@Riot Xenogenic I'm a bit worried about Xin's identity with this change.

Xin main here. I have a few concerns that I'm hoping aren't as big as they seem.

My biggest concern is how this new Xin will be built/played in the current environment and how that impacts his position within the game now and in the future.

His new W feels wrong. I'll be honest, Xin is all about sticking to his targets and forcing close encounters, overbearing his opponent with the damage on his q as well as his potentially oppressive healing. He's always been very stand and fight in his approach, this is the heart of the character and what so many of us love and hate about him.

This new W however says otherwise. It's a poke with a powerful slow, however the long animation and forced cessation of movement has just as much impact on his ability to chase as the slow on the 2nd hit will. However it doesn't keep you from being a menace and a lane bully. Poke on Xin, means one of two things, that poke has to be fairly weak and inconsequential or damage will have to be pulled from the rest of his kit to justify it's presence. Pulling power from his dive for the ability to skirmish and potentially escape is the mostly likely outcome. However this really hits Xin's identity as a hard dive, all in, champion. In this current environment, rather than relying on autos and duking it out, we're going to see a wave of lethality based nukes that use ult to isolate a carry and escape from the enemy team thereafter.

The invulnerability change is cool, I like it, but it poses another problem. The invisible power he had with the Armor/MR buffs is actually vital to him. Xin is generally quickly collapsed on and the champions that would be most hindered by the range of his ult are the very ones he seeks to isolate. The mr/armor help xin to get more out of his passive heal and stick to targets long enough ensure the person he wants dead, ends up that way.

Right now, it's tanks, sticky cc heavy tanks that operate from close range. These are Xin's biggest problems, especially when used properly. His ult ultimately isn't going to be of use in environments where Xin can really shine. It also, heavily impacts his ability to duel, this is a big loss and in combination with his armor pen, pushes him away from being a strong sticky duelist. For a champion that's somewhat balanced at the moment but in need of an update, this is going to put him in a very bad place, unless there is so much power in his new W that it becomes the most crucial part of his damage. In which case we're back to him losing his identity. I feel like many of these changes were made for people who were dealing with Xin, and less for people who played him. You pushed his power into a few big moments with team engagement when late-game he really shines as a split pushing duelist. There's no power in that anymore. No stat gains from ult, the loss of pen and attaching his attack speed to his only mobility leave him much worse off as a duelist. He's going to get his ass handed to him, time and time again when trying to split.

In a way he's getting the Morde treatment, losing independent functionality in exchange for increased ability in a team environment, when that wasn't a part of the champions identity. Xin is a bully, most people have a difficult time with him, he's someone you don't want to encounter alone. In a team-fight he forces that on a carry and gives up everything to get that job done. Ultimately, as stated previously, Xin is going to be forced into a position where he needs to stack damage/lethality, blow up his target and attempt to use his ult to leave the fight until his cool-downs are up. This play-pattern is all wrong for Xin and is going to get his W, the very thing he's trading his agency, ability to duel, and mobility for. This is even more problematic when you consider the cast time for the second hit and immobility during casting.

The atk speed on E with Xin is more of a problem than people realize.

Ganks will be interesting. A Xin who knows how to position well sets himself up to hold dash until his opponent is forced to flash/use his mobility. Now, he no longer has access to his attack speed steroid until he's given up his means to chase. Initiating with the slow from W to position them for the same set-up could work. However the animation and immobility once again open up a huge window of escape. Xin is easily kited and his attack speed is crucial to forcing opponents to look for a means of escape, being able to hold his E for that crucial moment is vital. Trading that for his attack speed buff is a problem. Unless, again, you forsake attack speed and focus on a burst build with a movement speed boost from youmu's. Ultimately we're looking an Xin shifting from an aggressive sticky attack speed monster to an ad-dive burst assassin. This is going to create more problems than it solves with his position on league. As his power will be almost entirely reliant to the current standing of lethality in the game, with little room to shore up his weakness with attack speed items. Some of the itemization that allowed him to stick to targets also loses a great deal of effectiveness. Ultimately tanks will be much harder for him to handle, so once he's blow a carry, he'll be in the same position as any assassin. Going tanky on Xin isn't really going to be as much of an option because his damage will be centered so heavily on lethality. There are plenty of beefy champs that work as better distractions ultimately.

Lastly, any time spent doing the long animation for W is time lost with his steroid, which is crucial. This re-work leave Xin somewhat similar but in reality, the way that he's played has totally changed and they've heavily shifted him away from a scary, atk speed based, on hit bruiser. With this current kit, he's going to be a hit and run burst assassin, who uses his ult to escape repercussions for blowing up a carry. Which I guess is okay now, but, doesn't feel quite right for him.

Gating his access to atk speed behind his only mobility is more problematic than most people realize, especially when operating on his own.

However, all of this could just be an issue because I'm silver and therefore probably suck at the game, so there's that.

Either way, I'd love to hear from you, especially if things aren't as bad as they seem and I'm just a nutter butter.