Boards›Gameplay

Kassadin Brainstorming

Schenix·6/11/2015, 8:42:55 AM·3 votes·1,314 views

So, there's this inevitable thread about Riot's smashing of Kassadin, and of course a few others that are skeptical on Kassadin in general now despite him being picked a little bit in pro play. Before I just spout out what ideas I have for him becoming stronger and more relevant overall, I think going over him in his current spot would be nice to give a better grasp on why I chose what I did, and so that it's easy for you all to argue with or against me as well as add to what I missed or am wrong about.

Pros

  • He scales relatively well into late game even if his early game is quite low.
  • His Ult, in my opinion, is in a very balanced place right now and doesn't need to be touched or considered for a change.
  • His Ult.
  • People notice his power spikes. They're significant.
  • Opportunistic Mage that rewards the player well for knowing basic League mechanics and can take advantage of opponents mistakes instantly
  • His Passive
  • The backdoor is so real, I can't even
  • E is very useful

Cons

  • Q damage doesn't exist, but that shield is very useful
  • Items make up his power spikes as he is ratio scaling
  • Melee Mage (Needing to get into melee range for a full burst, autos being melee as well)
  • Composition means more than before with him
  • Q shield also falls off very fast
  • Laning against AD is very difficult, have to focus on farming and roaming
  • E requires 6 charges (and still has a cooldown)

These are what I managed to come up with in a short time period. So now I'll just move on to the changes that could happen (in any order and in any number)

  • Kassadin's Q damage buffed / Shield buffed
  • W silences or gains some other effect when it hits champions. (It has so much counterplay that it should need more damage or just more toolbox?)
  • Make him naturally tankier
  • Remove CD on his E and/or reduce charges to 5
  • E deals more damage to minions

Any combination or single of these would be nice to see. Might want to add Kassadin isn't in a bad place right now. He's just in a place where his skill cap is higher than it seems and the rewards from it aren't as high as other assassins from my view which makes him almost a waste of a pick. Thoughts and comments would be appreciated. Preferably not just that Kassadin is annoying or can't be balanced. Just helping out on how he could achieve a better state of balance rather than residing on an extreme. Baby steps. (yesjokeintended).

25 Comments

AyRe CoNteMpT6/11/2015, 8:53:57 AM2 votes

well, you dont wanna hear kassadin cant be balanced, but it IS almost impossible due to his mobility. he suffers from the so called yasuo-syndrome where a champion either deals enough damage to kill someone, which would make him completely ridiculous, or he doesnt deal enough damage to kill someone, which eliminates the reason to play said champ.

kassadin was favored because he brought enough damage to kill a champ, thus enabling him to kill said champ almost anywhere at any time on the map and get away with it because of his absurd mobility. now if he cant do that, wow he can jump alot, but there is no objective behind that jumping.

his laning is decent to weak vs strong laners, his utility and combat power are near non existant and the only thing he can do is cheese people, but since cheesing isnt a valid strategy, he just plain sucks now. if you increase his damage or utility, he instantly becomes unbeatable again, if you reduce his mobility, "OH NO YOU CANT TAKE AWAY HIS ICONIC POWERS!! OMG", you get the point.

Lost In Time6/11/2015, 9:31:41 AM1 votes

As long as he has mana return on his W, his Q will be left weak.

There is nothing less fun than getting poked by nuke from a champion with passive % magic reduction, scaling MR and a magic-mitigating shield.

And no, picking one of the 2-3 AD champions mid is not sufficient counter-play.

Schenix6/11/2015, 9:53:29 AM1 votes

Oh and just food for thought, what would Kassadins ult even be replaced with if it was reworked/replaced?

thinking man6/11/2015, 11:04:31 AM1 votes

{quoted}

  • Kassadin's Q damage buffed / Shield buffed
  • W silences or gains some other effect when it hits champions. (It has so much counterplay that it should need more damage or just more toolbox?)
  • Make him naturally tankier
  • Remove CD on his E and/or reduce charges to 5
  • E deals more damage to minions

1st change just makes his laning phase stupid W is already overloaded as shit so they should buff something else his passive is fine as-is imo That'd make him faceroll as hell against spammy mages/comps since his E would always be up idk about the last one; it's not really bad but I just don't like it

Knight SoIaire 6/11/2015, 12:18:45 PM1 votes

the kassadin changes are hated becuase they made him a new assasin

new assasin - specialized in going in and out to get vulnerable targets

old assasin - goes in ramboing like a katarina and scores a penta cause muh counterplay ... she blinks beforeany cc hits her ... well you know what i mean ... sheer force ... removes someone insanely fast

the thing is that new assasins arent as powerfull and deprived of counterlayy as the old ones ... they are healthy instead which feels much weaker for the player

pro players pick kassa cause he is good, no changes are required till old assasins get a change and we will actualy see their ballance

MLDzXnRRR6/11/2015, 12:24:10 PM1 votes

Noone buys raw AP on Kassa, then complains that he is weak... Get dmg next time, not Roa or tear first item, then tell me that he is not broken. I've even seen AD Kassa rushing Tiamat to 1v5 the enemies, that's how op was he with his old ult (I've yet to play him with the new ult).

jDVL20eCYs6/11/2015, 1:02:07 PM1 votes

he wreck dose pesky katarinas and vlads with eas

Dengeden6/12/2015, 8:25:24 AM1 votes

Personally, to me, Kassadin's biggest weaknesses make him iconic. He shouldn't be able to bully you around with Q (in lane) and I wouldn't say that it falls off. The scaling is decent and it's great against any glass canon mages he might face during the mid-late game. If I were to change anything, it would probably be his E. I'd still prefer if he got pushed in mid game siege scenarios (because wave clear is a dime a dozen), so no added CC, no knock backs. It'd still be nice if E got additional stacks when multiple enemy champions cast spells near him. This would then increase damage dealt to champion or his damage reduction