Show a little more care for Syndra please

softest boy·11/23/2016, 9:34:47 PM·56 votes·3,104 views

I have been a Syndra main since the day she was released and have seen her ups and her downs, and right now I am just seeing a constant downward spiral. Now this spiral isn't necessarily bad in the eyes of other people, since she's been flavor of the month, but it has for many other Syndra mains alike. Ever since the Mage update, I have stopped playing her nearly as much because she lost her flavor for me. I liked the ramp up of power you could feel and it felt satisfying performing her ultimate with so many spheres.

That is gone.

Now, anyone and their dog can play Syndra to good effectiveness. They lowered her skill floor and skill ceiling with her update because it is so easy to stack up spheres. Her ultimate, which is currently being nerfed on PBE, is not her problem and never was her problem. Her problems right now are bloated scalings and of course, how easy she was made to play. What kept her from being overpowered previously was the effort it took to maintain a six or seven sphere ultimate... when you actually needed proper thought to play her.

The core of Syndra's gameplay for me was the amount of thought you had to have in keeping up with not only the amount of spheres you had, but where you positioned those spheres. She was all about tempo. Building up power to unleash it in a massive scale. What felt so satisfying was maintaining the six spheres to deal loads of damage - because it actually took skill to maintain them. The art of mastering her was so satisfying and rewarding because she played differently than other mages at the time. She required good tempo and this background play of ramping up in power.

Then they added her new W passive, which makes it so much easier to not only land that ability but also to land her stuns. Any competent player - and even the not so competent players - can play her just as effectively as anyone else can because players are now spoon fed spheres left and right. The Q passive is honestly manageable because it allows Syndra to not be forced to build CDR, but her W is just terrible and needs a change. You do not have to keep track of the amount or where you place them because of this passive. If we change the W and how it functions a bit and maybe even lower the bloated scalings a little, she will be a lot balanced and healthier. Just please take some consideration when handling her. Do not take the lazy route.

Thank you.

TL;DR - Adjust her W passive so it does not make her so easy to play effectively, lower her bloated scalings just a tad. Do not nerf her ultimate.

56 Comments

Astôlfo11/24/2016, 1:36:27 AM19 votes

Expecting Riot to nerf the right thing.

PaladinNO11/24/2016, 2:15:41 AM9 votes

I considered Syndra a fun champion back when she was 10-bar difficulty rated. Simply because she was mechanically harder to play. Now, with all the pointers and helpers, she feels more "insulting" to play with, since every single mental challenge that really set apart a good Syndra from a decent, or even bad one, is gone.

I did the geometry on-the-fly in my head when doing a Q/W-E combo. Kept track of where my balls where (as it were) at any given moment to maximize damage output. Now I have what feels like scripts doing all that for me, with the on-screen pointers and range indicators that have taken away every single bit of fun with her.

I like mages. I like mechanically complex mages very much. But Orianna is dead to me, Syndra is close behind, and RIP Cassiopeia.

It's a pity how this game has been dumbed down to make it easier for new players, and in the process ruined it for those seeking any mental challenges while playing.

Swarovsko11/24/2016, 12:47:50 AM5 votes

I knew it. I used to main Syndra too (now I play her less frequently because she's not as satisfying as she was before, just ult the enemy and get the kill) and I fucking knew it they were going to ruin her. She was in a balanced spot, they buffed her W passive and then they buffed her W and E again, and now they nerf her ult. I fucking knew it they were going to ruin her for no reason because... Riot. They sure are retarded, I'm wondering if they even know the champions they create.

Sraeg201311/24/2016, 5:03:08 PM4 votes

Who would've thought that MYMU will result in Syndra getting nerfed, because the whole idea of those changes was toxic.

http://boards.na.leagueoflegends.com/en/c/gameplay-balance/bAdlmuhI-as-of-419-pbe-syndras-mymu-is-poised-to-make-her-worse-and-unhealthy

http://boards.na.leagueoflegends.com/en/c/gameplay-balance/juaHd8L2-syndra-mymu-could-have-been-so-much-more

Oh wait. Good that Riot listens to the community, right?

RainbowIcee11/24/2016, 2:13:57 AM3 votes

I used to like Syndra before the mage rework better too and like you mention op her scaling is insane. I don't even use the ult It gives them a chance to retaliate or hourglass. i can just Q>E>W before letting them retaliate and by them i mean any squishy hit by the aoe's will be likely gone just like that.

Seenan11/24/2016, 5:18:21 AM3 votes

I recall Overlord Forte saying something like this was gonna happen due to the MYMU. I personally like old Syndra better.

Cryo0011/24/2016, 7:41:30 AM2 votes

This is exactly why every syndra player did not want the changes to go through. Reducing syndra's burst is like removing Yasuo's double crit chance or katarina's resets, like why are they nerfing the ultimate. Just remove the buffs she got after the MYMU or you know, REVERT her and it will be fine.

AkaIihoIic11/24/2016, 8:08:22 AM2 votes

As a main Syndra from s5 I have to totally agree. I don't feel her hard to master now, and she is being nerfed because it's too freaking easy to stack 6 spheres and land a nice stun after lvl the W to 5.

Don't nerf the R dmg, that isn't the problem. The problem is you can FREAKING GRAB 3 SPHERES AND RESET THE LIFE TIME OF THEM, ALSO LAND A HUGE AREA STUN!

NERF THE W, to grab one sphere again. God!


Saludos. Syndraitem 3211Akali

NodirjonSattarov11/24/2016, 12:18:40 AM2 votes

same with my bby KogMaw . I can barely play him now in the ADC position. Everyone complains about him AP so I don't know what to do anymore ;-;

HazyCloud711/24/2016, 1:27:11 AM2 votes

I think being included in the MYMU was one of the worst things that could've happened for syndra. The uptime on Q when maxed and the multi-sphere W into E definitely made her too easy to play.

With that said, I think the combination of range + width + duration of her EQ when paired with the W slow is a a bit much. After being hit by W (which has fairly long range and a large AoE) dodging the stun is extremely difficult; I don't think it should be as reliable and easy to land as it is presently.

Feels pretty lazy to just nerf her ult, hope they revert that and go in a different direction.

Muddafragot11/24/2016, 1:35:46 AM2 votes

I had wondered why the other bronzie trashbags were picking syndra in normals all of a sudden. Good thing I went with Malzahar, who's only gotten his W kinda-sorta nerfed so far. (inb4 someone tells me his Q is losing silence or his E/R durations are being gutted in PBE).

Steelflame11/24/2016, 2:16:34 AM2 votes

I've always said they screwed up Syndra's rework. They just made her a balance nightmare in her current form, who's going to lose power left and right because what used to be very conditional high points now can be accessed with 100% uptime REALLY easily. You used to have to consider if it was worth keeping 4 spheres active, because the mana drain would burn you out if you kept it going too long, and even then you had points where you only had the 3 spheres out.

Now getting a 7 sphere ult is not just expected, it's guaranteed if the Syndra has a clue how to charge up her spheres with W, because she can load up 3 in there for several seconds till Q is ready, then Q, and 7 sphere ult go. VS the old having to specificly grab the oldest sphere at max CDR, and just as you fling it Q, and ult.

Nowadays they literally had to hardcap her ult to 7 spheres because you can get more than that active at once.

agbudar11/24/2016, 3:28:51 AM2 votes

a 5 sphere ultimate at lvl 6 has 100 more base damage then veigar's at max damage range a 7 sphere ult would have 280 more base damage and roughly the same AP scaling.

this imo is a problem. especially on a champion who has such long range and so much utility as syndra. compare that to veigar who's only utility is a super telepgraphed stun.

Cosmic Warper11/24/2016, 5:03:44 AM2 votes

I agree. I used to play syndra a shit ton. Now i don't because almost all of her difficulty went out the window. Her passive change for her W and Q made her near braindead to use. Either her Q passive portion needs a complete change, or her W because they both set up her max sphere ult too easily.

iLLp11/24/2016, 7:31:38 PM2 votes

{quoted}

They lowered her skill floor and skill ceiling with her update because it is so easy to stack up spheres.

are you implying syndra needs stacks now?

i've died to just her R ignite thunderlords proc numerous times.

ZT Xperimentor11/24/2016, 7:34:01 PM2 votes

To be blunt, she lost the requirement of skill; and that's part of why she was my favorite mage to play before the 'update'. Again a revert would solve most of the problems, but riot continues to refuse admitting mistakes.

Ultîma11/24/2016, 5:35:27 PM1 votes

They're nerfing Syndra's numbers in favour of keeping the consistency she gained from her rework. She's still going to be a great pick-mage, she just won't be able to one-shot someone with an ult anymore. Considering she's been pick or ban throughout the competitive season since her rework, and still is now, these are the best changes they could've brought forward­.

Reverting the champion to a state of near-unusability would bring her back to trash tier. Idk why you would want that.

IziMytTJd711/27/2016, 4:43:55 PM1 votes

Yeah...having spammable long range damage, low mana costs, off-the-screen aoe stun, and point-click burst damage...Syndra used to be very mechanically intensive... (jk). No, I know what you're saying. Getting balls down takes some talent. Problem is that's for the overkill. That's to one-shot the tank. You don't have to do that to one-shot anyone else. Syndra can dominate the lane, and always could, with just her long range and low mana costs. The difference between 3 balls down and 4-5 is not the issue here. She is simply broken. She has the complete package with no downside. She's even safe from ganks with her stun/knockback. How many times has Syndra been ganked, only to end up with the kill/double kill. In my experience, very likely.

Zoeeee11/27/2016, 9:37:17 PM1 votes

Missed everything. Pressed R got the kill. summoner 3

I would spam a lot of Syndra games but I feel like she suffers from the mentioned problems. I played a teemo game vs a Syndra and she oneshot me with Q + R. Now she feels brain dead easy to play, with little to no counter play. Even if you cleanse her stun she can still ult you for 7,000,000 damage. Syndra

five oh tree 11/24/2016, 8:20:24 PM1 votes

Pretty sure her ult HAS been the problem. There's no way for you to control how many spheres syndra is putting out (only her mana and cdr can) and there is no counterplay to it but zhonya or cheesy defensive abilities in like 5 champions' kits. She needs a new ult that's more interactive and has more play-around potential. Or not, and we can just see her nerfed into the dirt. Even veigar's R is more interactive in the sense you can always be healed or control how low your health is drop with positioning, and that changes the damage of his ult. With syndra, it's just "oh god I hope she's been afk for the past 5 seconds and only has one sphere on the ground."

Papa Andrei11/24/2016, 11:55:58 AM1 votes

These are my opinions from someone who doesn't play Syndra, but plays vs her ALOT. The issue is mostly the damage, the range, and the reliability of hitting her spells.

First issue, she can move while casting any spell. Like even viktor Q has an animation atleast.

The range, her W is atleast 1.5X that of say Heimer turrets, while the throw has very little cast time, large aoe, and ridiculously high slow.

E is fine besides range. She can hit you woth Q E from middle of mid lane to the tower.

R damage, a good syndra can get over 3K damage from one point and click ability.

I can'5 think of resolutions to these issues, because I don't olay her enough to come up with QoL changes.

Papa Slothy11/24/2016, 5:17:16 AM1 votes

this pls