What adc gameplay should be about (local powerspikes)

Woook3r··1 votes·237 views

So the mechanic I am talking about is a concept of local power spikes. Certain champions are stronger in one area of the map than in others, and I thiink this is the thing that adc's need to achieve the most fun and balance possible. Adc's are the kiting champions of league and if they acheive this dream, they uniquely have the power to dictate or at least somewhat control the ground upon which a battle is fought. But actually, I dont think this is the case. Lets not get into that really. Lets just work on this idea I have.

Actually adc's are sort of the infinite dmg champions and as a result are also sort of the whipping boy champions. They have so much potential dmg if left alone that riot has created a whole bevy of champions pretty much designed to murder them in a 1v1 situation, no matter the gold disparity. I just today watched a 3/7/5 tank mini-Gnar kill a 12/3/11 Draven in a 1v1 facetank duel. Thats what I mean by whipping boy. An adc can easily have a 3k gold lead on an opponent and still loose a duel. Ok. Im not commenting on the balance of that, but it is a bit unhealthy or is at least a sign of unhealthyness in the game.

Since kiting is such a core part of their gameplay, i think that the mechanics of "local power spikes" are something that adc's are especially suited to do. However, that isnt well taken advantage of in many kits, except for two that I can currently think of and I dont think they are even particularly good examples.

Jhin has traps that he can lead an opponent into, but although his ammo system and speed passive give him limits on the dmg he can do while also facilitating his kiting, he still just does a shit ton of dmg and he isnt really about playing around his traps. Hes about getting a shit ton of dmg any way he can and then becoming a monster. He is still a "dmg champion" and I think riot will nerf him eventually, even though his ammo system is a good limit on his dmg. Eventually, he will be a whipping boy too?

Gnar is the other one, but hes not limited in his dmg and he isnt particularly able to take advantage of his local powerspikes. He would be if he could control the transformation, however. If he kites you against a wall then he grinds you into dust. He doesnt have the agency tho.

Sadly, there must not be enough halo 3 players on the dev team to recognize the potential for this play pattern. Ranged DPS that cant fight toe to toe, but is scary to chase due to cerebral creation of situational advantages, the setting of traps, and macro based teamplay centered around stalling for reinforcement, all of which are enabled by respectable backwards and lateral kiting.

2 Comments

Iceember1 votes

It however, is this level of kiting that prevents champions from having inherently powerful kits as if you can't catch them then how do you kill them? What you are basically asking for is that ADC's become just as powerful as assassins but with the ability to kite as well as deal tons of damage. The reason jhin has the reload mechanic is so that he has a window of vulnerability for melee champs to get in range and deal damage. I feel in the future riot will look more into making new champs like this so that they have very clear Windows of strength at the downside of a potentially large weakness. As it current stands most adcs at the moment are as they are.

Woook3r1 votes

This is what I was saying. You can catch them. They actually WANT you to catch them, but only in certain places. If you catch them out in some place where they dont have that local power spike then they die.

Edit: And I agree with regard to the ammo system. I could design a decent champion with an ammo system that does what I say in the OP. They can kite for a certain distance, if they dont have a place of power (like a trap or an awaiting teammate) within that distance then they are out of position. You should choose to chase them if you think they dont have the place of power prepared, and you should stay out of range if you think they do. However. You may occasionally mis-position and accidentally fall within range, subjecting yourself to some chip dmg, but never giant chunk dmg that you cant recover from or that would enable an all in attempt. So your interaction with them depends on where you are and the situation you find your self in. If the trap has been set, then it is dangerous to chase them. If not, and you know its not, then you would chase them down. Its also about how long can the adc drag out the encounter. Can they drag it out until reinforcements come? Can they drag it out to the place of power they have set up? If you chose not to go in, then its a waiting game. Can you weather the chip dmg until YOU get reinforced or until the trap expires? Or do you have to retreat?

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