Annie isn't 'OP', shes just extremely un-fun to lane against.

Best Hunk 2019·3/19/2015, 9:39:49 PM·4 votes·1,576 views

All the talk about Lee-Sin being so un fun to play against, but honestly hes funner to go against than an Annie IMO. She gets pretty much free last hitting in the laning phase, and she has possibly one of the best ultimates in the game: No cast time, can stun if her passive is up (which you just need to spam E to do) and does very high AOE damage, easily capable of deleting one or more champs. Shes not exactly easy to kill, almost every Annie builds Rod of Ages/Rylais/Zhonia's, and her E combined with those are easily enough to make her durable and hard to kill. At least I have a chance to live through a lee sin combo, the only real way to live through an Annie combo is to not go near her if her stun is up, but flash takes care of that for her. Thoughts?

8 Comments

LoLKiru3/19/2015, 9:52:33 PM4 votes

Annie isn't overpowered, shes broken.

The same way old Xerath, Veigar, and Malzahar are / were broken, fundamentally the only counterplay (outside of item counterplay; which is debatable just due to the way league aims to be balanced) to them once they have enough AP and Mpen to kill you is to just never go near them alone.

All of them had (and still have) very exploitable weaknesses, but that doesn't make their lack of counterplay any less evident. On a side note, its probably not a smart idea to ever balance anyone around flash (as in, don't nerf annie just because she can flash tibbers your entire team), similar to the whole "X is overpowered and can spam with no risk when they have blue buff" because EVERYONE can do that.

FarRockBF3/19/2015, 9:52:26 PM2 votes

Uh, play Lux, Heimer, Xerath, Velkoz, etc... and destroy Annie. Every time she walks up to try to do her combo just do 2 poke spells (which massively outrange her) and then retreat. Congrats! Annie is now half HP and you have taken 0 damage.

Strawberrycocoa3/19/2015, 9:43:59 PM2 votes

Technically all champions get free last-hitting. Auto attacks.

Hard4Hamsters3/19/2015, 10:57:42 PM2 votes

I hate playing Annie more than I hate playing against her. It's so boring and linear. Proc passive... cast Tibbers, cycle through spells, do it again. (this is an exaggeration but I hope you get my point). I'm glad they gave Tibbers your E shield when you activate it because it adds something to her micro, but your stun is almost guaranteed whenever you want to hit it, so I just think it's boring to play her.

Condottiero3/21/2015, 8:23:53 AM1 votes

I find laning against the newer champions much more infuriating than laning against Annie will ever be. At least if Annie makes a mistake, she pays pretty heavily for it. Meanwhile Azir Ahri Zed ...

Annie ADC3/20/2015, 4:33:41 AM1 votes

Well once her Flash is down then it is pretty easy to focus her down. Even when built tanky, if CC'd or focused, Annie will probably die before she can do much that is useful. She lacks mobility and is genuinely squishy. Champions that are ranged or mobile can beat her by catching her out. Ganks can ruin her too. I make it a point when I play against an Annie to absolutely punish the crap out of her when she expels her stun on minions, or something that is not me. Usually, it will end up with a trade that goes in your favor, and you can cut her down until she reaches enough HP for you to all-in.

Whether she is boring or not I suppose is a matter of opinion. Her kit is relatively simple, especially considering her Q gives her a strong last-hitting ability. But, you know, that is whatevs. It is up to the players to decide if they enjoy fighting against, playing with, or playing as a specific champion.

Lissama3/20/2015, 11:19:51 AM1 votes

Annie is like old Veigar. Instant aoe stun and oneshot anyone. 0 counterplay.

Shadow Gilgamesh3/19/2015, 9:50:43 PM1 votes

It's not even "unfun" in the same way, it's just kinda boring because Annie has a boring kit.

She has obvious weaknesses you can exploit, if she uses her Q to farm, strike as soon as she loses her stun. Even if she tries to hold on to the stuns, she has low range so you can poke her with just about every mid champ, and you can always stay out of range just by watching her.