Can we make sure that AP Ezreal doesn't get nerfed?

Spamus·7/5/2015, 6:17:39 AM·2 votes·1,004 views

So AP Ezreal has come onto the big stage (for real this time) and seeing his performance has made me a little bit worried that Riot will feel the need to nerf that. As a long time AP Ezreal player, this thought concerns me. It would also be completely unjustified for a few reasons.

 1. Nothing has changed. While AP Ezreal is a little bit more viable with the introduction of Runeglaive, for the most part, nothing has changed in the meta that has made him overpowered. Runeglaive does the same thing for him that Lich bane does, except a little bit faster. His power spike is a tiny bit early, but we're still talking about the same animal. No need to "compensate" for the item with a nerf.

 2. He really isn't overpowered. No really, I promise. Examining the two LCS games that he was played in so far, only one was successful. And the only reason Bjergsen made him seem so overpowered was because he's freaking Bjergsen, and the whole team comp was centered around getting him fed. AP Ezreal is still very difficult to play. With a completely skill shot based kit that punishes you hard for not making the most of every shot, I would be willing to bet that even with the Runeglaive changes, he's still about on an average level for the vast majority of players.

 3. He represents champion diversity. If Riot were to nerf him, it would be to reveal that the whole "diversity" thing has been a sham to cover up their intentions to cater to LCS play. They introduced the item to "unlock" certain mage junglers (which is awesome btw), and there happens to be a side effect of the item being used by mid laners. I, for one, think this is a great thing that Riot should embrace. I really don't know if they will. They let it slide with top laners getting smite for cinderhulk, but it's possible they'll decide smite on mid laners is just too far. 

Anyways, I hope AP Ezreal doesn't get nerfed for this. I don't know how likely this is to happen, but it would be a pretty big shame if he does, because I've always thought it was viable and I've been waiting for the LCS to pick it up for about a year. I hope it's here to stay.

4 Comments

AyRe CoNteMpT7/5/2015, 6:35:58 AM1 votes

i fully agree, tho i dont think runeglaive in general helps anyone who wasnt allready strong. like, which junglers did it "unlock" ?

it doesnt do anything for any champion besides the ones who were viable in the first place and only buffed them. like evelyn is REALLY strong with it right now aswell as nidalee.

also, i must explain this to you: jungling champions doesnt come from them being ABLE to clear the jungle, it comes from them having ANY BENEFIT from jungling over laning. for example, karthus is THE FASTEST JUNGLER in the game and almost impossible to invade after his first clear. hes a super strong duelist post lvl 4, he instagibes the entire jungle at unmatched speed, can gank pretty good with the wall and assist with his ult. hes just a really strong champion even in the jungle.

tho why is it simply not viable? because in lane, he does much better. he can poke good, waveclear good, assist with ultimate regardless, gains more gold, can build more flexible (which is important for him) and he also doesnt benefit from smite or the jungle items at all. magus was a worse version of morellonomicon and runeglaive is obsolete for him. sure he CAN jungle good, but why WOULD he?

fiddlesticks for example is a mediocre laner at best because he has no real waveclear, all of his abilities are telegraphed which makes it harder to trade, he has no escapes and his ultimate has weaknesses in lane too. he benefits from jungling not only because he can clear, but because he can actually do things that he cannot do in lane. karthus doesnt. same as many other champions.

this doesnt change with runeglaive and the only junglers it would possibly "unlock" are champions that REALLY enjoy the runeglaive item. like, fizz uses it decently but he also benefits from all other enchantments about equally, so it doesnt really "unlock" anything for him. diana does a bit better now, but she was viable before that too.

so, who got "Unlocked"? what did it do for jungle diversity? i think: nothing. champions dont go into jungle because they can but because its good for them. for nidalee it wouldve been very good, she just never really could. now with the changes, she can and she does. there are other champions which would super enjoy the jungle, but they need changes to their kit and not changes to items.

the only thing that happens if you introduce new items for the jungle is that laners will pick them up too. nobody goes into the jungle just because of an item, as you can see with cinderhulk. it basically didnt "unlock" new junglers too, it just buffed existing ones plus laners picked it up. no diversity given at all.

pripustas7/5/2015, 6:41:49 AM1 votes

So it's ok to nerf Cinderhulk, so top laners can't use it so effectively, but an assassin with most insane damage, and extreme safety is ok? I'm saying assassin, because his damage is really on par with them.

Outplay Nation7/5/2015, 7:11:35 AM1 votes

Your champ will be nerfed, I had my mains nerfed too, its a cycle, everyone goes through it. Deal with it

WillHealForHonor7/5/2015, 2:04:04 PM1 votes

Ez and diana will be nerfed.. and thank god...