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Should Riot make Assassin's meta again?

sandypanda·3/5/2018, 11:15:36 PM·21 votes·2,757 views

Assassins still receive play in solo q as they are viable for snowballing a game, even in high Elo. Unfortunately when behind an assassin suffers much worse than a tank jungler or a safer mid lane. Additionally Riot has buffed mid lane mages, and is even changing locket which will push assassins further from the meta. I want to know why the riot balance team is so against assassins being strong? It is much more exciting in solo q to play high risk, high reward champs than to see sejuani, sion, braum in most games, simply because the are easy to play and punish aggression. Particularly in pro play I think this is a huge issue. I used to love pro play, it was extremely exciting watching lee sin and Elise as tier 1 jungles, and seeing zed or ahri in the mid lane. Riot has continually added easy to use, low cd utility items, as well as new tank champions which make these picks less viable. I think the game could be a lot more fun if the balance team increases the strength of assassin items or nerfs some of the utility items instead of buffing mages and the incoming locket changes. I have to say it is much more exciting seeing khazix and rengar in pro, the khazix changes are fantastic. I love what they have done with baron and elder, and think that shorter game times could lead to bloodier games again. I would like to know what others in the community think about the strength or weakness of assassins in the current meta, and what ideas people have to make them stronger whether ad or ap without messing up game balance. I would also like to know if anyone does prefer the current meta jungle champs.

51 Comments

Glory973/6/2018, 12:02:43 AM27 votes

We don't need direct buffs to assassins. We need a way to have assassins stay relevant in the later stages of the game. Right now peel-supports a WAY TOO GOOD at preventing an assassin from ever being close to able to assassinate an adc. And adcs are too strong at bursting down whoever tries to kill them. What we need is nerf dmg of adc against squishy targets, nerf base dmg of tanks, nerf peel-support and after that assassins will find their place.

Titanium703/6/2018, 1:49:06 AM11 votes

Even ignoring the main problem with Assassins (Their entire fantasy being quite toxic for a team game)

You will NEVER get a Meta where Assassins are playable in LCS without destroying SoloQ balance. Pros only pick Assassins if they're strong -> save to use! They don't "risk" things.

Dead flag blues3/5/2018, 11:41:17 PM11 votes

It would mean marksmen actually getting assassinated, so no.

3411235456523/6/2018, 3:08:44 AM11 votes

We already are in an assassin meta.

Tristana Draven Xayah Vayne Twitch

(they just dont have the "assassin" tag to trick stupid people)

Cavesloth3/6/2018, 3:33:50 AM7 votes

You can't cure cancer by replacing it with ANOTHER cancer. The games issues are FAR deeper than just marksman are stupid OP and have cheap itemization. Yes its a huge issue, but just changing who is OP won't fix the fact that comebacks are impossible so the game feels like shit because of the snowballing issue, and turrets throwing marshmallows and being made of wet toilet paper.

ch3xmix3/5/2018, 11:22:03 PM4 votes

I also liked pro play a lot more when Elise and lee sin were the top jungles, faster games with more mechanical outplays, allowing players like faker to make a name for themselves. In the meta now I don't think there is the same chance with the strength of easy to play tanks and the strength of utility items. I think the changes shouldn't be limited to assassins however, but maybe could just be nerfs to tanks, and utility items in general, as champs like thresh have much more outplay potential and are much more exciting to see in lcs. Watching a flash prediction from thresh to win a B of 5 in worlds would probably make players a lot more excited than seeing a braum flash to land his passive and chain with various stun for a kill.

Kiw34343/5/2018, 11:47:20 PM3 votes

my god, if ahri gets buffed, I'd be playing ranked everyday

ReySolomon3/6/2018, 12:55:22 AM3 votes

You forgot about kassadin.

If they do buff AD assassins then they have to look at lethality so it isn't as bad when they do.

IMP, They don't need to buff anything just nerf the shields from supports and the DMG ADC'S can do then there you go it's better than what it is today but I really doubt this will happen.

EverythingIsGone3/6/2018, 1:07:49 AM3 votes

lol, just look at how this game has been from the very beginning. We could have a team with no tanks, no mages, no assassins, no bruiser, no ANYTHING except no ADC. In more recent updates, it has become even clearer that Riot has a very clear bias favoring back line champions and specifically ADCs. Strong assassins make the game less fun for ADCs, so they'll all be in the shitters permanently.

Śhunpo3/6/2018, 5:17:43 AM2 votes

I'm down for it. Us assassin mains have suffered at the hands of tanks, ADCs, supports and mages for almost 4 seasons now, I think it's time that we get some justified payback. If you're going to keep these obnoxious shields in the game then why not give assassins the ability to rip through them like paper (jk) xd.

But no. Don't directly buff assassins, just revert their reworks entirely (or in Lee sin's case maybe give him buffs).........actually revert the entire assassin update because it failed as a whole (lethality is just a stupid stat compared to armour pen) and up the cost on the zeal items+make ADCs actually balanced. There you go, now assassins are actually playable again.

Jinx Hunter3/6/2018, 4:13:09 AM2 votes

Can we have a damn bruiser meta for fucking once? [slayer-jinx-unamused]

notmebuthim3/6/2018, 6:33:10 AM2 votes

Anything than full tanks dealing the most damage in the game while being unkillable.

Devilreaper XIII3/6/2018, 10:27:05 AM2 votes

the real question is: when will riot nerf the heck out of assassins so they are OUT of meta?!

they have been in meta for years now :/ it has been assassin/tank meta for so long now :(

assassins are obnoxious toxic crap 100--0 in 0,0000001 second op broken overloaded kits meta mid/jungle infestation must be deleted pain in the arse does not require to have a brain to play champions.....

in what way is riot againts assassins being strong???? all of them practically oneshot, and dominate the entire game...... it takes 2 assassins to destroy 1 team.....

Lauchmelder3/6/2018, 10:10:26 PM1 votes

God no.

There's nothing more toxic than getting killed before you even get a chance to react. Oh wait....

XvWrathfulvX3/6/2018, 8:59:08 AM1 votes

The problem with buffing assassins too much whether through itemization or kits is that it makes the game way too oppressive. All you'll ever see mod lane is Zed, Talon, Akali or Ekko becuse they'll be the meta picks to have on your team. Gone will be any thought of having an actual mage anywhere on your team because who wants to wait for all in kill potential for upwards of 2-3 items when you can have that same kill potential much earlier as an assassin. People already complain about the lack of diversity and the rise of snowballing in this game and that would only serve to make it worse.

Assassin mains I get it. It sucks being the red headed step child. But eventually you guys are going to have to understand that your champs are purely situational picks and aren't meant to work 100% of the time.

Aptest3/7/2018, 9:09:48 PM1 votes

In a PvP oriented game, to have a class that is specifically designed to win at PvP VS the opposing player, is a serious design error.

That is the core problem with assassin champions as a whole: They are basically a sacrifice of all other traits, in favor of winning the PvP.

Its not reasonable in a PvP game to tell the other player, "your win condition is PvE". That's basically sucking the fun out of the game. Its not reasonable to tell the ADC player "you are a duo with the support, stay with him at all times", and it is not reasonable to tell the support "you are a duo with the ADC, your job is to PROTECT THE ADC, and btw, pick something that's good at specifically that".

The issue is, that they win the PvP by design, and because of that warp the game in a way that is maybe balanced, but sucks the fun out of the game for everybody else.

Votable Jester3/6/2018, 12:49:33 AM1 votes

What if they made an item with an active that made some % of your damage ignore shields for a few seconds? That way if you're able to do way more damage than their health, they can't just be saved by massive shields.

This also wouldn't help at all against small shields as that damage devoted to the shield would destroy it anyways, so it would only counter stuff like 2+ supports shielding one champ.

jocomotion3/6/2018, 1:25:10 PM1 votes

One thing you should actually keep in mind about Locket is that it actually is now delayed on its active when pressed, meaning reacting to an assassins burst with the item is harder rather than easier. On top of that the carry needs to stay in a small zone in order to actually receive any protection, meaning you have a more clear opportunity to strike when they do. Riots overall trying to make that item less of a go to support item since every support that wasn’t damage built it.

Karfuss3/6/2018, 2:54:19 AM1 votes

Last I recall, we're at this point now because of the 'assassin meta' and 'ADC 2K17' meta.

When there's no counter balance, faeces hits the fan and sprays everywhere. Sums up this meta in a nutshell.