Some combinations of classes just shouldn't mix.

Hello I am Bird··3 votes·302 views

Let's face it, there should never be an ADC that had the stats of both an ADC and a tank, even if they sacrifice some damage. When we do that, we end up with Gnar , who admittedly, is a bit more bearable due to him transforming into melee to be a tank.

Of course tanks will still do damage (In most cases), but they shouldn't have such a steady output of damage while being able to sustain burst as a tank does (Or should do, things are kinda wonky right now if you aren't Malphite or Rammus)

Another combination I can think of would be a support assassin, who would bring utility and peel to the table while also having ludicrous damage. The first champion that comes to mind when I think of that is Ekko.

I'm not saying that Ekko is a support, but a better term would be a utility assassin. I remember in Riot's post on the Fiora rework how, when she was behind, she was useless, and so they wanted to make sure that even when behind she could be relevant. I assume that's what they were going for with Ekko, however, the thing with assassins is that they are SUPPOSED to be somewhat useless, perhaps having to rely on splitpushing if they get behind. Now, the healthiness of that is for a completely different thread itself, but as it stands, that is the way that assassins should be.

A third combination I can think of would be a Tank assassin. This one should be self explanatory. Unless they are building full damage, tanks shouldn't be able to BURST targets. First person that comes to mind when I think of this is Rammus, who I don't exactly consider healthy, but he's also very strong in this meta, so perhaps I am a bit biased.

Rammus forces targets to attack him while having a built-in thornmail. The only difference with this is that, in theory, the ADC could avoid this by buying item 3139 and having the ADC's team peel for the ADC while the APC damages rammus as much as they can.

In the end, some combinations just shouldn't exist. They will, in almost all cases, be unhealthy for the game and will ruin it's future.

PS: I'm not hating on any of these champions, nor begging for their deletion. I'm just saying that classes like them shouldn't be created in the future.

9 Comments

Ralanr5 votes

Rammus can only be considered an assassin in a full AD meta. In a hybrid or AP meta, he's nowhere close.

Hello I am Bird1 votes

Like I stated in my post, I'm a bit biased considering the meta we are in, but at the moment, he is still a good example.

Ralanr2 votes

True, but Galio would be a great example in an AP meta.

They're just doing what they are designed to do. They are specialized as counter picks.

Now an actual tank assassin would be unhealthy. I agree on that. Similar to a ranged tank. They would need VERY exploitable weaknesses (more simple than kiting. Like something you can learn right in game) to be considered fair.

Erockandroll2 votes

I'm not saying that Ekko is a support, but a better term would be a utility assassin. I remember in Riot's post on the Fiora rework how, when she was behind, she was useless, and so they wanted to make sure that even when behind she could be relevant. I assume that's what they were going for with Ekko, however, the thing with assassins is that they are SUPPOSED to be somewhat useless, perhaps having to rely on splitpushing if they get behind. Now, the healthiness of that is for a completely different thread itself, but as it stands, that is the way that assassins should be.

This is the kind of thinking that makes Assassin sh*t to play. The feast or famine play style is not good for champion balance. They become oppressive when they feast, and terrible to play when famine. And if that knife's edge reduces the consistency of that champion, Then there's little reason to main him, because you can't expect similar results.

I've said this for like forever, but the Assassin fantasy, is kinda unhealthy, and you can't balance around that. Where currently the best assassins in the game, work because of their non assassin elements. Starting with wave clear, as it prevents them from becoming feast or famine (looking at Ahri, Zed, Le'blanc)

As for the whole utility assassin concept. The only real difference between a Utility Assassin and a Utility mage, is going to be High single target damage VS. Moderate AoE damage. Both of which need items to scale, yet both classes have utility as a fallback.

Hello I am Bird1 votes

Still, you have to admit, Ekko has insane amount of cc, both hard and soft.

Ralanr1 votes

Which is why he was incredibly overbearing when people built him tank. I was maining Pantheon at the time and all I could think was, "How is this fair?"

DrNova1 votes

Squishies get blown up when caught.

When anyone is fed they do a lot of damage.

These two cover most complaints like this.

Provide examples of problem duo's?

Vesarixx1 votes

Any combination can be problematic depending on the application, Support/Tank seems completely fine but then you get these Nunu TahmKench

DeathBurst1 votes

"Some combinations of classes just shouldn't mix." --> yeah, sure thing, allright.

"Ekko is an Assassin Support" "Assassins should be useless when behind" --> hum, nooo ? That's how you get champs like Rengar.

"Rammus is a Tank Assassin" --> not exactly...

"Gnar is an ADC Tank" --> I'll believe that when I'll see a Gnar go full AD and be useful.

Your arguments are all valid and reasonable, but your examples are all out of place.

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