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It's been a very..VERY long time since Riot released a pure Assassin champ!

Wukong Airlines··37 votes·2,567 views

Make no mistake and don't misunderstand me when I say Assassin, it means assassin by his/her first role, and no, before you tell me Kayn is an assassin, he's not, he's categorized as a fighter, not sure if a diver too but you get the point, and his Rhaast form is the most dominant as it's played 90% of games. And don't tell me about the "recent midlaners released" because that's not the thread's purpose of discussion.

Here's the list of most recent Champs releases and their main roles. Ornn Tank - Toplaner + jungler Kayn Fighter - Jungler + Toplaner Rakan + Xayah Support + ADC - Botlane Camille Fighter -Toplane Ivern Support-Jungler - Jungle + Botlane Kled Fighter - Toplane Taliyah Mage - Midlane AurelionSol Mage - Midlane Jhin ADC - Botlane Illaoi Fighter - Toplane Kindred ADC-Jungler - Jungle + Botlane TahmKench Support - Botlane + Toplane + possibly Jungle Ekko Assassin - Toplane - Midlane I should stop here since most people classify Ekko as an assassin, but the recent patches and the way ekko was played doesnt define him as Assassin [[Refer to Tank Ekko last year]]. but in case you were wondering about the previously released champions and to compare the number of PURE ASSASSIN champion releases with the other classes, here's what was released before Ekko. Bard Support - Botlane RekSai Fighter - Jungle + possibly toplane Kalista ADC - Botlane Azir Mage - Midlane Gnar Fighter - Toplane Braum Support - Botlane Velkoz Mage - Midlane + Botlane Yasuo Fighter - Midlane + Toplane Jinx ADC - Botlane Lucian ADC - Botlane Aatrox Fighter - Toplane + possibly Jungle Lissandra Mage - Midlane Quinn ADC - Botlane + Toplane + possibly jungler [[ 5 Years Ago]]

There you go the full list of champ releases in the past 5 Years. So for every 8 Fighters, 5 Supports, 4 Mages and 7 ADCS, Riot releases 1 Assassin only. Why?

Do you so much prefer other roles [[Fighters + ADCS using lethality]] to be able to do an Assassin's job instead of giving more space for more Assassins to join the Rift? Put in mind many Fighter champs could do what an AD Assassin should be doing, even better. Best example is JarvanIV.

I'm curious to see what Season 8 will bring to the rift, and whether a new Assassin will join the game or not, an AD assassin from Shurima or Freljord, preferably from Shurima, since culture-wise, it's supposed to be the motherland of Assassins.

75 Comments

Mens Hair Club35 votes

bard is an assassin

DuskDaUmbreon3 votes

Bard's the best assassin. Seriously. He can ignore walls and has innate sustain, like Kayn does, and has strong burst on both abilities and autos, such as Akali does, and has a Zhonya's built into his kit!

Bard best assassin confirmed.

ImTheSideKick1 votes

ever build full ap bard and get like 200 chimes? one aa is enough to do like 5 k damage ! that is a true assassin

Penns16 votes

Kayn is a pretty good assassin tho.

Knoyle3 votes

except he doesn't have to dedicate to being one. Try building Zed like Rhaast and see where that gets you.

Cosmic Warper5 votes

{quoted}

except he doesn't have to dedicate to being one. Try building Zed like Rhaast and see where that gets you.

I see Rhaast building like Zed and it tilts the shit out of me. Assassin build on Rhaast is dogshit

AbiwonKenabi13 votes

I mean, you're discounting two Champions who are clearly designed as assassins. While I won't deny assassins have been few and far between, it's not like Riot hasn't tried. Say what you want about Ekko's various builds, but he was designed to be an assassin, and Riot has been pushing him towards that role ever since. One of Kayn's transformation is designed as an assassin, and actually has seen some pro use in the mid lane. (Admittedly, his forms could use some balancing against one another)

I think the real question should be, "does the game NEED more assassins?" And, if so, what kinds of assassin designs are we looking for? What will make them distinct from the others?

I'm not proposing any supposed answers to these questions, just pointing out that this might be the more constructive avenue for your argument.

ImTheSideKick2 votes

I believe the op said pure assassin

kayn can be but is not often. I prefer shadow my self over darkin but in like 90% of games people go the other way.

ekko may have been designed a assassin however but really isn't played as such.... poke poke poke kill

AbiwonKenabi1 votes

Doubleguac's comment got to sort of the heart of what I was insinuating: "pure" assassins probably don't have a future in the game. Here "pure" meaning a Champion that chunks the better part of a health bar in very little time. Riot has made it pretty clear that they will be going away from the extremes of this design at least in part. Does this mean they will never make an assassin ever again? No, of course not. But expect to see them be much less traditional. Reworks and new assassins will never burst as quickly as they used to.

A good place to look at this type of design philosophy in action is with transformation Champions. Riot stated pretty clearly that Champions with transformations and an entire set of skills on that transformation (Nidalee, Jayce, Elise) are difficult to balance, and they would probably never do a "traditional" transformation Champion again. Gnar is one result of that, and some things worked, some things didn't. Gnar has posed balance issues in the past, but overall I think he's a balance improvement. Kayn is another try at transformation Champ, and again some things worked, others not as much. I think we are seeing a similar process happen with assassins.

So that's why I posed slightly different questions. It might be more constructive to describe what kind of Champion might both line up with Riot's desired design and players' desired playstyle. Or maybe try to figure out the elements of a "pure" assassin that you liked in the first place. Simply saying "we need a pure assassin, it's been so long" isn't going to get anybody results because Riot is probably not going to create that specific kind of Champion ever again. Things could change, they have changed their minds before, but for the foreseeable future, "pure assassins" are not in the cards.

doubleguac1 votes

Ekko was designed as a skirmishing assassin/light fighter. He was never intended to be an all-in champ who 100-0% bursts enemies.

I don't know exactly what OP means by "pure assassin" but I suspect he means the latter. When I think of "pure" or "classic" assassins, I think of champions like pre-rework Talon, who just dumped their whole load on an enemy in half a second and killed them.

It's absolutely true that Riot doesn't like 100-0% instagib assassins (again, what I think OP is referring to). The whole point of the assassin update was to shift assassin power away from killing you in .5 seconds out of stealth. There are multiple champion reworks that were carried out specifically to prevent you from 100-0% killing someone out of fog-of-war/stealth.

If I'm understanding what OP means by "pure assassins", I don't think "pure assassins" have a future in this game. Riot thinks the archetype is unhealthy and anti-fun. I'm not taking a stance on that. They are pretty explicit about it.

Kloqdq9 votes

Ekko is a skirmisher more than anything.

You are right though we could use a pure assassin like Zed or Talon or something. I wouldn't mind it coming from someplace that isn't Ionia or Noxus too. A Decimian assassin would be a super interesting case from the story side of things.

Morgan le Fey3 votes

Quinn Hi!

Kloqdq9 votes

Quinn is something. One of her 1490 classes is assassin though.

HeimerLmao8 votes

Frostblade Irelia is an amaing ass-assin, right?

DuskDaUmbreon1 votes

E X T R A T H I C C

sutora31 votes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NEgwxGWgiIg

Leetri8 votes

The question you should be asking is what would a new assassin add to the game? Riot usually designs champions based on a fantasy (someone being taken over by a Darkin) or a mechanic (can walk through walls, has different permanent forms). They'll never add an assassin just for the sake of adding an assassin.

A Shuriman assassin is a good base, but why is this particular assassin noteworthy? Do they carry a special item/weapon or have special powers (magical or not)? Are they in a position of power, or do they have a reputation? Riot's not gonna turn a no-name regular Joe into a champion. Maybe it's a very notable merchant who in secret procures all his wares by killing and robbing nobles? Maybe it's a very skilled assassin that was recruited by Noxus and sent to kill Shyvana? Or maybe you have a great mechanic in mind. Maybe it's a spirit that is harvesting life essence with each kill, and if you get enough he revives his body to power himself up.

SpecterVonBaren5 votes

I think this hits on WHY we haven't had a real assassin for so long (Ekko still plays more like a fighter than anything). The Assassin's job is to kill someone really fast. You can only do so much with this concept before you run into the walls that are 1. Making sure they aren't frutratingly good at their job. 2. Make killing one person really fast different from how another assassin does it. 3. Not have anything you add to them overlap too much with another damage dealing champion.

Assassins just aren't an interesting class to design so long as the only thing they're doing is killing people really fast, which lots of other classes are also capable of. The only interesting idea I can think of to make a new assassin that's interesting is making an Assassin/Support champion.

ModAcademy Kayn1 votes

Passive: Share the Love: If within X distance of a Champion, GoodGuy Assassin rewards the gold and credit of a kill to a nearby ally

totally didn't steal this from smite

SpecterVonBaren2 votes

I actually have a concept for an Assassin/Support which involves a Void parasite that's good at supporting someone but also good at chasing down and securing **low ** health targets.

Nymzo7 votes

Been also a long time since a pure Enchanter, last one was Nami

Sad Chihuahua3 votes

Bard?

Ashen Rider3 votes

I think the definition of Enchanter is someone who has spells that they cast directly on other champions that heals, shields, or buffs them in some way. Bard should not be casting his heal directly onto people except in emergencies.

Sad Chihuahua2 votes

That's not really a convincing reason... His W is still a healing and a speed boost ability, he povides utility through his E and Ult, and has CC on his Q. I think he fits the criteria of an enchanter.

DuskDaUmbreon3 votes

Bard's a bit burst-heavy for an enchanter, IMO. He's closer to the lines of whatever Morgana is.

Nymzo4 votes

Catcher

Nymzo1 votes

Unfortunately, Bard is far from being a pure enchanter.

In fact, Riot considered him a pure catcher: http://na.leagueoflegends.com/en/news/game-updates/gameplay/taking-another-look-subclasses

I personally consider him a hybrid between the 2 subclass but only because of his w.

BobaFlautist1 votes

I mean, that's like saying Morgana is part enchanter just because of her E.

Nahui5 votes

Because the community hates assassins and when they one shot squishies (namely ADCs). It's just okay when a Mage or a high burst fighter does it. Lol.

Wukong Airlines6 votes

but it's ok for MissFortune to 1shot the entire team, and JarvanIV have no delayed dmg and no counterplay.

Nahui1 votes

Well MF I wouldn't cite does that too often, but yeah, exactly on J4. He's a fighter so that's not toxic gameplay.

Wráthful3 votes

{quoted}

Well MF I wouldn't cite does that too often, but yeah, exactly on J4. He's a fighter so that's not toxic gameplay.

Mf is not that easy to pull off a full ult on the entire enemy team unless they do a massive mistake mf is not the best example of champions w/o counterplay since she is squishi adc with no escape.

DuskDaUmbreon2 votes

MF can do it somewhat easily, but she requires setup. Leona ult, j4 ult, or some other ability to trap them all in her ult.

Hell, this can even be done in YoloQ.

But it's not really burst, since it's over...what...3 seconds?

ZapMyHeart1 votes

{quoted}

Because the community hates assassins and when they one shot squishies (namely ADCs). It's just okay when a Mage or a high burst fighter does it. Lol.

item 3155 exists.

Nahui1 votes

item 3157 item 3026 exists. No complaining allowed.

ZapMyHeart1 votes

{quoted}

item 3157 item 3026 exists. No complaining allowed.

item 3155 is cheaper than item 3157 or item 3026

Call me when you are forced to buy a item 3156 for the shield effect.

Nahui1 votes

It's a difference of a few minutes. Still a hard counter to all assassins. Irrelevant.

ZapMyHeart1 votes

{quoted}

It's a difference of a few minutes. Still a hard counter to all assassins. Irrelevant.

It is actually very relevant. Your few minutes of protection allows said assassin to either survive more often or potentially gain more kills.

If it's so irrelevant, let's nerf Hexdrinker's passive then.

Call me when you have to build a Maw against AP mages.

Nahui1 votes

It's not relevant at all for the power those respective items give. Hexdrinker is simply a bit more health. Zhonyas cancels entire abilities and kits. GA prevents dives.

Even Maw is inferior to those items, let alone hexdrinker.

Syndra and Veigar will blow through hexdrinker far better than Talon or Zed will blow through GA/Zhonyas.

And sure, nerf hexdrinker's passive. Just add some cooldown to zhonyas please and thank you.

ZapMyHeart1 votes

{quoted}

It's not relevant at all for the power those respective items give. Hexdrinker is simply a bit more health. Zhonyas cancels entire abilities and kits. GA prevents dives.

Even Maw is inferior to those items, let alone hexdrinker.

Syndra and Veigar will blow through hexdrinker far better than Talon or Zed will blow through GA/Zhonyas.

And sure, nerf hexdrinker's passive. Just add some cooldown to zhonyas please and thank you.

Actually it does. Time costs money. With Hexdrinker being so efficient, it is a better buy than either Zhonya's or GA.

Hexdrinker prevents deaths. Just like Zhonya's and GA. And Talon and Zed could simply wait Zhonya's or GA out because it puts the champion under stasis, whereas Hexdrinker activates automatically once the threshold hits and you can still do stuff.

Keep in mind, Hexdrinker is cheaper than either Zhonya's or GA with such an amazing passive. If you want the health shield, you can buy Maw, if that was the case.

Zhonya's cooldown is already shit. Add more cooldown to Hexdrinker instead please and thank you.

Again, call me when Hexdrinker is useless like Armguard and assassins actually have to spend 3k gold on a life-saving passive.

Nahui1 votes

Except hexdrinker only procs on magic damage and is controllable in how to proc it if you're even half smart about it. Zhonyas works on any spell, against any champion. Syndra's ult can still blow through hexdrinker, it can -never- blow through Zhonyas. It can blow threw hexdrinker. It can never blow through GA. These items are more expensive because their effects are far superior to the slight extra bit of effective health an item gives versus one damage type that the user has no control over proccing.

Armguard is worse than hexdrinker because Zhonyas is better than Maw. If it was better, then the AP item would, in totality, be better than the AD item. But, unfortunately for some, Riot does try and keep some semblance of balance in their game so they recognize letting one damage type have a whole game edge versus another is a problem. I'm glad you don't work on the balance team.

Call me when you have a real point to make and understand power balance.

ZapMyHeart1 votes

{quoted}

Except hexdrinker only procs on magic damage and is controllable in how to proc it if you're even half smart about it. Zhonyas works on any spell, against any champion. Syndra's ult can still blow through hexdrinker, it can -never- blow through Zhonyas. It can blow threw hexdrinker. It can never blow through GA. These items are more expensive because their effects are far superior to the slight extra bit of effective health an item gives versus one damage type that the user has no control over proccing.

Armguard is worse than hexdrinker because Zhonyas is better than Maw. If it was better, then the AP item would, in totality, be better than the AD item. But, unfortunately for some, Riot does try and keep some semblance of balance in their game so they recognize letting one damage type have a whole game edge versus another is a problem. I'm glad you don't work on the balance team.

Call me when you have a real point to make and understand power balance.

Except Zhonya's can be denied with a CC and Hexdrinker cannot. You have to actually press a button to use Zhonya's. With Hexdrinker, you can survive Syndra's ult unless your team was stupid enough to feed her to the point where her Q does 50% of your health in one go. At that point, you're screwed anyways. With the amount of CC lock in the game, it's not hard to deny someone with Zhonya's. GA doesn't offer much protection outside of a measly 300g armor prior to being completely built. Again, Hexdrinker's cooldown is so low that I rather exchange that for Zhonya's any time.

I rather have a godly Armguard than have to build Zhonya's every time. At least I can sit on that like many ADCs or AD assassins do with their Hexdrinker and buy something else instead of be forced to delay my build to rush an expensive survivability item that doesn't offer me much else for my build requirements as an AP.

Again, if Hexdrinker isn't problematic, let's nerf it where it's like Armguard and make Maw a late game item like Zhonya's and GA with an extended cooldown.

Call me when you actually make a real argument and understand how efficient Hexdrinker is throughout the game.

Wráthful3 votes

probably riot dont like to make assassins because they clearly showed us that they got no clue how to balance that class take the assassin update for example some of the reworked champs are too op and the others too bad to be used.

hhaavviikk3 votes

shadow kayn is a pure assassin

An Enemy Sutando1 votes

Even though the form is called Shadow "Assassin", he's still considered a diver due to having very limited escapes.

Yordle Xayah2 votes

Lucian Is Mid though

Succubús GF2 votes

They hate assassins wym

SanKakU2 votes

Kayn is best described as a multi-class champion IMO. And if one of those classes is Assassin, even if it's played less than half the time...then he's still an Assassin. I don't own him, but I would assume due to his ratios that switching classes in the middle of the game is a lot simpler than people seem to think.

Better Jungler1 votes

"Shadow Assassin Kayn"

...

Hexs Fortune1 votes

Why make a new pure assassin when we already have zed, talon, shadow kayn etc.

New champs should bring something new. We already have enough high mobility + dmg champs

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