Comparing Wukongs

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/25/Sun_Wukong_and_Jade_Rabbit.jpg/250px-Sun_Wukong_and_Jade_Rabbit.jpg With DOTA2's introduction of the Monkey King (something hinted since like....2009 or so), this makes four MOBAs with the character. I want to make this comparison because, IMO, League's Monkey King/Wukong is among the weakest of the bunch when it comes to creativity.

#DOTA2's Sun Wukong https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=guGFT27SavM

Starting here because he's the "newest" and the least is known about him. With nothing other than a teaser trailer, we can pull some things from it. Namely:

• Clone swarm
• Turning into things to trick people.
• Ground slam?

It's super basic but, right now, Wukong looks very similar to his Journey to the West Counterpart. Clones, trickery, and a jovial personality with an extendo pole. The only possible criticism/fear considering this Wukong would be overlap with Phantom Lancer.

#SMITE's Sun Wukong https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rn-7XsJrDUA

Shut up we're not talking about that original abomination. So, Sun Wukong in SMITE borrows heavily from mythology because SMITE is a game of mythos. Now, there's some interesting things here. They address the extending pole, Wukong's deception/transformations, the nimbus cloud, and even the compatriots that he was with in JotW. Passive is somewhat bland but it can be forgive considering the rest of the kit.

Is it super, incredible, one of a kind creative? Well, not really, but it's still quite interesting. Considering it's directly from mythology, it makes sense that this would try to be as close to the original as possible.

#HoN's Sun Wukong https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddaamg5zdkE

HoN's Sun Wukong has a lot of interesting maneuver tools. Vaulting, tricky strikes and generally mobility-centric attacks make the hero an absolute nightmare to pin down. The out of combat ultimate also makes for some interesting mechanics, such as being able to kite around. It's not perfect but it does a lot of fascinating stuff with the hero that I hadn't seen in DOTA1.

#LoL's Sun Wukong https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1zAhC5aeQs

Honestly...I hate League's Wukong. I hate hate hate him. For the immensely fertile ground League had to work with, our Wukong is incredibly bland and seems to have what is essentially a generic brusier kit. Just to show:

• Auto-attack modifier that debuffs armor.
• Point and click dash. "But the nimbus"- Shut up, it's a generic dash that tries to sell the monkey king angle with particles.
• A small buff passive.
• 420% AD AoE knock-up...what is this ability doing on Wukong? It's just so...so basic and bland. With so many things possible with Wukong, you chose possibly the easiest way out. It's another initiation/secondary initiation tool.

The most unique aspect of Wukong is the clone but, even then, it's basic compared to other games. It stands still, it doesn't attack. It just stops. Hell, it's even easy to see because of League's engine. Pay attention to Wukong when he goes into stealth and, for a split second, you'll see the model reset it's idle-emote. You might even see Wukong entering stealth.

Out of all the Wukongs, ours (IMO) is the weakest. So much could be done with him but as he is, Wukong is a generic bruiser who jumps on you and stats you to death. If I was suggest things for league to do with this character...

• Make a true micro-intensive character ala Phantom Lancer. Make swarms of clones, make Wukong hard to track and lower his general tankiness.
• Play up the tricky angle more. Wukong may be a warrior but he's playful and snarky. Make his kit about either roughousing your enemy or just being a goofball
• Give him some actual different mobility. HoN did a vault, SMITE did a transformation, why not give our Wukong something like a headstool or nimbus movement?
• Lower the generic bruiser kit. Seriously. Wukong is so bland and simple that there is little to him other than goofing off with clone shenanigans on W.

With so much that can be done with Sun Wukong, I feel like Riot didn't go far enough. It's 2016 (almost 2017) with massive champion changes to make them more interesting, varied and unique. I hope when you get to the bruiser/diver rework, you make Wukong actually interesting. Right now, he's a powerful thematic character that doesn't have much going for him.