Mage Update: Karma
http://i.imgur.com/vXIycN6.jpg?1 ** WARNING! LENGTHY KARMA ANALYSIS!**
TL;DR Karma could use an update to make her stand out. I suggest more ally-focused utility. ** Why could Karma use an update?**
I'm really looking forward to the mage update, especially since so many AP's are being outclassed by the (stupid) ADC meta. However as a pre and post rework Karma main I'm quite sad she wasn't chosen. Even though Karma is probably one of the most balanced champions in League (constantly hovering around 50%) her playstyle is severely lacking. She doesn't really fill any sort of niche outside of her late-game spammable ult and surprise moments of durability. She's outclassed in solo lanes by Lulu, and only really excels in early pressure as a support. Obviously an update, but not overhaul, would do wonders for her.
Her Passive
I think the Karma fanbase would definitely agree that the main problem is her lack of a real passive. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE Karma's passive! This is one of the few changes from her rework that I really enjoy! It emphasizes her poke playstyle, encourages aggression, and overall just feels extremely rewarding.
However, even if it allows for some clutch plays with her ultimate (especially in the late-game) it's not significant enough to make up for her lack of climactic gameplay. Other support-mages like Orianna, Lux, Morgana, might not have their ults up as frequently as Karma, but they do have a lot more meaningful ults when they do come out. The fact that Karma's ultimate doesn't have nearly the strength or wombo-combo factor as other champions in her role is punishment enough for its lower cooldown, so why does she also have to sacrifice her passive for this?
Her Utility (Or Lack Thereof...)
The other problem Karma currently faces is her lack of utility as a support. Sure, there's some form of utility in all of her abilities, but she's never going to contest with the likes of Lulu, Bard, and Janna. In a way, this is ok. Karma is a lot more offensive-focused and self-reliant (independent black woman who don't need no man yada yada). Where the problem really lies is in her lack of UNIQUE utility. She's got an average slow, a lackluster snare, and an ok shield. Because of this she's generally played in bottom lane as an AP-focused spam-happy kill lane.
Her shield is arguably the only thing that's unique to her when compared to other supports. Once leveled it becomes a pretty good shield with a fairly strong speedboost, and the ulted version can be without a doubt the strongest shield in the game. The problem is she's forced to build AP to make use of it. But besides that, there's nothing that sets her apart outside of raw damage. And as many have pointed out, her Mantra+E is basically just a better version of the Talisman and Locket item actives.
Key Problems
So the two main problems I've identified are...
- Lack of a real passive.
- Lack of hard cc and unique utility.
Some other issues include...
- Lack of wombo-combo.
- Her snare is uninteresting.
- Her Mantra+E doesn't feel distinct.
- She's too reliant on spamming her (Mantra) Q.
- Her kit doesn't encourage building support items.
The problem is how do you add these things to Karma while still keeping her balanced?
My Suggestion
Well most of her success comes from either playing her in a solo lane or as a sort of pseudo-kill lane AP support, so it would be best to focus any changes towards her interaction with allies as a support. I believe the best way to do this would be to kill two birds with one stone and create a passive with a unique form of utility, that wouldn't need AP to be effective, functioned with her teammates, and could be used with her ult in a impactful way. In addition to this, this new passive could also interact more with her W and E to make her playstyle less binary.
Conclusion
Below are my suggestions, but I'm no expert on game design... Yet. Thanks for hearing me out! As a passionate Karma player it would make me very happy for her full potential to be realized in the game. She's got the aesthetics and the character... But from a gameplay perspective she needs an extra push. I hope you'll share with me your ideas on how we can get my baby-girl into a better, more distinct spot!
Theory Crafting
These are just suggestions I'm spitballing right now... Please don't downvote, but give some reasonable feedback. I'd love to hear what you guys suggest! [slayer-pantheon-thumbs]
As for a passive I think it would have to be a mark. Probably like Leona's. And I'd also like to see synergy with her E somehow. Hmm, how about...
- Rallying Spirit: Every X seconds Karma's auto-attacks mark an enemy champion for her allies. When allies deal damage to this target they are "Rallied" and shielded for X amount + a percent of Karma's bonus health. This shield deteriorates over three seconds. *Using Mantra+E on a Rallied ally stops the deterioration and deals small flat damage to nearby enemies around the ally.
So basically Karma hits a target, her ally hits them too, and they're shielded for a small or decent amount if she builds HP. Not exactly sure how good this is conceptually but from a gameplay perspective it emphasizes her role as a "shield" support, gives her a reason to build tankier supportive items, interacts with her Mantra+E, and doesn't have much of an impact on her solo lane experience.
Is it too confusing? Does it fit thematically? Could this be abused or toxic in some way?
It would make her better at helping her allies in trades, rather than just keeping her focused on throwing Q's for poke all laning phase. Using this with her Mantra+E would give her more of a wombo-combo as the shields would stack and the flat damage from the "shield-bomb" would charge her Mantra faster. For example, you put the passive mark on an enemy, your ally activates it, you Mantra+E them stacking the shields, and the shield-bomb goes off around the ally reducing the cooldown on her Mantra again... Simple right? Not really, I know. But it sounds pretty neat.
As for her utility, specifically her snare, I'm thinking something along the lines of Mordekaiser W. As much as I despise how oppressive his kit turned out, the interaction his W has with his teammates might be just what Karma needs. We could also look to Karma's old W, which speedboosted allies she was tethered to, for some INSPIRE-ation. Cough. This would add to her duality thematic, make her W feel more impressive, and still keep the power focused on interacting with allies. How about something similar to bond of stone or a spellshield of some kind? Or why not both?
- Focused Resolve 2.0: Karma links to a target absorbing ?% of damage dealt and transferring any CC onto herself for the duration of the tether. Mantra effect greatly reduces damage taken and makes both targets CC immune for the duration of the tether. The tether and any CC ends if the linked ally dies or if Karma herself toggles the ability off.
This would give her a reason to build more supportive, give her kit some unique utility options, and wouldn't effect her solo lane. I could see this used as a sort of off-tank Karma support, making her excel at protecting hypercarries. At max rank and with mantra that's 4 seconds of reduced damage and CC immunity on a relatively low cooldown (at least for an ultimate).
Is this too strong? Is it too similar to Braum? Is it bad from a gameplay perspective to bite the bullet for what could be your ally's mistake? Can you see this being abused in certain comps?
I'd say that the tether would be larger than her current offensive tether, but still break at a certain point to avoid it being abused on assassins. It could be tweaked so that the Mantra effect didn't scale as strong as her offensive snare.
Any feedback would be great! And again, thanks for reading!
might want to have a talk with you.