Issues with Shadow Assassin form of Kayn just based off of the numbers

AzureKite92·7/16/2017, 1:35:02 AM·2 votes·527 views

I want to start by saying I don't think that the Shadow Assassin form is altogether bad, in fact it is pretty in line with other assassins in the game. Yes his ultimate doesn't deal enough damage but at the same time I still feel that the ultimate has a lot to offer even without the damage. Anyway I am going to post some of the calculations I did and if you want to know where i got the formula's for the damage just look up Kayn damage at lvl 18. These calculations are just for the Q damage, W damage, combined Q and W combo assuming both parts of Q are hit, and passives. These calculations assume a champion with 100 armor and 100 magic resist( so 50% mitigation for both types of damage) and a champion of 2000 health: _ No Items, Masteries and Runes at Lvl 18 Damage Calc for Both Forms:_

Shadow Assassin Form Q (unmitigated): 135 x 2, (mitigated): 67.5 x 2 W (unmitigated): 260, (mitigated): 130 Q+W Combo (unmitigated): 530, (mitigated): 265 Passive Bonus (unmitigated): 233, (mitigated): 58 Total Damage (unmitigated): 763, (mitigated): 323

Rhaast Form Q (unmitigated): 154 x 2, (mitigated): 77 x 2 W (unmitigated): 260, (mitigated): 130 Q+W Combo (unmitigated): 568, (mitigated): 284 Passive Heal (unmitigated): 244, (mitigated): 112 Total Damage (unmitigated): 568, (mitigated): 284

So first off just looking at these numbers it seems pretty obvious to me which form is better to pick, and certainly safer to pick. Yes technically the Shadow Assassin form does 39 more damage but why would someone trade only a natural 39 damage increase for a 112 health heal? Those numbers make it obvious that Rhaast is safer to pick since he heals and the damage is pretty close. On top of this the damage from the Q does more damage on the Rhaast form which is supposed to be a bruiser/fighter than on the Shadow Assassin who's kit and passive imply he is supposed to be played towards bursting down a single target. Since Rhaast form does more damage out of his Q+W combo he also gets more healing in both mitigated and unmitigated than Shadow Assassin gets into his passive calculation. Some people might be thinking that maybe Shadow Assassin scales better with items than Rhaast and maye that is where the main difference is. Well let's take a look at some more calculations that have both forms at lvl 18 and both have black cleaver and duskblade and see where the numbers stand.

Kayn Both Forms Level 18, no Masteries or Runes with Black Cleaver and Dusk Blade:

Shadow Assassin Form Q (unmitigated): 197 x 2, (mitigated): 98.5 x 2 W (unmitigated): 383, (mitigated): 191.5 Q+W Combo (unmitigated): 777, (mitigated): 388.5 Passive Bonus (unmitigated): 341.9, (mitigated): 85.5 Total Damage (unmitigated): 1119, (mitigated): 474

Rhaast Form Q (unmitigated): 277 x 2, (mitigated): 138.5 x 2 W (unmitigated): 374, (mitigated): 187 Q+W Combo (unmitigated): 928, (mitigated): 464 Passive Heal (unmitigated): 399, (mitigated): 199.5 Total Damage (unmitigated): 928, (mitigated): 464

So we see again with these two items added on, which in my opinion are both very good items to pick up for both forms of Kayn since they both benefit from the lethality, health, cd , and armor shred. It is obvious from these numbers though that the Rhaast form is still better than the Shadow Assassin. I hope Riot realizes at some point that if you want people to be able to pick between these two forms based on situation, then the forms need to be more even. My suggestion would be to increase the Shadow Assassin's damage either by scaling up his damage or by turning his Passive into "44% of damage dealt to champions as true damage". Now I know that sounds scary getting bonus damage as true damage, but with it being post mitigation it still wouldn't be that much. However, it would be just enough damage that the choice between forms would come down to would you rather be tanky and heal (Rhaast) or mobile and deal much more damage (Shadow Assassin). As the forms stand now it doesn't feel so much like you are picking your form with the though process "which form would be better with my team comp and against their team comp?" but rather has me thinking "do i want to pick Rhaast form, or pick Shadow Assassin and give my self a considerable handicap this game?".

So my final thoughts on Kayn are that his ultimate in all forms needs to have its damaged buffed, because lets be honest and ultimate with that cool of an animation just feels like it should deal a lot more damage. I also feel that Shadow Assassin needs its overall damage buffed either through scaling or changing the passive to more % of damage dealth or % of damage dealt as true damage instead. People reading this let me know what you think, and if someone from Riot ever reads this just know I love this champ and I want him to stay relevant for a long time so I hope you will really look into balancing his forms better; Kyan won't ever fit into the meta well or be considered a balanced champ if his forms are balanced with one another.

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