What's wrong with Syndra?

King Odin·Apr 7, 2015·5 votes·2,825 views

Can someone explain to me why no one plays her any more? I know her E got the width reduced but was it such a major deal? I haven't seen a Syndra in over 2 months

19 Comments

LankPantsApr 7, 20157 votes

Syndra was heavily reliant on her strong early game, as it turns out knocking 20 damage off of her Q at rank 1 hurt her a lot.

She went from being a strong lane bully who could actually force out melee assassins to being free kills for them because her early harass is some of the weakest in the game now.

Xela SyabApr 7, 20153 votes

{quoted}

Syndra was heavily reliant on her strong early game, as it turns out knocking 20 damage off of her Q at rank 1 hurt her a lot.

She went from being a strong lane bully who could actually force out melee assassins to being free kills for them because her early harass is some of the weakest in the game now.

^ This pretty much, plus champs like Xerath and Cass can out cc and out damage her from safer positions.

stealthfox94Apr 7, 20156 votes

Given that people tend to freak out over a nerf and therefore abandon a champion, I'd say yeah.

Drunk RummateApr 7, 20155 votes

I play syndra still. She is great.

Good for peeling tanks for your carry, good at assassinating the ADCs that are killing your tanks. Just overall good champion.

Always funny when people who are so stuck in LCS meta go corki or ezreal mid only to get one shot by your level 6 burst.

The FizzlestickApr 7, 20154 votes

The main things that hurt her were the nerfs to Athenes, nerf to her q, and the Removal of DFG. Honestly she didn't really many need nerfs as all the QQ about her one-shotting people with her DFG into ult would disappear along with DFG. Athenes was recently buffed so Syndra's a bit stronger, but her problem now is that her q has 50 base damage at level 1, which is pretty awful. So now she can't bully hard in lane since her harass tool does less damage than an auto-attack early. If they buff her q damage, even if it isn't to what it used to be, you should see the return of Syndra .

XeroKimoApr 7, 20151 votes

Athene's got buffed recently tho, tho I'm not a syndra main, I don't really feel the differences in her playstyle, it's all norml to me q e q r w just in case, an they nerfed her early but didn't her q got buffed at late?

LankPantsApr 7, 20152 votes

an they nerfed her early but didn't her q got buffed at late?

Na it got nerfed early and scales back to the same point late. It still only scales up to 230 damage rank 5, which is what it's always been. A 10 damage buff across the board on Q would probably put her in a good place at this point though.

AbyssphereApr 7, 20153 votes

The problem is that even with her E fixed, the nerf to her Q and removal of DFG is a big deal. Right now Syndra is a champion without any real peak. Her previous calling card, her strong early, no longer exists. Q isn't worth the mana to poke until you've leveled it a few times, quite frankly. DFG was a big mid game spike for her that she no longer has access to, and it helped keep her relevant in the late game where her mediocre AP ratios start to be visible. But she hasn't got that crutch anymore.

She has a poor early, and never really comes into her own either mid or late anymore. That's why she's not good.

ModKnightsKemplarApr 7, 20152 votes

Yes, it was that big a deal. It was hard to hit. They have sinced buffed it again, and I think if you're a good Syndra, you can probably be fine.

But she's not an opop spam champ anymore like she [kind of] was. League's balance is on a knife's edge, and a lot of people don't understand that. A small change like that makes a HUGE difference in a lot of cases. That's what they chose to hit on Syndra, and now you have to be much better to hit it.

CindikleApr 7, 20152 votes

Riot overall messed her up.

Q damage nerf was a poor choice of balance. They should of reduce it's radius instead. Returning it when it was rank 5. This would keep her power in lane, but the enemy could more easily deal with it. This on top of the S5 mana changes really hurt her. She has to spend more mana to do the same thing. It didn't create counterplay, it was just a nerf. Another option is return the damage then change the mana cost to a flat 65. This would still be a nerf early game, but would buff her late game ability to keep orbs out for her R.

E's width is OK now. But it is still very buggy. If you throw a W and E it, there's a chance it will not stun. Apparently though it will push the W forward. Dealing W and E's damage to everything the orb hits instead of stunning. While both forms are strong, random has no place in this game.

If Riot plans on keeping her Q as is. They need to decide a new direction. She is already a strong kite mage with her ability to Q and W while moving. They could further add to that somehow. Without turning her into another Ahri hopefully.

Mathlete864Apr 7, 20152 votes

I LOVE Syndra, she's a real challenge to play and I like that, there is nothing wrong with her, she lost a lot of her early game with the Q nerfs, but that doesn't matter. Start with W. Troll all the people who go smart and pick Heimerdinger . Then throw his turrets at his face. If you want more syndra troll, go jungle and W the enemy's buff out and steal it. BEST FEELING EVER.

Only Play DariusApr 7, 20151 votes

Zed

DarkFaun FortesApr 7, 20151 votes

I played her on urf

DreadlocksApr 7, 20151 votes

She is a lot of fun but highly outclassed... Her single target burst is nothing compared to annies AoE one.. The thing Syndra excelled at was being a lane bully which was hurt by the 20 damage taken off her Q.. between this and how squishy she is, with a skillshot stun ( a stun that requires prep - Q, aim E) she is just simply... outclassed...

She still has really good wave clear so she can farm really fast.. but in solo Q shes an easy target and requires too much positioning and set up to be as useful as others.

Danica1708Apr 7, 20151 votes

Yes, the E width got messed with, and with the mana regen nerfs in S5, she was in a meh position, then they nerfed her Q early game, and while 20damage doesn't seem like a lot, it is. Honestly, I'm not sure why they nerfed her Q early, it's not like she could spam it and expect to be able to do much after like other champions we know. They fixed her E for the most part, but honestly, I personally would still play her because I always thought of her as a late game champion with her passive and all. Which I love because it fits her concept and it's actually pretty strong once you get it. Makes up for not having one until level 9. It totally does.

Kitten of EvilApr 8, 20151 votes

The E nerfs weren't the problem. It was the Q nerfs. It now does 50 base damage at level 1

Krys StarApr 8, 20151 votes

I still play Syndra frequently. She's my second most played champion, behind Soraka. I think people just don't like the fact that she doesn't win lane innately. People are always looking for the next cheesy thing, after all. Her laning's weaker until she hits 4-5, then she's back to her previous strength. My only problem is that her stun still has a rare chance to completely whiff its stun but otherwise I'm satisfied with where she is. Although I'd prefer mana cost reductions on her Q, with the cost remaining the same at max rank. Just feels ugly having a weaker-than-autoattack Dark Sphere that costs a decent chunk of mana early on.

Otherwise, she's fine and people wont realize this until she's picked in LCS or by a professional streamer. :)