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@Meddler - The Shen nerfs really need to stop.

Canastus·3/11/2017, 12:33:16 AM·99 votes·14,695 views

Really, if you guys are having this much trouble with his ultimate playing too much of a role in pro-games, why not simply nerf the ability itself? Instead you decide to nerf his potential as a solo-laner which goes against everything you've contemplated a couple of weeks ago.

The guy already received MASSIVE nerfs to his only offensive ability before (he lost part of his damage, sustain and slow on his Q) and now you're even nerfing his capability to tank damage (see his latest passive changes on the PBE). In his current state he's literally just an ult-bot, and even that ability comes with a huge price - usually the loss of his tower the moment he leaves lane to help someone. And don't get me started on his complete lack of waveclear, he's just extremely dull to play as.

Wasn't your original plan to give him some more laning power while increasing the cooldown of his ultimate? He's already a very weak solo-laner (just look at his Solo Q performance) and yet you feel inclined to balance the game for an extreme minority that apparently knows how to make this sad excuse for a ninja work.

How about you finally fix his taunt-hitbox? His model can collide with the opponent and yet the effect simply won't go off, that shouldn't even be possible.

143 Comments

RiotRiot Wav3Break3/12/2017, 3:44:51 AM29 votes

Few reasons why we aren't hitting R right now to target pro-play considerations:

  • Despite R being powerful in pro, any nerf we do to it will also hit normal play a good chunk as well
  • Updated Galio is about to hit Live and will contend with Shen's strategic space somewhat, would like to observe and figure out a better direction once we see how these two champs interact in terms of priority

Given his normal play performance and priority in pro, my inclination is that we'd rather nerf Shen for pro-play by buffing the champions that are meant to deal with him over hitting him directly. (Some cool trends are in effect though, like Renekton bubbling up etc.) Thus we felt a lighter nerf on him this time around was more appropriate. The nerfs we are trying for 7.6 are aimed at his late game dueling potential, something that I believe stands to be weaker than other parts of his kit given his powerful global presence in the late game. At the same time, our PBE changes are a slight buff to his early laning, not a large one but it definitely can be meaningful in extended trades in the early game. Historically, Shen has been strategically countered by a late game duelist who could lane against him throughout the game. The nerfs on PBE are intended to push him slightly more towards that historical weakness.

RiotRiot Wav3Break3/14/2017, 11:45:54 PM18 votes

Hey guys, wanted to update you all:

We are pulling the nerfs to Shen for 7.6. Thank you guys for the feedback. It's apparent that larger scope changes are required to address the pain points you guys have brought up. Future large-scope work on Shen will most likely be in the direction of re-shaping his holistic kit to lessen the discrepancy of performance between live ranked and pro play. Things like Shadow Dash width/range are on the table for exploration as well in that world.

If we need to make buff/nerfs to him before a larger set of changes can ship, we will strive to select changes that will push Shen towards the direction that manifests the strengths and weaknesses we intended for him. When champions require larger scope work to solve, we try to make sure that necessary short term changes provide a better foundation for future work.

Beastyboy387IVC3/11/2017, 1:05:37 AM17 votes

I feel like Shen should get another rework or even a VGU so that he could be balanced better in pro play and solo queue. As long as he has his ult, he will always be a good pick in pro play.

Darth StepVader3/11/2017, 6:45:08 AM15 votes

Riot games: "Shen's ult is quite influential in pro-games"

Releases reworked and new champs with MORE global ults that also shield enemies but, provide a knockup and a damage output to sweeten the package.....

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/c8x6ylzQnkQ/hqdefault.jpg

Melledoneus3/11/2017, 3:41:15 PM14 votes

I am thoroughly convinced at this point that Riot is doing everything in their power to fuck over Shen.

We were told directly (in fact, I can link it if you don't believe me) a year ago on a post I made that the E hitbox would be fixed and IT NEVER WAS. Not to mention we're getting a reworked champion whose ultimate and kit are far stronger than Shen's, is receiving buffs, and is considered to be healthy.

Give Shen's ult a f*cking 3 minute cooldown, a mediocre shield, and a channel time, but it's considered unbalanced because a champion who was made for teamwork surprisingly does well where teamwork is everything.

Meanwhile we have shit stains like Lee Sin who can be good solo, with a team, against a team, in the jungle, doing his taxes, defending himself in court, and giving himself open heart surgery. Lee Sin was made to be a solo diver, but does everything else just fine. Balanced, amirite.

Zone of Endless3/11/2017, 1:17:35 AM7 votes

Why did they remove the 50% dmg reduction on his E anyway?

fuffychan3/11/2017, 1:12:20 AM7 votes

Whats a Shen?

Sun Wu Ryuumoku3/11/2017, 1:28:48 AM5 votes

He's already a very weak solo-laner

is it a joke ??? he's perma pick in lcs/lck but he's not only weak but very weak Oo Funny