. Not every character needs to contribute large sums to the team to be a team player. There are numerous characters in this game who have proven it on the LCS stage, in regular ranked, normals, and other maps. Every character has their role to fill, and I believed hers to be a squishy evasive assassin. This feels more like a top lane bruiser support.

Apologies for length, but passion is as passion do, and I've got oodles of passion for this saucy fencing bombshell with an attitude. unf.