Feedback on GP's new R

So, with patch 4.18, our lovable scoundrel got a "buff".

His ult was considered unimpactful and quite unreliable due to its RNG nature. And this was true indeed. I coudn't try the changes on pbe, but what I feared it's actually truth: the new version of his R is far more reliable but even less impactful in the game.

Freaking cannonballs are falling from the sky: Who could be such a dumbass to stay in the field for more than 2/3 seconds rather than running away? Even bots in custom games could run the full diameter of the field in 3 seconds WITHOUT dashing/flashing, resulting in being hit by 3 barrages out of 7. Now, a "skilled" human player could get hit by 2 or 3 barrages only since the slow amount has not changed and the delay between barrages it's about 4 times the old R.

Of course, you say; before the changes, in the same 2-3 seconds of continuous random barrages the enemy could not be hit at all, and this was frustrating. But the cannonbals beforehand were falling every 0.3 seconds, resulting in 8-12 possible cannonball hits.

Even if only 1/3 of the old R cannonballs (I think the AoE of a single cannonball was about 150 or 250 units over a barrage field of 600 units) hit the target the damage would still be higher than the damage of the new R, on an average 2/3 seconds of the target standing in the barrage field.

OLD R = in 2-3 seconds of exposure, with 1/3 of the cannonballs properly hitting -> 75x3 = 225 OR 75x4 = 300 NEW R = in 2-3 seconds of exposure -> 75x2 = 150 OR 75x3 = 225

The new R is way more telegraphed and easy to leave as the CC is inconsistent and there's a huge delay between barrages (1 second in LoL could change the tides of a game).

I expected from this change some bonus AD ratio on his ult, as many R in the game have both AP and Bonus AD ratios. I also can't understand why @GMang did not let the aoe form the single cannonballs overlapping or let the field do more damage in the centrer and less at the borders.

I wanted to hear the community opionion about this change on GP: was that a direct buff? Or a direct nerf? Or the buffed reliability but nerfed damage? What do you think?