@Riot Can we have some context on the Abyssal Mask changes on the PBE?

XIII Vanitas·Jun 1, 2017·3 votes·1,427 views

They seem quite odd to me, so I would like to know if you could shed some light on them.

(My main concern is about the affinity between manaless champions and the item)

13 Comments

Woken Spectre Jun 2, 20171 votes

Same concern here, I'm a Shen player, and Abyssal Mask was the first time Shen truely had some sort of synergy with the item, that was such a relief when it was out

OleandervineJun 2, 20171 votes

I'm like 90% sure that the edge cases for this item are incredibly small. I think that since they removed the Catalyst building into Righteous Glory, they wanted to put it back onto a tank item, and I think Abyssal Mask is the perfect choice. It is an incredible pick for Singed and Amumu now, and there's quite a few more who will love it. It'll do more good on the whole, because those manaless champs probably weren't dealing lots of magic damage anyway.

XIII VanitasJun 2, 20173 votes

Shen Zac Mordekaiser DrMundo Vladimir Kennen Rumble are all going to be locked out of the item.

I'm not including Katarina and Akali because they both can easily build item 3156 as their secondary defensive item against magic damage.

Edit: added Rumble.

SwiftSwrdJun 2, 20171 votes

[{quoted}](name=RUCK FICKY,realm=EUW,application-id=3ErqAdtq,discussion-id=jHIv0Rnb,comment-id=00010000,timestamp=2017-06-02T15:34:48.476+0000)

are all going to be locked out of the item.

I'm not including and because they both can easily build as their secondary defensive item against magic damage.

This is exactly what I saw when they first suggested this change. You also forgot Rumble as a big user of the item. I'd argue in its current state, it's not a bad pickup for Shyvana either. Now all of these champions will be kinda screwed out of the item, since none can use eternity.

XIII VanitasJun 2, 20171 votes

You're right, I forgot Rumble, although I don't think that Shyvana ever wanted to build Abyssal Mask.

SwiftSwrdJun 7, 20171 votes

[{quoted}](name=RUCK FICKY,realm=EUW,application-id=3ErqAdtq,discussion-id=jHIv0Rnb,comment-id=0001000000000000,timestamp=2017-06-02T20:22:22.722+0000)

You're right, I forgot Rumble, although I don't think that Shyvana ever wanted to build Abyssal Mask.

Shyvana does 50/50 magic and physical, skewed up to 10%ish either direction depending on her build. I would say it was even more than that in the magic direction when Feral Flare was a thing. And what other MR item does she want? SV heal is kinda wasted on her, and adaptive is entirely dependent on exactly which enemy champs are bringing MDMG threats. Aside from that, you've got the no-HP mr items like Maw and Wits.

XIII VanitasJun 7, 20171 votes

SV heal is kinda wasted on her

Not if she builds item 3153 , has a healer in her team or has killed a bunch of ocean drakes.

OleandervineJun 2, 20171 votes

[{quoted}](name=RUCK FICKY,realm=EUW,application-id=3ErqAdtq,discussion-id=jHIv0Rnb,comment-id=00010000,timestamp=2017-06-02T15:34:48.476+0000)

are all going to be locked out of the item.

I'm not including and because they both can easily build as their secondary defensive item against magic damage.

Edit: added Rumble.

Kennen is a total edge case here, because he is not predominantly a tank, so this item, even before this PBE change, was not core to his kit, which encourages him to pump up his AP. Additionally, Banshee's Veil is a much better MR alternative for him because of the bubble.

With the exception of Mundo and Mordekaiser, the rest of those champions have been performing intensely well, and the entire reasoning behind giving Abyssal stats they can't use may be intentional - this may be a side handed nerf to these champions to push them towards other alternatives. I am ok with this, because this is a method of leaving the champion's kit and power intact.

ErockandrollJun 3, 20171 votes

[{quoted}](name=RUCK FICKY,realm=EUW,application-id=3ErqAdtq,discussion-id=jHIv0Rnb,comment-id=00010000,timestamp=2017-06-02T15:34:48.476+0000)

are all going to be locked out of the item.

I'm not including and because they both can easily build as their secondary defensive item against magic damage.

Edit: added Rumble.

To be realistic, except for Shen, Zac, and Mundo, most of those champ were designed to be building more AP than defenses. Vlad in particular, seemed to be really oppressive if allowed to build Juggermage.

I think one of the important aspects is to give Tanks at least on good caster item. (And I didn't consider RG to be good) More so now that they are removing the stacking doran's rings. And for the most part, Abyssal mask will be a good power spike item for mana gated tanks.

VisionovaJun 2, 20171 votes

On the other hand:

Alistar Amumu Chogath Galio Gragas Leona Malphite Maokai Nautilus Sejuani Singed Sion TahmKench

All are mana users, a lot of whom likely appreciate the Eternity passive. Especially with Doran's Ring getting nerfed to prevent stacking them.

I'm probably going to be told that they can just buy RoA, though.

XIII VanitasJun 3, 20171 votes

Sion does physical damage, so he's definitely out of the picture. Support Alistar Leona Nautilus and TahmKench don't have the gold income to build Abyssal Mask. Amumu Chogath Galio Gragas Malphite Maokai Sejuani already build either item 3110 or item 3025 , so they don't need the extra mana. Singed is probably the only champion that's really interested in the new build path, considering the fact that they've also changed item 3800 .

VisionovaJun 3, 20171 votes

[{quoted}](name=RUCK FICKY,realm=EUW,application-id=3ErqAdtq,discussion-id=jHIv0Rnb,comment-id=00020000,timestamp=2017-06-03T09:26:36.342+0000)

does physical damage, so he's definitely out of the picture.

Besides helping out his team with the aura, Sion's W and E are magic damage.

XIII VanitasJun 3, 20171 votes

Ok, his damage is mostly physical.