I think the "Marksman" class DOES deserve a sub-class split

Penta Penguin··6 votes·744 views

Within a certain range yes, all Marksmen (and women) tend to be the "deal lots of sustained damage" class

But IMO there are regardless 3 distinct Marksman sub-classes that should be recognized, I don't have names for them, I'm just going to talk about what they do.

"Raw Damage"

This is what Rito was talking about; get into range and blast people with TONS OF DAMAGE, but you don't do much else. This is Kog'maw, Vayne, Miss Fortune, Tristana, Corki, Twitch, Lucian, Graves.

"Snipers"

These guys and girls break the range-boundary and have an impact on fights from further away than any other marksman, typically with a huge burst of damage (NOT sustained, not doing "the same thing but different" here). This is Jinx, Jhin, Caitlyn, Draven, Ezreal.

"Play-makers"

Here we have Marksman that feature big, game-changing, momentous abilities and play-making potential outside of just dealing damage. They may also offer strong utility in other ways. This is Ashe, Sivir, Quinn, Varus, Kalista, Kindred, Urgot, Teemo (still a marksman folks)

There are even a few cross-class Hybrids like Quinn (brings raw damage with game-changing roam potential), Varus (Pokes at fairly long range but also brings that nice Ulti to team-fights), and Ashe (delivers big stuns from anywhere on the map).

EDIT: Just my personal name suggestions in the order above; Hunters (or Bounty Hunters), keep Snipers, Rangers

14 Comments

67chrome1 votes

That's not a bad breakdown.

There is a lot of diversity in the marksman archetype, especially with the archetype being capable of lanning anywhere ATM and the great diversity and build routes marksman itemization provides. Makes sense they should have at least 2 sub-classes.

Issue I keep running into when trying to describe them is that marksman don't really clump together in specific play-styles though. You can pick a few on the edges with a lot of unique characteristics, but then there's a wide range of marksman stuck in a middle ground for the class.

Penta Penguin1 votes

Yeah that's true

FacerollKatarina1 votes

oh ur on my friends list :o hi

Penta Penguin1 votes

lmao hey

I met Diana on the forums too

Moon Mom1 votes

Love the breakdown :).

Penta Penguin1 votes

Thanks friendo~

The Loveless1 votes

Even with his ult, I wouldn't call Draven a sniper. He's known mostly for spinning axe damage than he is for sick LCS420 no scope ults. Otherwise good breakdown and hopefully we get some cool names for the marksmen subclasses.

Penta Penguin1 votes

Draven is a good point, I don't know if he would simply be pure "raw damager" though, maybe hybrid "raw damage" with secondary "sniper". I like the idea of having a sub-class that can impact fights from extreme ranges, Draven fits that to some extent even if it's not his primary identity

Evewynn1 votes

These are some pretty neat sub classes. However, I would suggest Corki under the sniper subclass, as he is poke oriented with his very long range and low cool down ult and strong bomb (could also classify as play maker due to his Package offering incredibly impactful spikes).

I think kog could also be classed as a sniper considering the very long range of all his abilities and w auto attacks, as well as being very strong when stationary (like an actual sniper!).

draven is definitely damage oriented though, certainly not a sniper just because of his ult!

These are a good start at defining the class as a whole. Riot definitely could have done more in this regard.

Penta Penguin1 votes

Thanks for mentioning that, I forgot about Special Delivery.

I think maybe if sub-classes still get sorted as "primary" and "secondary" as the tags are now, then champs with poke like Corki could also be snipers

My logic was that "Snipers" were the champs with extraordinary (pretty much global) range abilities with a huge gap between their range, and the range of even pokers. But maybe SNiper could be more about both long-range and having to aim difficult shots, to include shorter range stuff like Varus, Corki and Kog'maw

JRobin311 votes

I like your breakdown. But where exactly do "hyper-kites" fit? Some ADCs rely on superior mobility to kite their opponents to death rather than raw damage, burst, or play-making. They can be distinguished from other ADCs that just aren't as mobile. Blue Ezreal is the kite-you-to-death champion. It isn't about raw damage, burst, or play-making - just about being more mobile to chase you down or run away while dealing damage.

Penta Penguin1 votes

I think that's a good point and could be it's own sub-class. Ezreal though I would still cross as a hybrid between that and Sniper.

paisy1 votes

To be honest, I don't like your break down. You put Corki in the same place as Vayne. Same with Ashe and Quinn. Vayne and Ashe are auto based while Corki and Lucian are spell based.

Penta Penguin1 votes

This was quick run-down I did earlier today just to start a discussion, but my logic was still along the same lines as Riot for the "raw-damagers"; you get into a range, and whether it's spells or auto-attacks you deal some fuckin' damage.

Corki though, i totally forgot about Special Delivery, he may be a better fit in "play-makers" now.

Exceptional Range and Utility were the two things that stood out to me first to separate the sub-classes

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