Boards›Gameplay

Preseason Mana Changes and Kha'Zix

KhaZix Bot··7 votes·895 views

I couldn't help but notice that Kha'Zix is not part of the long list of champions receiving compensation for the removal of mana potions from the game. Maybe I'm taking this the wrong way, but it seems an awful lot Kha'Zix is being forced into being a jungle-only champion with absolutely no laning ability.

When I looked through the changes and saw the addition of more accessible burn damage that can be applied by spells and low cost penetration items that turn into excellent long term investments, it was reminding me of Season 3's W max Elder Lizard mid lane. Have to say, I was looking forward to giving it another shot. However, now it seems like Kha'Zix isn't going to get another decent chance at laning. I realize that people found playing against poke spam Kha'Zix frustrating, but at this point in the game, it's certainly no more oppressive than champions like Brand. So, I have to ask, why is it that Talon is getting mana compensation but Kha'Zix isn't? At first it seemed like it was purely centered around confining him to the jungle, as jungle mana regen would make up for any potential mana deficiency, but then we can see that Pantheon, a champion common both in lane and in the jungle, is also receiving mana compensation.

So, what's going on here? Has lane Kha'Zix just left such a bad taste in everyone's mouths that two years later there's still no chance of it ever seeing true viability again? It's nice to have a little variety. When you see someone lock a champion and instantly know 100% where they're going, that gets a little stale. Let me also be clear, this isn't limited to Kha'Zix. It's obvious that there are some other champions getting the same treatment, but I don't feel like I have enough experience with them to comment. Maybe I'm alone on this, but it just seems like it's being said that "Yeah, it's okay for Brand to lane and have insane harass and burst capability, but even if Kha'Zix wants to sacrifice his early burst to have similar harass, we're not okay with that."

With so much recent emphasis on creating diversity, it just doesn't make sense to me. Agree? Disagree? Let me know why.

(Just to clarify again, I'm not talking about W proccing passive. Oh, God no. I'm talking about the short lived, limited knock off that came afterward.)

15 Comments

Yaskamasandwich4 votes

The only thing I hate about Lane Kha'zix was that if he got ahead or fed, not even tower hugging could save you. Tower hugging is being in a bad spot to begin with but old Kha'zix would just jump on you, kill you for isolation, and jump out. So my options when behind were go into lane and die, or hug the tower and die. Now that they included towers in the isolation, some love should maybe given to the bug. But hey Preseason is not out yet so lets wait and see.

YumaS2Astral3 votes

{quoted}

The only thing I hate about Lane Kha'zix was that if he got ahead or fed, not even tower hugging could save you. Tower hugging is being in a bad spot to begin with but old Kha'zix would just jump on you, kill you for isolation, and jump out. So my options when behind were go into lane and die, or hug the tower and die. Now that they included towers in the isolation, some love should maybe given to the bug. But hey Preseason is not out yet so lets wait and see.

Allowing W to do bonus damage to minions (in addition to monsters), making the Q islolation radius decrease with levels, and allowing the heal on W to scale with something else other than AP could make lane Kha'Zix a lot more viable.

KhaZix Bot2 votes

I've always wondered why champions like Riven and Diana were allowed to bolster their effective health by stacking offense, but Kha'Zix wasn't.

KhaZix Bot1 votes

But hey Preseason is not out yet so lets wait and see.

Yeah, I'm hoping that we'll still see something come up. Just can't shake the feeling that they're too worried about what could happen. I mean, honestly, so am I. I don't want to see him made so easy that he rises above a 20% pick/ban, either. High risk high reward is fine, but that really isn't what Kha'Zix is right now. It's more like high risk as to whether or not the enemy knows what isolation is. It was hard enough to create your own isolation to start with, now we have to consider what xFrostKnightx brought up as well-

Ps: Also with the changes to Tiamat, you can no longer burst clear the enemy wave to get your isolation because the passive is removed (it's returned on Hydra/Titanic).

So basically, isolation is totally out of your hands. It's up to the enemy to misplay or a team mate to displace them for you, something no other assassin has to worry about. I also feel like there's some left over fluidity nerfs floating around on him, as well. For instance, his inability to cast W mid leap and fairly long CD between evolved ult casts were band-aid fixes at the time, but don't seem that necessary now. Instead, they just feel clunky.

Darth Valer3 votes

I think champs like Kha will suffer in terms of Armor Penetration from the Preseason changes. item 3035 is very important for squishy bursting (along with Pen runes and item 3134 (Warrior). In the Preseason he'll lose most of these instruments (no ArPen on Warrior, Last Whisper not affecting base armor, Youmuu costing more).

KhaZix Bot1 votes

Definitely. Unfortunately, Kha'Zix will probably be hit harder than other assassins based on the fact that he's so reliant on isolation.

xFrostKnightx3 votes

I remember when Kha'zix got most of his kit strength put into isolation which made his DoT better but Burst lesser and people realized nobody was ever isolated. Mid too short, bot duo. All he had was Top/Jg but even then most of the time they were never isolated.

The changes coming put a lot of focus on dealing damage over a longer period of time with the lifesteal and armour pen changes making fights last longer to see who out dps sustains the other guy. Unfortunately, Kha'zix will suffer from this as he's an assassin who's steroid isn't in his burst because of this, he will be hurt more than other assassins. 20% of your damage will be bleed and you'll be doing 12% less damage if they auto you once. Other assasins do not have to worry about the 12% daage reduction since they are almost untouched when using their combo with little reaction time. Kha'zix, not so much. https://xdegreesstudio.files.wordpress.com/2014/06/10390500_291367777708906_3533841863720613504_n.jpg?w=625

Ps: Also with the changes to Tiamat, you can no longer burst clear the enemy wave to get your isolation because the passive is removed (it's returned on Hydra/Titanic). So top can't instant clear the wave for you and neither can you. Gaves is now the Adc version of Leesin jungle, who will destroy you if you try to attack him with a melee. -shrugs-
Bad day to not be a nuke assassin.

KhaZix Bot1 votes

A spend more time than I probably should thinking of ways to buff Kha'Zix without breaking him. Some of what you said gives me an idea and I think I'll make a new thread on it later.

Zair Umbras2 votes

Unless Zix gets a buff to his Q's isolation by reducing the radius, his laning just won't compete with others. His late game has been skyrocketed with Death's Deal and Youmuu's though, but he's better off in the jungle with a Tracker's right now through my own experience on PBE. His laning phase before was spamming W, then going tanky top with the % health on the Q. Now his isolation is so big and his damage is pushed into it that he sorta has to jungle and catch people out. He's got almost no wave clear, limited lane sustain (Hiiiiiiiigh mana costs), and his damage prior to a couple of items requires the enemy to be isolated, which in lane won't happen often with how easy it is to stand near minions with how big of a circle the isolation range is.

KhaZix Bot1 votes

Yeah, that's the thing, though. Speccing into W and rushing a Tear and Elder Lizard allowed him to farm out the early game and stack his Tear while hoarding up gold for late game. He had little burst early, so it was a sacrifice, but it was all about risk/reward. Now with the reintroduction of burn items accessible to AD champions, it seemed that strategy could have made a comeback, however small. But there's some serious jungle bias held against him that's excluding him from receiving mana compensation for the removal of mana potions.

Zair Umbras1 votes

What burn items..? o.o There's the DEathfire Keystone which I'll admit is pretty damn good on him because it helps make his Q hurt that much more, though because it's magic damage, it does fall off mid to late when any sort of MR is picked up.

KhaZix Bot1 votes

Sorry, I don't know why I just said items only. I meant that, combined with the flask that applies a burn, and the Keystone Mastery that does the same.

Yaskamasandwich1 votes

Huh just a thought if Kha'zix is all about isolation, maybe rework his ultimate to take advantage of that. Sort of like the Wraith from Evolve. High risk high reward to try and pluck that back line carry into isolation with ya. The decrease radius on q when leveling also sounds awesome.

Glad at least there is a Kha'zix main that remebers when he was godly. Jumps in as initiate, kills carry, jumps out and/or stealth in a blink of an eye. He does need some love for sure, but like KhaZix Bot said have to be REALLY CAREFUL.

KhaZix Bot1 votes

I like the sound of that. Either that, or evolving ultimate would allow him to get free isolation if he broke his stealth with it. Both ways guarentee that he isn't any stronger early, but stays relevant all game.

Yaskamasandwich1 votes

Hrmm now even thinking about it further eith that gran instead of replacing his ult it should be his jump instead. That way he doesn't have two jump style stuff, and Kha's ult synergizes with his passive too well to replace. Just food for thought, I just think for being a champ meaning to take out isolated targets he doesn't force the targets to be isolated.

More from Gameplay

3 Refunds per season, upvote if you want 3 refunds per season.
Gameplay764 comments
7,167
votes
3 Refunds per season, upvote if you want 3 refunds per season.
Gameplay156 comments
3,510
votes
UPVOTE FOR URF
Gameplay606 comments
2,440
votes
Yes plz.
Gameplay456 comments
1,721
votes
3 Refunds per season, up vote if you want 3 refunds per season.
Gameplay114 comments
1,716
votes
When is ANYONE at riot going to address the awful new player experience?
Gameplay634 comments
1,383
votes

More by KhaZix Bot

Unpopular Opinion on Comebacks
Gameplay149 comments
157
votes
New HUD negatively impacts Kha'Zix players
Gameplay51 comments
145
votes
Kha'Zix, a Champion so Close to Viability (but not quite)
Gameplay80 comments
50
votes
Not Everyone Wants 40-50 Minute Games
Gameplay8 comments
11
votes
Fact: There isn't a single thing you can say in game that is worse than Inting/AFKing/Trolling.
Player Behavior40 comments
10
votes
You want to know why the game feels more frustrating every year? Because it's getting easier.
Gameplay2 comments
4
votes