Pantheon, the God of War/Atreus, the Man of War

Hi guys, I'm Mr Penguin , I'm still in Plat, and I'm a Pantheon main, I've played ONLY HIM all these days ever since the rework came out , and this is gonna be a post about my experience and possible changes to be done to improve the feeling and add some utility, in order to balance the rework. This post is gonna be pretty big, and based mostly on my own experience, Pantheon being the only champion I've ever played since his rework, so.. let's go

**1. My experience, feeling about the champion gameplay, lore, look and so on: **

• First of all Pantheon was my first champion to play and main, but not for long, since he felt outdated at the time compared to other champions, so I waited for his rework for years, and finally, it is here, and I'm very happy with the outcome, but still.. let's get to the point. I really love the way the champion looks, he really feels like a man and no longer like a walking block with a circle, a stick and pizza feet. He fulfills the theme very well, he gets you to feel like what he is, the God/Aspect of War. But my problem isn't in the looks, thematic, or lore, it is within his gameplay. The reworks really feels like Riot struggled to hold on to the old Panth. And I'm not happy at all with it. I love some parts of his kit, but they kept his old W, which I'll get to in a moment, and his R got some things removed, such as his slow, and also lower damage. Also, you can't even cancel it anymore.

• Coming back to his W, well, this will be a bit longer. I believe the reason he falls, really, really fast is because of his W. The skill tends to be really good early, 'cause it guarantees a stun, it allows 2 passives in a row, and buffs your next auto by 50%, which is reasonable, but as you get later into the game, your W damage doesn't really gets any better, 'cause it has an AP RATIO . Why the champ is AD and has AP scaling in a skill that's also useless later in the game anyway?.. I don't know. His stun duration doesn't increase, his base damage scales poorly, his AD/HP ratio is non-existent here ( I also add a %max hp ratio here 'cause Panth is supposed to be a bruiser after all, and it would keep Assassin Pantheon a bit more under control ), range doesn't increase, it is single-target. I think I've said enough about it to make you understand my point which is: the lack of utility and damage in this particular ability.

**2. What I believe should be done in order to bring the rework closer to what it should be: **

• I believe there can be done only one thing: Overhaul his W and some number adjustments . To justify the things I've said, I believe W can't stay within his kit. It's useless. A single-target 1 second stun with literally no damage at all doesn't bring up much power compared to his fellow bruisers. To compare it, Renekton's W is also single target, but lasts more and deals much more damage. Renekton is alright in late-game, doesn't really fall that much. Irelia's E is a skill, but has a really good potential to open some windows for her strategy, gives her more mobility through the mark-mechanic and also is an AoE stun. Illaoi is strong through the whole game, later if positioned well, can erase the whole enemy team, and no, she doesn't have a stun, she has a really strong slow on her E. But she is capable to deal a lot of damage over time, unlike Pantheon, which lacks any damage at all after mid-game. Aatrox deals great damage through the whole game, has much more CC, 3 airbornes more exactly, and a pull, which if it's successful can guarantee a kill later into the game. Not to mention the insane sustain he has. Moving on, Galio, which can be played as an AP bruiser, and he has an AoE damage/taunt skill, a strong single target airborne, with damage, which also allows a passive, and a strong AoE on Q, not to mention a good ultimate for roam, and also protects allies, while also dealing damage and having a knock-up. All the strength Pantheon has is his E, which also doesn't deal damage, lasts for a short amount of time if not empowered, and has a way too high cooldown for late game, even with 40% CDR. And his R partially, which offers him semi-global presence and the capability to position a bit better within the teamfight, but can be also a death sentence if the timing/positioning are bad. I think you get what I'm saying.

**3. How I would see these changes being done: **

• I believe the W really must be changed in order to not shake up numbers too much and make Pantheon useful, throughout the game as a bruiser. And there is how I would see it:

• Base Stats: Base AD: 64( +3.3 AD per level ) >>> 64 ( +4 AD per level )

• Q - Comet Spear: Cooldown: 10/9.5/9/8.5/8 >>> 12/10/9/8/7 Damage: 75 / 115 / 155 / 195 / 235 (+ 100% bonus AD) >>> Damage: 80 / 120 / 160 / 200 / 240 ( 110% bonus AD ) REMOVED: Tap Spear no longer has the Execution Damage bonus NEW: Tap Spear now applies on-hit effects Mortal Will Bonus: 20 − 240 (+ 100% bonus AD) >>> 10 - 250 (+ 110% bonus AD) Slow: 20 / 25 / 30 / 35 / 40 >>> 10 / 20 / 30 / 40 / 50 Damage Beyond First Enemy Hit: 50% >>> 75%

• NEW: W - Stardust blow: _ As Pantheon prepares to charge to an enemy ( Click and point ), he stomps the ground loudly with his foot, for a small AoE damage and slow, preparing his shield and holding his spear behind, then instantly dashes forward to the enemy ( the instant dash being similar with Akali's R2), stunning all units between him and the target and damaging them, and the target being very slightly pushed back by the shield while stunned._

Range: 300 ( Stomp ) / 650 ( Dash ) Channel Time: 0.3 Seconds ( Can be interrupted by CC, dash is unstoppable ) Stomp Damage: 30 / 40 / 50 / 60 / 70 ( +3% max HP ) Stomp Slow: 20 / 30 / 40 / 50 / 60% Dash Damage: 60 / 70 / 80 / 90 / 100 ( +4% max HP ) Cooldown: 15 / 14 / 13 / 12 / 11 Seconds Stun Duration: 0.8 / 0.9 / 1 / 1.1 / 1.2 Second/s Stun Duration on secondary targets: 0.4 / 0.45 / 0.5 / 0.55 / 0.6 seconds Mortal Will Bonus: Stays the same as functionality Damage: 150% total AD >>> 140 / 150 / 160 / 170 / 180% total AD

VFX Description: _The stomp would be just a ground smash, while getting into position so just cracking earth, and after the dash, constellation-like inter-connected stars, similar to Cosmic Reaver Kassadin's Q, with a dark blue background around them. For Dragonslayer Pantheon, fiery vfx, his wings appear and dissapear at the end of the dash in ashes, and his mantle reappears. _

• E - Aegis Assault: Cooldown: 22/20.5/19/17.5/16 >>> 22/20/18/16/14 Slam Base Damage: 55/105/155/205/255 >>> 70/120/170/220/270 Mortal Will Bonus: DoT Damage: 166.6% >>> 175% total AD

• R - Grand Starfall: Damage: 300/500/700 >>> 250/500/750 NEW: ( +30% total AD ) NEW: Now people hit by the spear and around it will get slowed by 30%

As a short last description of the change: The W is inspired by the second story that came out, describing Pantheon as being really, really fast, so I thought I can make use of it, bringing more utility and damage. Please give me your opinion over the changes, tell me what do you think about them and what can I change within them. I would really like a Rioter's opinion especially, and possibly a talk with one. Please, any rioter that reads this, give me your opinion as well. I'd really like to see those changes going to PBE, maybe with number adjustments, since I believe I didn't get them totally right, since I can't test them in any way. I'll edit the post each time I hear good feedback. The Q needed a buff since Pantheon lacks the DoT that many of the bruisers have ( i.e Renekton, Irelia, Aatrox etc. ). Thanks for patience and reading, I can't wait to hear your feedback and opinions, and let's hope we'll get to test this onto PBE !

Edit 1: My opinion about the Q crit buff on Tap, well, it feels kinda good, but I still hold on to my opinion. It is not healthy for his kit. They didn't do anything to compensate the Hold Q, and now feels kinda useless. Not even a higher damage beyond first enemy target. And another problem that I really wish would be solved faster, is his scaling AD, which is trash, compared to other bruisers. To give you a better idea: 140 is the typical Bruiser base AD at 18, Panth has 120. Which sucks badly and even nerfs Steraks on him compared to other bruisers using it. Didn't play many games these days so I might come back with a changed opinion? But very unlikely. They really seem to pay too much attention to Jg Panth, and kinda forgetting about Pantheon as a champion overall. I'll keep the post updated with every buff/nerf/change that comes for the champion.

Edit 2: Yep, he's still in a somewhat ok spot until the game progresses, then you fall-off badly. I personally don't like the fact that he's too early/mid-game based, this is the main reason he gets banned at worlds constantly and the main reason he will most likely get gutted without any tweak at all. He is not that strong later in the game, and as I said, it would be healthier to just shift power from his early game to his late game. Let's hope for the sake of all Panth mains that they don't gut him in the Sylas/Akali manner.