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@Meddler: Does Malzahar's new mechanics mean we can't have a Zerg-esque swarming Champion?

darkdill··1 votes·562 views

Seeing Malzahar's new W makes me think Riot wants him to be the "swarmer" Champion, but I can't be sure of that because he only gets up to 3 Voidlings at a time.

Now, when I think "swarmer", I think the Zerg of Starcraft fame; as Jim Raynor put it, "You don't know what real fear is 'till you've got a thousand of those sons of bitches barreling down on ya'."

I don't expect Riot to go with a "thousands of minions" approach, as that would crash the game, but I'm thinking a Champion who could spawn dozens of ankle-biters at once would be really fun to fight. But what do you think, Meddler? Would a Zerg-esque Champion be too much for this game (or make Blizzard mad)?

To address some concerns, here are some core elements to a swarmer's minions (I'll call them Broodlings here) I'd have in mind:

  • Broodlings do not cause unit collision except with each other; Champions can walk right through them at all times.
  • Broodlings are melee, very fragile, and expire after a few seconds.
  • Broodlings attack the closest enemy, and DO NOT prioritize enemy Champions.
  • Broodlings die upon attacking structures.

6 Comments

Humbreonn1 votes

{quoted}

Seeing Malzahar's new W makes me think Riot wants him to be the "swarmer" Champion, but I can't be sure of that because he only gets up to 3 Voidlings at a time.

He can have more than 3 Voidlings, they only stop spawning at the last few seconds of it's duration.

http://boards.pbe.leagueoflegends.com/en/c/champions-gameplay-feedback/zecNwqGQ-mymu-malzahar-discussion

W - Void Swarm

On cast, summon a Voidling. If that Voidling kills a unit, or attacks a champion, large monster, or epic monster, another Voidling is spawned with the same remaining duration as the one that spawned it. New Voidlings are not summoned from existing ones with less than a few seconds remaining in their duration.
When 3 or more Voidlings exist at the same time, they all gain 100% Attack Speed.
Voidlings' attacks deal a percentage of Malzahar's Total AD as physical damage plus magic damage equal to a percentage of Malzahar's AP plus a base amount based on spell rank.
Voidlings prefer to attack enemies affected by Nether Grasp, followed by champions affected by Malefic Visions, followed by other units affected by Malefic Visions, followed by the nearest visible enemy to them.
    Note: Voidlings no longer react to Malzahar's auto attacks. I know some of you will be upset by this, but I cannot make them strong if they are simply always attacking exactly what you want them to without opponent play available. You can, of course, get around this by using Nether Grasp or Malefic Visions on priority enemies, or also by positioning yourself such that the Voidling is closest to the enemy you want it to attack.
    Note: Voidlings no longer have a leash/returnTP range. Historically, Voidlings would leash back to Malzahar if they ventured too far from him, and they would teleport to him if he teleported. This is no longer the case.
Voidlings gain 100% Movement Speed when chasing enemies affected by Nether Grasp or Malefic Visions.
Voidlings gain Health per Malzahar's level, not Void Swarm (W)'s spell rank.
WinBoat1 votes

Yorick could end up the swarm champion. Hopefully they give him more ghouls on his W which is the AOE and slow ghoul. Give him two riot!

Evewynn1 votes

Blizzard has no rights to the "swarm" concept; it is way too vague. RIOT is free to add a swarm minion champ if they so desire, and is something that they are likely interested in for the future. I know I would like it a lot.

I could easily see it as fitting a battlemage archetype, with a focus on constant pushing power but shorter range, and possibly an ult that gives sieging strength (larger broodling(s) that tank or damage turrets well). Broodlings could be weaker after leaving a certain distance from the caster to promote more interactive gameplay patterns, or require close-range upkeep/buffs to keep them as effective.

Cloud2731 votes

We already have a swam champ. Elise.

darkdill1 votes

Not quite enough. Her Spiderlings feel more like an add-on to her kit rather than a swarm that can overrun her enemies.

GaleWinUnleashed1 votes

Do you see it say anywhere in his new kit that he's limited to a max of 3 voidlings at once?

For maximum voidlings, you cast visions on a champion standing right next to you, followed immediately by W. Each time a new voidling attacks that champion, another will spawn, up until the last few seconds of the duration. There doesn't appear to be a hard cap on them, but realistically I'd say 5-7 at max.

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