Does Caitlyn belong in a museum?

TL,DR version: Caitlyn does not seem to be a top Sustained Auto-Attack Damage champion but unlike currently popular ADC champions on the lower end of AA-dps, Caitlyn cannot function well with AD caster style builds or rather the payoff is poor due to her Q (and R)'s perpetually slow animation, limited utility of W, and E being ONLY realistically useful as an escape while other dashes are versatile . The value of her "highest base AA range" has chronologically diminished due to the impact of mobility creep and the general growth of player aggression / skill.

As an ADC, Caitlyn is considered to be tied to the "standard build" shared by many other ADCs: with the last item, often: being the only variable. However that final slot is typically only varied in the type of defensive quality deemed appropriate for the end-game. might be considered an "acceptable item" but the point is somewhat moot in that it represents little deviation from the idealized build and, furthermore, could only be valued as an alternative to the Phantom Dancer which also shares a slot with Static Shiv.

Unlike some of the other, currently popular, standard build ADCs such-as Ashe or Draven I find Caitlyn to be in a very odd place. Caitlyn is viewed as a "right click on the dude" champion - one of the most reliant on pure Auto-Attack damage to achieve victory in many circumstances. However in terms of raw damage output for simply Auto-attacking Caitlyn might be towards the bottom of the pile compared to champions like Draven, with spinning axes & attack speed steroid; Kogmaw with his steroid; Vayne with silver bolts; dont even get me started on the implications of playing auto-attack chicken with Kalista (spoiler: the story ends with her pressing E and the sun exploding).

I find 90-Calibur Net (E) useful but it is not a significant source of damage. Furthermore the speed of the dash and relative direction of the projectile make the skill tenuous in any use alternative to escaping a pursuer. The Yordle Snap Trap (W) is kind of an odd duck among ADC skills, having value during the lane phase and sustained sieges but matches can frequently take on a shape that makes the skill unreliable. And, finally, Piltover Peacemaker is the crux of why I find Caitlyn to be in a weird space. It can be a powerful ability during the lane phase but eventually the time comes where it is little more than a frustration skill used in the absence of being able to utilize Auto Attacks. While having a long range poke / wave clear ability certainly is better than not having it - the fact that it maintains a lengthy animation at all stages of the game undermines the value. The majority of ADCs do not have to think twice about whether or not it is a good idea to hit an opponent with one of their bread and butter damage dealing abilities due to fast(er) animations. Even Varus has the option to NOT channel his Piercing Arrow for a lengthy duration.

But let's assume 'it's all good' for a minute in regards to Piltover Peacemaker (Q) and focus on the lane phase. It does have great range and a wide collision. It can be a useful harassment tool and chip away health. To use the ability, in that manner, however, Caitlyn will quickly show herself as very mana hungry. Any item purchase used to rely heavily on Piltover Peacemaker (items with mana/ mana-regen / and or CDR) are non optimal as, eventually, higher dps comes from simply right clicking. Even if you did wish to build that way, I'm sure many of you have seen Middle-Varus by now focusing precisely on mana-regen & CDR and being quite effective with the investment due to a more rewarding skill kit. And, far short of spamming Q; I have found that during any extended team fight; using Piltover Peacemaker in a, supposedly intended way, along with other core abilities at appropriate times, will leave insufficient mana to cast Ace in the Hole (R) and it's maddening.

You might say, though, "Use your range, it's all about your range!" There was a time when Caitlyn was very much a dominant, if not THE dominant ADC in lane for just this reason. However her base attack speed was noticeably reduced in order to allow retaliation for such harassment. And furthermore, there are a lot more champions out there these days that can get on your face very easily.

Perhaps I haven't played enough with the new, improved, armor ignoring Headshots - and I can see the change being a much needed boost to Caitlyn's pure AA viability. But, none the less, she seems to be in a weird space. Not an AA-dps god but not a caster ADC either (Lucian / Corki / blue build Ezreal style). I think a scaling animation speed on the Peacemaker proportionally accounting for more %ias at later ranks or later levels or even ranks of Ace (R) might be appropriate. Perhaps there's a gap out there for an item that adds some much needed mana regen without detracting as significantly from the "Core ADC" build - but, as it stands Caitlyn just seems a little bit obsolete.