What if Hexdrinker/Maw passive became an active instead

LegenDariusGaren··11 votes·1,211 views

I almost always buy this item, but given the many complaints from AP champs, an interesting change can be made.

The passive no longer triggers when below 30% hp. Instead, you can activate it at any time, but it still has the same 90 sec cd. What if you forget to use the active? How many times have you forgotten to use the Zhonyas active? Like almost once a game, right? But you remember to use it after that one blunder.

You randomly step on a Teemo shroom, but might be like "dont pop" to your hexdrinker passive. Now you can control it. Are you about to fight Cho? Better pop the active early because when you come close to 30% hp, the passive currently is not even going to save you from the true damage execute. If Cho does not have his ult, he can silence you and you will not be able to use the active.

I'm about to take heavy magic damage, so I pop the active. The enemy AP champ can then decide to save his ult and look for a play after the shield expires.

There is a Garen that has gone MIA, but you are not afraid of him because you bought a Hexdrinker. Well then you better activate it before you face check that brush.

Say you are fighting an AD champ and just want the lifesteal, spell vamp, and attack speed, well now you can just pop the active. But beware of that Leblanc that is going to kill you in a few seconds because you wasted your shield.

Although I think both Hexdrinker and Maw should have the active, we can also consider having Hexdrinker keep the passive and it upgrades to an active upon completing Maw.

23 Comments

La Barbotte2 votes

item 3156 when it triggers you gain atk speed and spellvamp/life steal, so it would be a buff you'd get the shield + the attack speed to trade for free

LegenDariusGaren1 votes

Think of BORK. You can use it offensively to catch an enemy or defensively to speed you up as you run away. It still has a 90 sec cd. If you are buying it just for the life steal/spell vamp, then Mercurial is a better item to get. You mainly buy the item to survive the burst from an enemy champion. You could use the Mercurial active to get a speed boost or you could actually use it to remove cc.

La Barbotte1 votes

i think i didnt express my thought correctly, MAW is and item working kinda like steraks where if you take X amount of damage the item will grand a shield and bonus stats to fight back in a desperate attempt to survive, so making it an active makes it more usefull to activate at the start of the fight to gain said stats than use it to survive a lethal blow

(still i get the counterplay part of failing to activate it but since riot removed that from manamune for human error reason i dont see why they would make that on MAW)

Miraweave2 votes

Why would we buff an already absurd item?

LegenDariusGaren1 votes

It is not actually getting buffed. The item is staying the same. It allows more room for counter play from the enemy. You can bait it out or cc him to the point where he dies before it can activate.

Xicashina1 votes

Technically it is a small buff as well as a small nerf, very often two things can be abused with it 1 if you catch someone out you can pop there maw and as such they won't have it for the next team fight and 2 if your poking someone down in lane it becomes useful to just poke into it then let it fade before you all in. As you are presenting it they'll just keep it until you all in.

The nerfs are as you said

Jungle Lux God2 votes

Given the champions you buy it on, this might actually be a complete gutting of the item.

You buy this item because you are an AD champion and want to protect yourself from magic damage burst. Changing it to an active means that it is much harder to protect yourself against that burst.

Imagine you end up fighting that LeBlanc, and she 100-0's you before you can pop your Hexdrinker. It's not a matter of "forgetting to use it after one blunder", it's a matter of "I could have survived this, but I was physically unable to survive it". That's the kind of situations where Hexdrinker and Maw's passive is good: it's good for protecting against massive burst from AP champions that deal massive burst.

For nearly every AP champion this wouldn't matter because they would either burst you out faster than you can pop your Hexdrinker, they can DPS you harder than your Hexdrinker can handle, or they can CC you before you can pop your Hexdrinker and kill you in the middle of the CC. Either way it's bad for the item.

FrontlinerDelta1 votes

Agreed, that is hexdrinker's purpose and I think changing it to an active alters its identity too much.

LegenDariusGaren1 votes

I was just suggesting room for counter play as opposed to flat out nerfing the item (which many people seem to suggest). As for its identity, it is a damage item that gives MR and provides a shield. That is not changing at all. When the shield pops does not affect its identity, it only adds room for counter play for both you and the enemy.

Jungle Lux God1 votes

The shield is specifically designed to combat magic damage burst as an AD damage dealer. It doesn't matter when the shield comes, it's that the shield comes out when it needs to, and you can't always activate an item to do that.

DrNova1 votes

I just don't like actives in general, I'd prefer not having another one

Ruin Lance1 votes

it would be cool, but i don't think it needs another buff.

DrShoking1 votes

It'd more enjoyable but it probably won't happen cause it'd make the item too hard for rito to balance.

Earthlord Jazz1 votes

Then I would humbly suggest that the shield it gives is increased BASED on your current missing health, maximizing when you're missing 70%

The max shield that it could have would be the same as the normal passive, or maybe slightly higher

Thus, you're rewarded for using that defensive shield when you're low and punished when you either forget it or use it too early

LegenDariusGaren1 votes

I think this could be an interesting part of it. This would discourage using it early. Maybe the shield could stay at it's current scaling and the attack speed, life steal, and spell vamp scaled with your current missing HP.

Papa Slothy1 votes

I think it should just have a much longer CD

LegenDariusGaren1 votes

It is the same cd as Zhonyas and Mercurial.

Papa Slothy1 votes

but it lets assassins survive longer than people with zhonyas and mercurials is more situational

LegenDariusGaren1 votes

The shield on Hexdrinker/Maw lasts for 5 seconds. I'm sure Riot can consider having that value scale with champion level instead. For example, it can go from 2 seconds to 5 seconds instead.

Papa Slothy1 votes

that's actually a really good idea as most of it's power comes from the early game damage and resist you gain

AHeroNamedHawke1 votes

The fuck

That'd be a gigantic buff, you'd use it at the start of every all in

LegenDariusGaren1 votes

You could just buy BORK instead and have the life steal and attack speed at all times. If you use it early, the enemy can disengage and then fight you when you don't have the shield.

ArlanKels1 votes

Slightly raise the cost. That's probably all you need to do to it.

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