Mordekaiser Change/Abilities Feedback
The topic for this discussion is fairly blunt and to the point: Mordekaiser, the now "Iron Revenant", is no longer a healthy champion despite the efforts made by Riot to make him a viable juggernaut, and I have some change suggestions that could potentially put him back on the map as a healthy champion.
For a bit of history, I have played League since its beginnings and during my time have played champions on and off as any other player would. The one champion I knew like the back of my hand was Mordekaiser, I could take him anywhere in game and be comfortable in game. I have played the Kaiser since day 1 of opening the game around the time he came out (mid season 1 I believe) and feel like I know what I'm talking about when discussing Mordekaiser in particular (all in all roughly I've played him for 5 years of my time in League), and while I'm not claiming this made me a master of the Master of Metal, I do think I have an extensive knowledge on what he was and how he was a very unique champion that few knew how to handle or play as. Having said that, I know that most people will look at this discussion and say "Boo hoo, you didn't like the champion change, so now you're bitching about it!", and I'm not going to stop you from thinking that. I only ask that you look at this discussion and understand that this is a champion I am extremely passionate about in this game, and that I am not ignoring the attempts made by Riot to make this hulking suit of armour more of a fighting juggernaut rather than the bursty spell slinger he used to be. I am simply giving feedback on a champion that I feel was given a change that was not thoroughly tested before it was applied, and how I think it needs to be tweaked in order to make Mordekaiser a healthy champion.
To clarify for those that don't know, Mordekaiser pre-juggernaut change was an odd melee ap caster that had low cooldowns, no CC spells, an immense amount of bursting capability, and the unique capability to turn a 5v5 game into a 6v4 slaughterfest (refer to his ult for clarification, as generally it remains unchanged from its pre-juggernaut days save for the Dragonforce effect and some new ap ratios). His Iron-Man passive kept him alive so well in his mage days that it wasn't uncommon for him to slay 3 people at a time before being taken down in a short drawn out 5v1 fight. Having said that, Riot has expressed numerous times how he was a champion they were in constant turmoil with design-wise, as he was meant to be this hulking warrior clad in spikes and metal that was nigh impossible to slay if he was left to dominate a lane for too long, not a bursty spell-slinger that was great in short term dealings but had not sustain. The design didn't match the style of champion he was, so it was decided that he, along with Darius and Garen, would be on the front lines for a new breed of champion: Juggernauts.
I was actually a very big supporter for the change when I first read about it, as a lot of things they were trying with him were very new and fresh. They were heading the right way with him being less caster based and more "my mace > your face", especially with the new change to Mace of Spades (the 1, 2, 3 hit combo replaced the "shockwave" effect from the old). I also thought it was very cool to see him being viewed as an adc replacement bot lane, as this opened up new paths for ways to play lanes (a full Pentakill skin team was now viable, and not a risky gamble). The dragon ghost was also a nice, albeit insanely powerful, touch.
But then the changes hit...
First game I had with him I was mortified, and was confused as to what they had done (even though I had extensively read the changes). His Mace of Spades was either a one hit wonder or complete bust, Harvesters of Sorrow (changes from Creeping Death) was now exclusively a duo lane ability (rendering it useless in top lane, though this was known before the changes hit), Siphon of Destruction remained relatively unchanged, and Children of the Grave received a very strange illusion of a buff with the new Dragonforce tag on it. Riot's suggested items also made no sense to me: Trinity Force was now a must have for a champion that did not run on mana, and tank items were now a must have (though, this was to be expected with the update). It wasn't until I realized how confusing his build paths and ratios were that I realized why I was frustrated in the game: they had turned him into a hybrid tank fighter, that demanded attack speed to get his Mace hits off, cooldowns to sustain his need to use abilities for his shield upkeep, and a massive amount of health in order to make his Iron Man passive useful (as it decayed at a rate 2% of his max health now, instead of scaling with his level). Riot was now demanding that this slow iron giant build nearly every single kind of item in order to remain alive in game, which became infuriating for players to grasp (myself included). Riot stated that he could be taken either top lane or bottom lane, but because they disabled one of his defensive tools (Creeping Death) he was quickly locked as a bot lane carry, and while the spell gained the ability to be casted on himself in the next patch or two the damage was already done to his reputation as a top laner (and to be fair, the only good thing about that skill in top lane was a slight hp steal from creeps, as the shredding metal didn't work anymore without a nearby ally champ). What further shows and proves to me that they still don't know what they're doing with him are the newest changes made to his kit in patch 5.23, as they've changed the one redeeming factor of Mace of Spades amongst some other less than likeable changes. This may not seem like a big deal to most, but one of the shining marvels of Mordekaiser was his ability to (for lack of a better word) cock block the likes of D.O.T. champs like Teemo, Brand, Darius, and Fizz (to name a few). His shield regened at a fast enough rate that it negated the effects of poisons and burns, to the point where he became the anti-D.O.T. champion that League was so desperately needing. His shield currently decays so quickly, and his cooldowns take so long to refresh, that the Iron Man passive may as well not even be there as times.
Riot, if you are reading this please know that I respect your call on the change from caster to juggernaut, I like the idea much better and think it's a cool idea. But please understand that from this seasoned Morde player (you can look at my champion masteries, past scores before the changes too, and you'll know I'm not just pulling at strings here) you have let me down with what you considered "healthy changes" to the Master of Metal. I support you guys 100% of the way with many things you do, but this was a change that was so lacking that I feel you essentially gave up on him. Your decision to cripple Harvesters of Sorrow in top lane was a very bad call, and the change to Mace of Spades was overkill and unnecessary. The way it comes off is that you're expecting him to build ad, ap, cooldowns, armour, magic resistance, health, movement speed, and attack speed, and quite frankly none of your player base knows what the hell to do with him. Of course, there are players that have adapted to these changes far better than I have and if it seems that I'm misinformed at all I assure you it's not intentional. I've looked at every piece of build guides, play guides, and strategies involving Mordekaiser since the changes. From what I can tell, you either roll over with him in game or you die immediately, there is no in between.
Below I have posted some change ideas to Mordekaiser's kit, and I really hope you consider them. I'm speaking to you not only as a fan of this champion, but also as an advocate of this game, so any form of response (even one that tells me to fuck off) would be appreciated so I know that I'm not just throwing this out to be lost in the void of feedback in the game.
(Innate Passive) Iron Man- Shield remains a health based scale, but decays at either a slower rate or does not decay until out of combat. As an added bonus, any D.O.T. effect damage dealt to him is reduced severely if it's affecting his shield and not his actual HP (I'm thinking at least 50%, but I'm not a numbers wizard). I would hope the shield goes up at a faster rate from his spell damage, but with the way you've envisioned his change I can't think of a better way than to have each spell apply different rates to feed his shield. Does not decay below a certain point unless otherwise damaged beyond that point (as it is currently in patch 5.23)
**(Q) Mace of Spades- **When active the Mace will be electrified with the power of metal, shocking enemies near its vicinity dealing more damage to champs than minions (which applies to his shield strength). As he strikes his foes the shocks arc out in a small A.O.E., creating an area of thunderous wrath for any that would dare challenge the kaiser close up. This would apply magic damage and scale with ad and ap ratios, and applies on hit effects.
(W) Duality (reference to Slipknot's song of the same name)- Now has two different effects: If casted on himself the ability becomes "Creeping Death", he gains bonus magic resistance and armour, and has a small shield of shredding metal that deals magic damage to enemies. If casted on an ally champion or minion (granted too much power in top lane overall) it becomes "Harvesters of sorrow", granting he and his ally bonus movement speed when they walk towards each other, a similar aura of damage (but more of an ominous soul/ life sucking aura of doom) that only goes off when the edges of the auras touch, and steals health to the shielded champions based on a percentage of the life the aura sucks out of enemy units. Damage for Duality scales with max hp and applies magic damage from both sides of the skill.
**(E) Siphon of Destruction- **Remains generally unchanged, though I would note that I like the idea that it applies a flat amount of shield based on the number of champions hit. Damage scales with ap and applies magic damage.
**(R) Children of the Grave- **Again, this one remains generally unchanged, except for the following addition: Dragonforce now only applies if Mordekaiser casted Children of the Grave on the dragon, which replaces the now "if he deals damage to dragon within 10 seconds of it dying" rule. The curse damage scales with max HP and applies magic damage.
Most of these are self explanatory, but some have a bit more behind them to understand so I'll go into detail as to why I think this could be the rebirth of the Kaiser:
To start, the D.O.T. change to Iron Man is meant to fill a niche that needs to be filled: Anti-D.O.T. top laner (looking at you Teemo). This also makes a sort of "Rock, Papers, Scissors" effect with the first wave of Juggernauts, which is Garen, Darius, and of course Mordekaiser. In short, Darius would be able to completely bleed out Garen, thereby preventing his amazing hp regen to take effect quickly, and Garen could nail down Mordekaiser with his continuous silencing, true damage, and his defence racked up over time would prove difficult to handle as Morde, but with the change I've suggested this would mean that Mordekaiser would be the bane of Darius' existence, who excels at ripping apart foes with his bleed amounts, and would bring balance to the three juggernauts leading the way for that new breed of warrior (kind of like a squirtle, bulbasaur, and charmander effect).
Mace of Spades needs to have an ability worthy of the name, and an electrified mace isn't a bad way to go. The aura damage could be minimal, the A.O.E. strikes not as wide a birth, but the ability would be more about maintaining his shield over anything else. With the change I have suggested, the shield would be constantly staying healthy, damage would be being dealt more consistently by the Kaiser than his current Mace of Spades ability, and one would be wary of doing combat against him close range. The hybrid damage remains (as it was still there in his first rendition of Mace of Spades pre-juggernaut change) but the need for attack speed/movement speed to always be in the face of the enemy with fast results of devastation would be gone.
The change I suggested to his W is very different I think, and one that definitely makes it so that he can tango in multiple lanes without feeling a burden. Creeping Death makes it so that he empowers his very being, transforming him into a tank when he needs to be in top lane, and grants him the shredding damage that is missing currently when he's solo laning. Harvesters of Sorrow's change makes it so that if he wants to then he can go bottom lane, be that replacement, but not feel like he's out of place. I've also removed the experience bonus he gained from his current Harvesters of Sorrow, as to me it's an unnecessary and slightly wonky/powerful flavor to the ability that isn't needed with the changes I've made. The damage scaling off his max HP encourages players to build health items more effectively now, and to not worry about what kind of damage types need to be focussed in using an ability like this.
Siphon would pretty much be the same as it is now, but only scale with ap.
His ult is now more focussed on his hp because he's dominating his will over the enemy, making it more a show of force/dominance at first and then a spell of control. Sure the thing is a spell, but I think if players are further encouraged to build hp on him then he will become a more formidable battering ram (though again, I'm not great with numbers of this nature, so I'm not sure if this is practical or not). The ability to target dragon with his ult would be a major life saver at times, as Morde's main ult target most of the time is the enemy adc (higher attack speed rate + higher damage output = more shield regen), so when he needs that speedy ghost over a brute force siege weapon it becomes a difficult on-the-fly decision to either help your team take dragon or to risk letting them handle it and you not touch it for fear of losing your current ghost.
Well, there you have it, those are the changes I suggest for the Master of Metal. With the changes I've made to his abilities the build needs for Morde go down dramatically, as it eliminates the need for attack speed and movement speed, as well as reduces the overall dependancy on cooldowns, armour, and magic resistance. He's still susceptible to CC, as any juggernaut should be, but get close to him and he will apply a mace to your face. If people have other suggestions on the changes I've made I'd love to hear them, but I'm really hoping that Riot finds this post and acknowledges it somehow, as I think the changes are actually really spot on to what Mordekaiser is meant to be: a master of disaster that will lead his team to victory and make those who oppose them suffer.
Riot, thank you for creating League of Legends and thank you for creating Mordekaiser. He may be an Iron Revenant now, but in my heart he will always remain the Master of Metal, and because of that nod towards your community players that happen to fall into the heavy metal minority of music lovers you have my upmost respect and appreciation. Mordekaiser will continue to be one of your more unique and oddball champions as the years go on, but I really hope you respond to me and let me know what you think of my suggested changes. I don't know if these changes seem fair or overpowered, but I would really like some feedback from you or any players that read this discussion.
Thank you for taking the time to read this, and please let me know what you think.
Cheers,
Saurogoth \m/ \m/
