Problems with the New Cass: My Viewpoint
Cassiopeia has gone through a lot of changes trying to find her spot on the Rift. I have to admit I like her current incarnation more than the last one, but I fear she's going to be stapled to the "never played" bin. And the problem isn't statistical in nature, but in her Semantics.
Here's my viewpoint.
She can't dump her W out in front of her. There's a minimum cast range.
And here's why this, REALLY sucks.
- A straightforward approach -
Cass's W flies out in a rather neat looking arc, forming sort of a slowing barrier. It's pretty wide, and if the enemy is dumb enough to just walk through it, the damage is quite solid and the enemy is made super vulnerable, because they can't use some skills and they can't flash away.
The IF is the issue here.
The barrier is somewhat thin, and the damage, slowing effect and Grounded only last while the enemy is standing in it. If you place W right in front of someone, they can double back out of it, to immediately remove the slow and the effects. What's more, VIRTUALLY ALL DASHES are able to go right over the W - they all travel far enough.
This is unhealthy because it generates an information burden, and because it's really easily outplayed once you know how. If an enemy wants to go past it, they simply inch out of it and THEN flash/skill regardless whether they are wanting to escape, or attack Cass.
If you place the barrier in an enemy's path, you might as well be marking a section on the ground "SKILL/FLASH HERE". Not that Cass has the damage, health or mobility to bully an enemy in that sort of way, because she doesn't. Her mobility is so bad that every single champion can simply walk away from her to disengage. You basically have to use your W as a damage-less initiation - one that the enemy can pop any dash to get around. If you dump it directly on the foe, you'll be able to hit them twice as they walk out, and then either die to them face to face or let them stroll away.
Because of the layout, the optimal placement requires you to be literally coming at the enemy from a T - an ambush. From the side, the skill could be extremely dangerous and force the enemy to make a difficult, panicked decision. But this makes Cass's laning phase, which is already weak due to her complete and utter lack of early mobility, only worse.
- Strange Ranges -
Cass has no way to drop Miasma smack on herself unless she is mindful enough to always be standing next to a wall, AND to drop the skill into the wall as soon as the enemy is on her. Not towards the enemy, which will almost certainly cause it to miss, but AWAY from the enemy, into the wall.
This is counter-intuitive, since you will probably misuse the skill in a panic every time. It basically has to be used backwards from every AOE skillshot ever. Aim away from enemy: Hit enemy. Aim at enemy: Skillshot misses.
Since Cass can no longer use Miasma to ramp damage on someone who engages her at melee, she can't really face-melt opponents anymore. And what's worse, this skill has actually made her ultimate harder to land.
This is because Cass's W essentially lays out the current area her R will hit. Smart players immediately will realize they are in range of Cass's ult and plan accordingly. Cass W can now be used to disrupt a push... and that's about it.
- A Reality Check - With Cass approaching a brush, it might be nice to fling miasma out and catch the enemy - a perfect brush check - except it no longer grants vision.
Again, this is information burden for the opponent, who must KNOW they haven't been detected - even though they're taking damage, and counter-intuitive for the Cass player, who has no way to attack or even know if someone is there, until they set foot in the brush and put themselves at risk.
Cass's current incarnation of Miasma is a noob trap - confusing and dangerous for new players, but easily defeated once you know the trick to it. Cass can no longer easily use it for defense, she can't easily use it for offense - it is a support skill.
The fact that it's most powerful around turrets, combined with the fact that it only can be used for defense near walls, means that Cass is completely vulnerable when moving to and from said turrets.
To fix these glaring problems, 2 things have to happen.
- The minimum cast range needs to be removed.
- It needs to grant vision again.
