@RIOT - Possible Way to Rework Azir - FULL DETAILS AND EXPLANATION

So I think everyone can agree that Azir has been one of those champions that has been difficult to balance in terms of both casual and professional levels of play due simply the raw damage he can apply as well as the zoning prowess brought by his tower passive, soldiers, and ultimate. Sadly, the emperor's legacy has been one of bug fixes and nerfs for the most part (with some buffs occasionally near his release) over the months since he first arrived on the rift. There has been talk of "mini"-reworks of champions like Azir and Kalista who have been difficult to balance due to the nature of their large kit. The main issue that arises when reworks are considered instead of nerfs and buffs is that will a champions initially intended theme and gameplay remain after possibly having to change abilities. And thus we arrive at one of the topics that has been an issue lately, how to make azir a bit more healthy while maintaining his imperial status.

And thankfully I believe that his rework would need a lot less work than most would believe. To begin, I think its important to remember Azir's title and theme: The Emperor of Shurima. So Wiki (accredited resource) defines an emperor as someone who's status is that of one above a king and answers to no others in their kingdom. And from the way Azir was designed to both visuals and gameplay I believe he fits the imperial status to a T. But our emperor has had a bit of a dichotomy since his release. HIs W (Arise!) being the central portion of his kit (Heck you have to take it at level 1 or no abilities for you till level 6!)

His W (Arise!) ability description is as follows currently as of Patch 6.23: **Azir summons a Sand Soldier to attack nearby targets for him, replacing his basic attack against targets within the soldier's range. Their attacks deal magic damage to enemies in a line. Arise! also passively grants attack speed to Azir and his Sand Soldiers. Passive: Gains 20/30/40/50/60% attack speed. Active: Azir summons a Sand Soldier for 9 seconds. When Azir attacks an enemy in a soldier's range, the soldier attacks instead of Azir, dealing 0 (+60% Ability Power) magic damage to enemies in a line. If multiple soldiers strike the same target, each soldier after the first deals 25% damage. Azir can store up to {{ maxammo }} Sand Soldiers at a time. A new soldier becomes available every 0 seconds.Sand Soldiers can attack targets outside of Azir's basic attack range.Sand Soldiers deactivate if they are too far away from Azir.Sand Soldiers expire twice as fast when near an enemy turret. ** This central ability seats Azir in League's new subclass quite comfortably as what is called a BATTLE MAGE.

A BATTLE MAGE is described as "_Battle Mages get into the middle of the fray, seeking to wreak havoc upon the entire enemy team with their overwhelming sustained area damage. Due to their relatively short (but not melee) combat ranges and the need to burn down their opponents over time, Battle Mages have significant defensive capabilities that range from sustaining endlessly to literally defying death for a short period of time. _".

The only description that puts Azir on the outskirts of the BATTLE MAGE class would be that he lacks sustain or death defying abilities which I believe is perfectly alright because Azir also could be considered a part of the new **ARTILLERY MAGE ** subclass which is defined as

Artillery Mages are the masters of range, and they leverage that advantage to whittle down their opponents over time from great distances. In turn, Artillery Mages are severely punished when enemies finally succeed in closing in on them, due to their extreme fragility and limited mobility. And to me I personally and strongly believe Azir, at his theoretically most healthy point would be a champion who straddles the lines between a BATTLE MAGE and a ARTILLERY MAGE.

However an issue arose over the course of the first couple of months that he was released and received some buffs and nerfs to his Q (Conquering Sands). And I believe it is here where the root of the issue with Azir lies. So first a quick rundown of Azir's Q (Conquering Sands).

**Azir sends all Sand Soldiers towards a location. Sand Soldiers deal magic damage to enemies they pass through and apply a slow for 1 second. Azir sends all Sand Soldiers towards a location. Sand Soldiers deal 65/85/105/125/145 (+50% Ability Power) magic damage to enemies they pass through and apply a 25% slow for 1 second.Enemies hit by multiple Sand Soldiers will not take additional damage. **

And the main issue I believe lies with this abilities power. For you see Azir's Q used to reapply damage for every soldier that struck an enemy champion which you can imagine in all points of the game could lead to a large amount of damage with little risk if played correctly. And after an item or two this damage was increase significantly where Azir left the subclass realm of BATTLE MAGES and ARTILLERY MAGES and felt much more like a BURST MAGE (which will quickly be described as per RIOT.

_Burst Mages aim to single out vulnerable targets by locking them down and following up with a devastating barrage of damage from range. Burst Mages struggle heavily against beefier targets who can shrug off their initial spike of damage. _

And thus we arrive at the main issue, Azir was an Emperor who defied all boundaries and found himself in the middle of the Mage subclass ven diagram. Part BATTLE MAGE, part ARTILLERY MAGE, and part BURST MAGE. And to be honest a champion that fits into all of the subclasses is always going to be an issue just by the way he/she has been designed. Thus our emperor must let down one of the three crowns of these subclasses as to not rule over all (even though Azir was happy with all 3 crowns). And thus we arrive after much rambling and talking at the proposed changes. So lets just dive straight in.

PASSIVE (SHURIMA"S LEGACY): NO CHANGES.

Q (CONQUERING SANDS): PASSIVE: Gains 20/30/40/50/60% attack speed. (MOVED FROM W: ARISE!) _ACTIVE: Azir sends all Sand Soldiers towards a location. Sand Soldiers~~ deal 65/85/105/125/145 (+50% Ability Power) magic damage to enemies they pass through and~~ apply a 25% slow for 1 second.Enemies hit by multiple Sand Soldiers will not take additional damage, but are slowed by an additional 25% per soldier beyond the first. _

W (ARISE!): _Passive: Gains 20/30/40/50/60% attack speed. -> Every four attacks by a soldier will cause an enemy champion to be GROUNDED for 1 second. _ Azir summons a Sand Soldier for 9 seconds. When Azir attacks an enemy in a soldier's range, the soldier attacks instead of Azir, dealing 0 (+60% Ability Power) magic damage to enemies in a line. If multiple soldiers strike the same target, each soldier after the first deals~~ 25%~~ -> 35% damage. Azir can store up to {{ maxammo }} Sand Soldiers at a time. A new soldier becomes available every 0 seconds.Sand Soldiers can attack targets outside of Azir's basic attack range.Sand Soldiers deactivate if they are too far away from Azir. Sand Soldiers expire twice as fast when near an enemy turret.

E (SHIFTING SANDS) Azir dashes to one of his Sand Soldiers, damaging enemies hit for 60/90/120/150/180 (+40% Ability Power) magic damage. If Azir hits an enemy champion, his dash stops KNOCKS UP THE FIRST ENEMY CHAMPION HIT and he gains a shield for 4 seconds that absorbs up to 80/120/160/200/240 (+0) damage.

R (EMPEROR'S DIVIDE) Azir summons a wall of armored soldiers that charge forward, knocking back enemies and dealing 150/225/300 (+60% Ability Power) magic damage. The soldiers then remain as a wall for **3 -> 5, 6, 7 **seconds.Enemies will be stopped by Emperor's Divide, even if they attempt to dash over the wall, but Azir and his allies can pass freely through it.Emperor's Divide does not interact with Azir's basic attacks or spells.

So with the numbers and details out of the way let me explain what I have thought up. I believe the healthiest world league and Azir can coexist in is where he no longer rides that BURST MAGE line. I think as an emperor, his power should be in the size of his kingdom, or rather the size of his area he controls on the rift BUT that should come at a price. Azir has very strong poke and zone potential with his entire kit but too often his main gameplay consisted of Q two soldiers to an enemy champ, auto attack twice proc thunderlords BOOM tuns of damages. Rinse repeat till low enough for a stylish SHURIMA SHUFFLE and ult for the kill. And after securing the first two items, most often Nashors and Rylais this gameplay became very unhealthy for lane opponents due to the increased low AND increased damage from his Q. Thus to be honest if I had to choose damage or control to go, I would insanely choose the damage, which is what I have suggested for his Q. Now perhaps his damage does not need to be removed all together BUT i do believe it is a bit over the top for a spell that can have multiple uses such as initiation of a damage combo, or initiating a large movement procedure (Aka SHURIMA SHUFFLE) or even just zoning an enemy champion or team from a portion of the map. Thus I believe simply giving his Q the ability to slow and not damage would allow us to pour a bit more power into his subjects. Which is where we turn to his other abilities and we can start with his Q. Since now he has lost the initial damage from his Q he needs to be a bit more sticky before diving in towards an enemy with his E. Thus I thought that his W could now cause a stacking passive and on the fourth attack trigger a burst of sand from his soldiers that causes enemies to be grounded for a very short time thus allowing for more control and sustained damage but less burst damage. Couple this with the possibility of returning his E and R to their old power (The knock up on the E and the increased duration of the wall from his R) Azir would still have plenty of tools to damage his enemies over time but would not simply be able to chunk a champion to less than half HP with a simple Q and auto attack from his soldiers.

Thus concludes my initial thoughts for a mini-rework to our glorious emperor Azir. I have loved this champion since his release and would love to see Azir in a world where he can still rule the rift but in a manner that is a bit less dominating and shoving out other champions and more of a challenge of skills to see if worthy opponents can claim the crown of the rift.

Please leave all comments and suggestions or don't, but lets try our best to make our champions a bit more fun by pitching ideas to Riot and hoping they hear us out!

(HAPPY EARLY YEAR OF THE ROOSTER! GO ROOSTER EMPEROR!)