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Garen's Unique Identity

NovaDisk·4/4/2017, 4:24:41 AM·1 votes·520 views

So, Garen's got some cool new lore, and a slick new icon, but can we talk about what Garen's unique identity is?

Here's what I can come up with:

  • A beginner champ which is okay in Bronze but gets worse and worse the higher you climb, until he's completely useless in Diamond.

  • The only champ in the game with no dash, blink, movement impairing ability, or speed steroid over 50%.

So, what exactly is the point of a Dauntless Vanguard that cannot protect his charge, or fight for that matter? If Garen's supposed to be a justice-dispensing wall, can't he have something added to his kit that would fit thematically, while also making him more viable?

Some examples might be adding a slight slow to his W or E so people can't just run past him, or adding a small AoE shield or resist buff to his allies, from when he inspires them with his courage.

Or if he's truly supposed to be a juggernaut, why isn't he a source of massive damage that the entire enemy team must run from? Other juggernauts such as Illaoi, Darius, Nasus, and Mordekaiser have game-changing damage spells that the enemy team must respect. Garen, on the other hand, doesn't really threaten anyone except the Villain unless he stacks a LOT of damage, which leaves him rather squishy.

Garen needs some work to improve his viability, because he is hurting right now, especially in upper brackets. He's not even overly strong in Bronze, so there's plenty of room to buff him directly.

13 Comments

Critmaster Garen4/4/2017, 7:43:26 AM2 votes

{quoted}

  • A beginner champ which is okay in Bronze but gets worse and worse the higher you climb, until he's completely useless in Diamond.

thats really got nothing to do with his identity, nor is it intended.

a "beginner" champ with an easy to understand kit doesnt need to be limited to only be viable at lower ranks. when riot talks about a beginner champ, look at the warwick update for reference. they added a lot of mechanical depth to his kit without making it overly complicated.

ive come up with a bunch of ideas in the past, that would barely change how his kit functions, but largely increase his skillcap and tackles some of the shortcomings he has.

his passive: one of his largest issues is, that hes the only jugg who doesnt have in combat sustain available to hm, which means he has problems taking extended trades with anyone with an inbuilt sustain mechanic or easy accss to lifesteal.

it would be possible to give up some out of combat sustain at lvl 16 to give him some in combat sustain.

for example his passive could be changed to % missing health out of combat regeneration with a flat 10 second cooldown at all levels. in return he gets an added effect to his spin, where it charges up his passive for .5 seconds for every spin tick on an enemy champion (up to 5 seconds). after the spin ends, his passive activates for the duration he managed to build up (even in combat).

this would add some depth to his kit when it comes to decision making. when you charge up the passive quickly, you have the situational choice of cancelling the spin immediately if you need the extra health to stay alive, or if you want to keep the spin running to deal more damage instead.

id even be willing to sacrifice the inbuilt armor shred for that change, since armor shred is something he can get from cleaver when he needs it.

his w: its another ability that has potential to be much more interesting.

one possibility would be to replace the slow cleanse on his q with a new effect on his w. instead of the damage reduction duration scaling up to full 6 seconds, his w could work similar to fioras riposte.

upon activation, his w could block all incoming crowd control within the next .75 seconds and grant 2 seconds of damage reduction. if he manages to "parry" cc, the damage reduction is extended to 6 seconds.

this would make his w less reliable in a way, but more impactful when he manages to time it right to shrugg off cc.

if you were just to make these few changes, his kit barely changed for beginners who just want to pick up the champion. however there would already be a lot higher skill cap for people who really want to master him.

Fondling Gems4/4/2017, 4:31:20 AM1 votes

The issue with Garen having too much damage is his stat stick nature. Back during the juggernaut release Garen was stronger... a lot stronger. He built tank and then spun through the middle of a teamfight destroying just about everything without much real counterplay. Either you had the CC and were faster or you didn't.

And thus ends the story of why Garen needs changes before he gets that kind of damage again.

Silly Neeko4/4/2017, 4:38:45 AM1 votes

"The only champ in the game with no dash, blink, movement impairing ability, or speed steroid over 50%."

RIP Mordekaiser .... Ill never forget about you even if it seems others have....