How Karma Will Be Handled After Rework
I know a lot of people are going to downvote and not like this. Riot Games Developers refuse to address Karma's outstanding problems. The Mantra W changes that lowers the cooldown of ally basic abilities and gives mana, is not as good as players think it is. I will outline Karma's problems below and what the rework didn't address:
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Karma still has no gameplay identity and her kit is uninvolved. Having a champion that has only three options to use Mantra in the same way her basic abilities function, is lazy and uncreative design. God forbid Karma have an actual gameplay identity that lives up to her name, theme, and makes her Mantra and basic abilties more cohesive.
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Karma technically only has one damage move and it is blocked by minions. The majority of us can state why it isn't good to have only one damage move that is frontloaded with damage. Karma is already oppressive to play against with her early game damage and this just makes her more annoying to play against. No amount of numbers buff on Q and Mantra Q is going to convince anyone who plays her mid and top that she is a mage, when the players who are in these lanes wanted more damage options, a gameplay identity, and unique Mantra options.
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Number buffs have not worked on Karma and history proves it. Karma Mantra W damage was nerfed shortly after the relaunch. Karma's Q and Mantra Q have been nerfed and buffed countless times. Karma's Mantra E was buffed by a huge amount and proved itself to be toxic for the game so it had to be nerfed heavily. If a champion is being nerfed and buffed this much for the past five years, there is a problem with how the kit functions and it just isn't working out. No amount of band-aid buffs and gimmicks like the new Mantra W does is going to solve her problems. The kit is not working and numbers buff is not the solution. When the Developers make one Mantra more important over another, it takes away the opportunity for another to have another use or function. Power had to be taken away from Mantra E to allow a massive power boost to Mantra Q and Mantra W, because finding an actual use for all of her Mantra so they do a different function is out of the question.
Actually working on Karma's gameplay identity, giving her unique options for her Mantra that play hand and hand with a gameplay identity, and changing the functionality of basic abilities and Mantra will solve all of her problems. Naomi refused to do any of this just like RicklessAbandon, Meddler, Reav3s and the Developer who worked on Karma's relaunch did.
is Karma's Mantra E. Shield Bomb was the move heavily requested ability to return to Karma, after it was removed for unwarranted reasons after the relaunch. It's a slap in the face to everyone that has asked for it to come back and Meddler to say Karma is getting a Rengar and LB type of rework. Instead Riot Game Developers are catering to an entire side of Karma players while saying f*** you to the Karma players that used to play her. How Naomi can be happy with herself and say she is a Karma player and not even return Shield Bomb, is pretty telling of how much the Developers actually care about Old Karma mains concerns.
Why the rework won't work out:
- When a champion's problems are not actually being addessed and counterproductive work is being done on them, later on down the line the champion is going to be nerfed to the ground, their play and winrate is going to suffer, and Developers are continuing to create a divide amongst players. A champion like Karma does have a lot of history and to wrtite off an entire subset of the community because of a lazy work ethic, doesn't mean you are making the rework better and not upsetting players. Developers waited five long years to do work on Karma and there have been times where they could've had the opportunity to actually work on her. Instead of owning up to mistakes and addressing player concerns, Developers like Meddler used excuse after excuse, gave false promises, and prioritized work on champions like Ryze 8 times the past five years.
There is a player divide amongst the Karma mains because of direct Developer fault with Karma's kit and relaunch. There is no excuses to be given other than Developers like Naomi, Rickless, Meddler and Reav3s refusing to admit the relaunch was a mistake. The current rework for Karma is a massive coverup and excuse as to why in the past five years, her win/play rate is low, no one likes her, and why she remains in a terrible spot. The relaunch and failure to address problems created by the relaunch are the problem.
- Gimmicks like the rework Mantra E hasn't worked on any champion so far. Sejuani is constantly nerfed into oblivion because of a similair approach to Karma's rework is doing. Ryze is constantly nerfed for the same reasons Karma's new Mantra W is going to do. Kalista is nerfed into oblivion and is slated for a rework. This is the same reason why Rengar, Kog'Maw, and LB have all been reverted and I wouldn't be a bit surprised if Malzahar is the next one. When one ability takes over the entire kit and when that ability is clearly going to be overpowered in competitive play because of team oriented interaction, the champion is going to be nerfed into oblivion. Add in the fact that Karma still doesn't have a gameplay identity and her damage is frontloaded with Mantra Q, this means she is going to be in the same exact state she has been in the past five years.
How Karma will be handled after the rework:
- The rework is going through. Riot Games already decided this and they have no problem ignoring criticisms and concerns about the kit. Naomi wants to complain to players about how they need to give it a chance, but the fact of the matter is she asked for player feedback on Karma and she didn't give a single player or was willing to work on a compromise for the divided Karma playerbase. Support Karma players and new Karma players will always be the demographic Developers like Meddler, Naomi, and Reav3s cater to. The excuses they are using is a coverup for the inability to actually address Karma's problems. Karma's relaunch created a lot of problems that have yet to be addressed. Adding a numbers buff to Mantra Q and saying it is a buff to Karma mage doesn't change the fact that she has no damage options, her only damage option is blocked by minions, it isn't what the players want, and she has no gameplay identity.
Karma is going to be nerfed into the ground because of the new Mantra W changes. That buff to Mantra Q? It is going to be nerfed before Mantra W is nerfed. That inevitable nerf to Mantra W that will happen will mean her Mantra Q will stay nerfed and her Mantra E will be buffed again. Karma will be in the same state she has been in the past five years and there will continue to be limited Developer responses about how they don't have the funds to ever work on Karma again, that Karma needs a massive VGU to solve her problems, that Karma is getting a LB and Rengar level rework that is a revert, that mage Karma is not the majority of players so Mantra E AoE shields and having no gameplay identity is the only thing Karma can ever have, and so much more. The way these Developers have been handling Karma for the past five years is what is going to continue with the next five years wit more excuses. It's all just a massive circle-***k of power-shifting strength and nerfing strength into different Mantra abilities.
Until these Developers open their eyes and address Karma's lack of gameplay identity, stop number buffing her and change the functionality of basic and Mantra abilities, and find a compromise between old and new Karma mains . . . . she will never be a successful champion. Naomi's rework is proof that Riot Games wants Karma in her current state and refuse to listen to what players want.
Karma mains wanted a new passive, new W and Mantra W, a gameplay identity, more damage options and shield bomb back. We got the same abilties with massive number buffs/nerfs and a new Mantra W mechanic that fits a champion like Zilean more than Karma. The new Mantra W takes up the majority of Karma's power budget and it is strictly catered to support and new Karma players. Nothing she posts and comments about is going to change the fact that she blatantly ignored every Karma player while only caring about new and Support Karma players. https://www.reddit.com/r/karmamains/comments/97krki/hi_karma_mains_want_your_feedback/