Can one ever really justify taking Barrier?

darkdill·Feb 18, 2018·1 votes·253 views

Barrier rarely ever works to save your life on those who MIGHT consider it useful, but its main issue is that it only has one effect: shields you. No extra speed like Heal, no Grievous Wounds like Ignite, no slow like Exhaust, just ONE effect. Even if its cooldown is shorter than some of its contemporaries, the effect just washes out very easily.

Maybe if it absorbed any damage that went over the barrier's limit it'd be useful, but Riot would say "BROKEN" in a heartbeat because of how strong it would be against burst.

4 Comments

RákãñFeb 18, 20181 votes

Its more of a mid-lane spell imho. It helps you win in a all-in vs someone with a faster burst than you when the barrier can give you just enough shield to survive their burst. You can see quite a few high elo players that get outplayed by barrier as they don't expect it at times.

e46 FanaticFeb 18, 20181 votes

Personally I never use barrier, but in certain situations it can for sure come in handy. Like if you get ignited, heal spell is weaker at that point due to grevious wounds, the shield is not. It has some upsides

Mysticman89Feb 18, 20181 votes

Heal does have the drawback that it's effected by grievous wounds (so can be used very last second with no drawbacks, while heals is best used before being affected by grievous wounds), and also barrier can be used while at full health for dealing with might otherwise be 100-0 burst situations. Heal also has diminishing returns if multiples heals affect the same member, so having more than one member of the team with heal can lead to someone finding themselves with a half effectiveness heal if they're not careful.

Heal is generally better yes, but barrier does have its situations.