Three things for Eggnivia

ProfDrDeath··78 votes·5,953 views

Three ideas for our favorite frozen phoenix:

Anivia Increase base mana per level

One of the trademark traits of Anivia, and one weakness that should be conserved, is her incredible mana hunger. However, in light of the recent nerfs to mana regeneration, that weakness was made a little worse than it should be. To alleviate this, I'd like Riot to think about increasing her base mana pool somewhat, to make Athene's a little more efficient on her.

Anivia The wall from Crystallize applies the "Chilled" Debuff for champions dashing through it

For 1.5 seconds or so. Helps against assassin's and other suckers who dash through your wall to kill you, but doesn't punish people for escaping over the wall with a dash.

Anivia Increase Glacial Storm's earlier CDs a little, but have it begin to tick down after the first cast

One problem for Anivia nowadays is the mobile nature of big fights that makes her ultimate a little underwhelming. By allowing its CD to tick from the first cast, she's less punished for wanting to reposition it. If Riot wants to keep a certain deal of time between deactivating and recasting, one should consider adding a static, 2 seconds cooldown between those two actions.

Would these ideas retain her high skill floor nature, but benefit her in today's League? Or are they too much and would make her overwhelming?

P.S.: The most important buff she needs, however, is the readding of "Eggnivia" in the chat box if she's writing while egged. That removal was a serious and almost champion-breaking nerf.

96 Comments

Ashes Arise17 votes

As an Anivia main, she doesn't need any buffs. What she needs is a revert on the Q indicator change... it is horrible and whoever made it should feel horrible. It is causing all sorts of bugs that are going unanswered. I bet Anivia's wall bug is not even on their radar (It has been a bug for years....).

I will have to express my thanks to who ever put in the R change to where it ticks a final time when you turn it off. Major QoL bonus for me. Sadly the Q change went and made her QoL worse.... No one likes it! Get rid of it!

Derpy Mike5 votes

I'd really rather they just fix the indicator instead of removing it entirely. You'd think after about the 100th thread made addressing the topic someone at Riot would have gotten the message. Though apparently not. That being said, if they have no intention to fix it then yes they should remove it/revert it to a functioning state.

On the topic of Big Blue Bird QoL changes something I think would make for a nice change would be the "you're about to walk out of range" indicator on her ult. I'm not entirely sure how everyone else feels about this particular subject but to me personally I feel like the tiny blue exclamation mark isn't enough. For starters, being blue, I feel like it blends in too much with her, making it hard to spot unless you're not explicitly looking for it when lots of things are happening at once on screen (like in a teamfight for example). And I feel like the the point between where it shows up and when the ult is canceled is too small at the moment.

Ideally, I'd love for her ultimate to have a "you're about to walk out of range" indicator circle, exactly like the one Thresh has on his lantern (see attached file for all you non-thresh players out there, though statistically speaking, that's not many of you). It would greatly improve the clarity on her ultimate and it would be a significant improvement over the blue exclamation mark, in my opinion.

@Riot, plz

Ashes Arise2 votes

[{quoted}](name=Derpy Mike,realm=OCE,application-id=3ErqAdtq,discussion-id=qQXLz4A8,comment-id=00030000,timestamp=2015-02-06T00:28:46.528+0000)

I'd really rather they just fix the indicator instead of removing it entirely. You'd think after about the 100th thread made addressing the topic someone at Riot would have gotten the message. Though apparently not. That being said, if they have no intention to fix it then yes they should remove it/revert it to a functioning state.

On the topic of Big Blue Bird QoL changes something I think would make for a nice change would be the "you're about to walk out of range" indicator on her ult. I'm not entirely sure how everyone else feels about this particular subject but to me personally I feel like the tiny blue exclamation mark isn't enough. For starters, being blue, I feel like it blends in too much with her, making it hard to spot unless you're not explicitly looking for it when lots of things are happening at once on screen (like in a teamfight for example). And I feel like the the point between where it shows up and when the ult is canceled is too small at the moment.

Ideally, I'd love for her ultimate to have a "you're about to walk out of range" indicator circle, exactly like the one Thresh has on his lantern (see attached file for all you non-thresh players out there, though statistically speaking, that's not many of you). It would greatly improve the clarity on her ultimate and it would be a significant improvement over the blue exclamation mark, in my opinion.

@Riot, plz

That is an interesting thing to want. What situations do you find yourself walking out of her ult to a bad effect? I don't think I've ever had this happen to me before. We must have drastically different playstyles. I tend to kite around the ult, not run away from it.

TheRainInSpain3 votes

Anivia isn't flashy enough for LCSBIGPLAYS, nor is it a favorite champion of any executive. Of course no one cares about her in the Riot Team.

Derpy Mike2 votes

sad violins

PhoenixOfHeaven2 votes

I agree completely, she is perfect the way she is, and the buffs people want out of her are to make her easier to use. she's Difficulty 10 for a reason!

yes im an Anivia main too, and have had some great matches as her.

Kitten of Evil2 votes

YES! She's such a great playmaker, and her E hits like a truck. It's so satisfying. I haven't played ranked since S3 because I couldn't find a champion I liked enough to do well, but I think I've finally found my champion to climb the ladder with, and it is Anivia. I love her playstyle and don't want Riot to change her. I've been able to consistently perform well with her in normals so far.

PhoenixOfHeaven2 votes

I don't rank with Anivia sadly due to her low defense. Usually like to play tankier characters in ranked. so Sejuani is my main Rannked. but on occasion I go Koggy, the only character with any chance of matching Anivia's Beauty. (I have Monarch :) )

Dyonas8 votes

I think the best idea is one I just came up with. In her passive Egnivia form the egg slowly rolls in the direction she was last moving until rebirth or killed. Just picture it. A team chasing Anivia down, pops her passive and suddenly,

"GET THE EGG!" "It rolled into their base ;_;"

Kitten of Evil6 votes

Hahaha that would be hilarious.

OyddAWqJ5r10 votes

And then we can let Azir sit on Eggnivia to hatch her faster.

UnknownMartian5 votes

Team synergy...

Anivia : dies Azir "DON'T WORRY, I'LL SAVE YOU" Ults enemy off while he sits on egg Anivia: revives"...Papa?"

tofutime7 votes

Her mana costs are extremely outdated especially after the mana regen nerfs. As an immobile mage she definitely needs some love. I admit that she has a high burst if she gets Q and E off so I think she only needs a little help.

Her slow movement speed is the one thing I'd like changed. Since everyone can dodge her slow moving Q and her wall is dashed over by many opponents she should get a little tap with some mobility.

I'm actually not sure how to build her anymore. I build athenes roa to try to overcome the mana issue and her squishiness. This really stalls her damage spike but I don't know how else to stop her from getting egged on one spell rotation after she goes completely oom.

ProfDrDeath5 votes

Her mana cost are actually not so outdated anymore, since they were changed on patch 4.1. - they are still on the high side, true, but they should be, as all of her abilities are quite the heavy-hitters if used skillfully, as you say.

I am not sure about her MS, to say the truth. On the one hand, sure, being a little faster would definitely be nice. On the other one, MS changes are one of the most volatile changes there is - even 5 MS more or less can make or break a champion. That's why I suggested the ult and W changes - it gives her a way to deal with mobility without making her mobile herself, and thus contributing to the mobility creep.

tofutime3 votes

I just think that base 325 is way too low. Compare that to Xerath who is also supposed to be an immobile mage landing skillshots from the backline. He has 340 base. It just seems unfair and inconsistent.

RikoZerame3 votes

Personally, I'm just bothered that the lard mountain that is Gragas has a higher base movement speed than the immortal, flying bird.

Sammystorm1 votes

Honestly. A 1.0 scaling nuke that stuns in an aoe radius and stuns through spell shields should be hard to hit. I do believe Athenes RoA is the best build for her. Tear is to hard to stack on her.

Kitten of Evil2 votes

It stacks both on first and second activation of her Q and R, so it's quite fast, actually. I never have trouble getting it to Seraph's.

Source: LoL wiki -- "Both activations counts as an ability activate for the purposes of effects such as Sheen item.png Sheen and Force Pulse.png Force Pulse."

Sammystorm2 votes

Both activation do count. However her mana costs are so expensive that even with tear you can't spam her spells. Her cooldowns are also long basically forcing you to get item 3003 and sacrifice your mid game or get item 3027 and have delayed power spikes for both mid game and late game.

UnknownMartian2 votes

Honestly I don't see a problem with that... That's what mid and late game champs are. They delay their spikes till they get their items. Yasuo can usually get destroyed before he gets an Shiv and an IE.

Sammystorm1 votes

Well if you are getting item 3003 your first buy should be item 3070 which delays your item 3027 which extends your weak early game. It makes it so you spend almost 2k gold on non damage items (item 3010 anditem 3070 ) So you are going to be about 15-20 minutes in until you start getting damage. The other option is you stall on item 3070 but then don't have it stacked until roughly 30 minutes in. The problem is that by buying item 3003 your late game potential is pushed back alot later and your mid game spike is basically non-existent.

Kitten of Evil1 votes

When you select Anivia, you are gambling on your team surviving to late-game, though you actually can do a decent job of sustaining your team even mid-game, since she offers so much utility and her combo's base damage is very high (470+200% AP at level 9, assuming 2 points in Q and 4 points in E). I always rush Tear first, then immediately go for Rod of Ages, and by around 30 minutes into the game, both are completely stacked.

For an example, see: http://matchhistory.na.leagueoflegends.com/en/#match-details/NA1/1722545049/37480176?tab=builds

Even going support and building Sightstone before Catalyst, I was still able to finish a RoA by 19 minutes and AA staff by 30 minutes.

Sammystorm3 votes

well that is my point. As anivia you don't need to make a gamble. Her mid game is very very powerful if you don't build tear. If you build tear you are making your first 20-25 minutes substantially weaker and making your post 30 substantially stronger. However if you just build RoA and then do other ap items your mid game is very powerful.

Icy Auron2 votes

You should always get RoA with her every game, no exceptions.

Kitten of Evil2 votes

I think you and I are birds of a feather when it comes to Articuno. I keep agreeing with all your posts haha. Except the MS quints. I tried it and I honestly can say her slow movement speed doesn't bother me that much, but I somewhat missed the small amount of AP early game. To each their own, I guess.

DoniaClotilde6 votes

I came into this topic ready to argue that buffing Articuno would make her OP (which I would hate since she's my favorite champion and having the whole community complain about her as with Zed or Lee would be catastrophic), but these are pretty smart changes to be quite honest. Kudos, OP! ^^

Kitten of Evil5 votes

Revert Eggnivia nerfs!

But yes, other than that she's in a great place, actually. I'd argue that the mana regen nerfs hit her LESS than other mages, because she always built mana, not mana regen (item 3003 item 3027 together is 1650 mana, and she has 1247 mana naturally at level 18). She's already a late game god, who can kite and help allies escape with Q, W, or R, initiate fights with a well-placed Q stun or wall, and can't be tower-dived by your typical Zed or Leblanc in lane. I'm hesitant to recommend any buffs because she doesn't need them if played well, and because with Riot's history I'd rather see my favorite Articuno not under their balance team's spotlight.

Sammystorm2 votes

The problem is that if you build roa and tear. She has a pretty non-existent mid game. Which is where she really shines. In my opinion it is almsot always better to build item 3027 item 3174 or item 3027 item 3165 . item 3003 Is expensive and hard for her to stack because of her extremely high mana costs.

Kitten of Evil1 votes

Really? I just rush item 3070 then item 3027 ... she still does very good damage mid-game, especially if you're double-hitting everyone, as you should be. Her base damage is very high. At level 13, you've got level 5 Q-Q (360 + 100% AP) and level 5 E (350 + 100% AP). Even with around 80 AP (which is usually where I'm at after RoA but before AA), she's dealing almost 900 damage with her Q and E. Once I complete AA, my AP jumps to around 220, though depending on matchup I might defer that if I badly need Seeker's or Liandry's.

Granted, it is a late-game build, but I've found that even if I get through laning 0/1 or 1/2, I am an extremely commanding teamfight presence by level 15 or 16. Anivia is a ticking time bomb ... er egg-timer? Every single one of her moves (except E) offers amazing utility -- she even slows enemy attack speed! Every move but W offers solid damage.

Sammystorm2 votes

I usually rush item 3027 which means I have it completed at around 12 minutes and fully stacked at around 22. At which point I should have either item 3174 oritem 3165 . This would give me 180 or 200 + ap by 22 minutes. Usually I am around level 13-15 depending on how I am doing when I complete my 2nd item and because I buy boots in between. Plus it gives you a substantial defensive boost over getting item 3003 . Your build would definitely be better late game for sure. However I think that my build provides a substantial mid game. I don't really think Anivia has the best late game of mages. Sure she does fine but her damage isn't what shines late, it is her utility. SO I feel like getting the damage earlier is more beneficial. Although I usually run summoner 12 and try to aggressively harass people out of lane. So it might just be our playstyles are different.

Kitten of Evil2 votes

Fair enough. Yeah, I usually end up being a secondary carry, going something like 10/0 or 12/1, while someone else on my team carries a bit harder but dies more. I also tend to have the highest damage dealt to champion (looking at all but one of my last 5 games as her). You have to count on having a late-game, but I find that I can two-shot squishies by the end.

Icy Auron2 votes

This. You should always go for the late game with Anivia. I take this to the extreme, and I run scaling armor seals, scaling MR glyphs, and MS quints.

Kitten of Evil2 votes

I go scaling health seals and scaling MR glyphs. I can understand wanting MS quints on her. She's horribly slow.

Icy Auron2 votes

My thought process is that 4.5% MS useful at all stages of the game, especially before I have boots, and once I have enchanted boots. 15-20 AP (AP quints with Archmage mastery) quickly becomes unimportant.

Kitten of Evil2 votes

I'll try that next time I use her. Right now I use the AP quints, like you said.

Sammystorm2 votes

I disagree. If you build her right she has a devastating mid game. Her bases and scaling is so high that she can have a huge impact once she hits level 8 or so.

Giovarco4 votes

I just want to move her ultimade like Viktor's one.

tofutime54 votes

This would make her incredibly broken.

Decaedeus5 votes

How would she turn it off, if you moved it with the R key?

Icy Auron1 votes

You can't! :O It's an all or nothing gambit, all of your mana for insane damage!

GLWuffie4 votes

Anivia has been in a fine place for a good while now. Her design is actually pretty smart and balanced:

Low Movement Speed = Q,W, and R affect movement of other champions. Low Health = Due to Passive. High Mana Costs = Huge burst potential.

Anivia is a low mobility mage with high burst potential. Her passive early game scales well with laning and positioning, while later on it becomes crucial that you stay with your team to highly benefit from it. And we all know Anivia is slow at almost EVERYTHING: movement, attacking, her Q flight, and even her wall has a slight startup. Due to 3/4 of her abilities affecting others movemnt (Q stun, W pathing, and R speed) playing those abilities right allow her to catch her ever-faster opponents, this offsets her slow nature.

All that needs fixing are the bugs that happen: like her wall, her Q indicator/flight path, and her Q GFX bug. These bugs have all been acknowledged by Riot, but I haven't seen any confirmation of them being fixed.

~GL

Kitten of Evil2 votes

Not that anyone cares, but it's also incredibly flavorful. She's a millennia-old ice phoenix. She cares not for your urgency and swiftness.

So young! So naive!

Leblancs Boob4 votes

Surprisingly Anivia was on of the least affected mages by the mana regen nerfs due to her typically rushing flat mana over regen. Other mages were hurt much more than she was. She's actually in a pretty good spot IMO as soon as Zed gets much deserved nerfs.

Icy Auron1 votes

With Fizz's nerf in 5.2, she became the best mid laner in the game, imo. That was the only person that I straight up couldn't beat no matter what.

BakedLotion1 votes

[{quoted}](name=Icy Auron,realm=NA,application-id=3ErqAdtq,discussion-id=qQXLz4A8,comment-id=000e0000,timestamp=2015-02-06T20:52:01.325+0000)

With Fizz's nerf in 5.2, she became the best mid laner in the game, imo. That was the only person that I straight up couldn't beat no matter what.

Anivia shits on fizz o.o atleast everytime i play her

Icy Auron2 votes

There are few harder counters in League than Fizz was to Anivia. He had two gap closers, DPS and burst magical and % damage, a crippling slow, no mana problems, and worst of all, the ability to go untargetable. He still has all of that, but he needs his ult now to get the insane damage that he had before, which I'm fine with. Now he won't be able to just jump on me from 1/8 the lane away and eat me with or without his ult. Now if I dodge his ult, I can burst him down.

KING OF MASKS3 votes

I actually wasn't aware of the Eggnivia removal, that sucks. Way to nerf fun, rito.

BakedLotion3 votes

Change her name back to eggnivia in chat, and then we can talk about other buffs

Icy Auron2 votes

She's already the best mid laner in the game. My win rate with her is 69%. As an Anivia main, I can't say that she needs to be buffed. I wish her W has a passive component, but she certainly doesn't need anything.

Champion Skin4 votes

Well applying chilled to enemies dashing/jumping over Anivia wall/W I think would be a fine change... it would make her slightly better against mobile champions while not making it harder or any different for champions which can't get over her wall

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