A Fan's Buff and Gameplay Change to His Favorite Bug: Kha'Zix

Before I go into detail about the changes I would love to see to my favorite champion in this game. I'd like to briefly discuss the overall play style change that I came up with. When playing Kha'Zix I feel like every ability I use is to try and isolate someone so I can get an empowered Q. However, as you get to a higher Elo you will find this neigh impossible because, quite frankly, everyone starts to play with a head on their shoulders. So how would I fix that to make the assassin playable in real game situations and not just in 1v1 simulations that are completely unrealistic due to the team based nature of the game. My idea is to make Kha'Zix passive play a much greater role in how his kit actually functions and I will go into detail about those changes later. But, for starters lets take a look at Kha'Zix's kit. The second kit posted in this will be the changes I would like to see. In addition my issues with Kha'Zix's current kit will also be written with the kit.

Unseen Threat

Kha'Zix gains Unseen Threat when the enemy team loses Sight icon sight of him, causing his next basic attack against an enemy champion to deal「 15 - 190 」(+ 50% AP) bonus magic damage and Slow icon slow them by 25% for 2 seconds. My main issue with this passive is that outside of the first 10 minutes of the game, it falls off too much. LV1 Kha'Zix in lane is about landing the bonus damage onto champions in order to secure trades and it is a priority to run into a bush to restore the passive. Unfortunately, late game his passive just isn't good enough to make a Kha'Zix player want to make sure to keep it up. It just becomes a useless passive unless you catch a squishy opponent who for some reason comes a crossed your way alone due to the fact that all of Kha'Zix's damage is from his Q rather than an actual basic attack. But even then your Void Spikes are a more reliable slow.

Taste Their Fear RANGE: 425 / 325 / 375 COST: 25 mana COOLDOWN: 3.5

Passive: Kha'Zix marks all visible enemies who aren't accompanied by any of their allies nearby as isolated. Active: Kha'Zix slashes the target enemy, dealing physical damage, increased by 30% against isolated targets. 「 Physical damage: 70 / 95 / 120 / 145 / 170 (+ 120% Bonus AD) 」 Evolved Enlarged Claws.png Evolved Enlarged Claws: Kha'Zix gains 50 bonus range on his basic attacks and Taste Their Fear, which also deals「 (+ 10 × Kha'Zix's level) 」(+ 104% Bonus AD) bonus physical damage to isolated targets. There's not much to criticize when it comes to Kha'Zix's Q. In fact I believe it is the one ability that makes him somewhat viable as a champion. It allows you to stand close to your adc in team fights and demolish their assassins who normally try to find their way to your squishy gunner. It also gives Kha'Zix's great damage in lane, solo clear in the jungle, and provides a great tool to catch enemies in combination with his Empowered Leap to clean up fights. My only issue with it in his kit is the reliance of this ability. One ability should not make or break the champion in any situation.

Void Spike RANGE: 1000 COST: 55 / 60 / 65 / 70 / 75 mana COOLDOWN: 10

Active: Kha'Zix fires a cluster of spikes in a line that detonates upon hitting an enemy, slowing all enemies in a small area 20% for 2 seconds and dealing them physical damage, increased by 20% against monsters. 「 Physical Damage: 80 / 110 / 140 / 170 / 200 (+ 100% bonus AD) 」 Kha'Zix heals himself if he is within the detonation radius. Heal: 60 / 85 / 110 / 135 / 160 (+ 50% AP) Evolved Spike Racks: Void Spike fires three clusters in a cone, slows by 50% and grants sight of enemy champions hit for 2 seconds. Multiple explosions do not deal extra damage to the same target or provide Kha'Zix with additional healing. Well there is a lot to say about this lack luster ability outside of an extremely early game scenario. The damage from Void Spike is great but, the slow is just a bit too low to be helpful unless of course you're right next to the enemy. And the fact that the heal of a ranged ability requires Kha'Zix to be in melee range is just a big bummer. The evolved version does take care of the sad slow factor but does not add enough to make evolving Void Spike worth it in comparison to the other evolved abilities and only adds to the lacking efficiency of this ability especially since the spikes are block able by the enemies tanks, creeps and neutral monsters. To sum it up, for a skill shot its effects are lack luster and the heal factor involves too much risk if you are low looking for some health.

Leap RANGE: 600 / 900 COST: 50 mana COOLDOWN: 20 / 18 / 16 / 14 / 12
Active: Kha'Zix leaps to the target location, dealing physical damage to nearby enemies upon landing. Physical Damage: 65 / 100 / 135 / 170 / 205 (+ 20% Bonus AD) Evolved Wings.png Evolved Wings: Leap gains range and its cooldown is reset on enemy champion takedowns. This ability combined is the bread and butter of a late game Kha'Zix. It allows him to leap to prey and away from predators. However, I have two issues with this ability. One it has no bonus utility such as a slow or speed boost making it just okay at escaping or punishing enemies. Two, even though you get amazing range with the leap, most of the time you can not land an isolated Q to burst down your prey and escape. This makes the Empowered Leap ability extremely risky in trying to tackle prey. Unless of course, that one squishy target you are going for is for whatever reason not behind a wall of flesh.

Void Assault COST: 100 mana COOLDOWN: 100 / 90 / 80
Passive: Each rank in Void Assault allows Kha'Zix to evolve one of his abilities, granting it additional effects. Active: Kha'Zix enters stealth for 1 second, acquiring Unseen Threat.png Unseen Threat, gaining 40% bonus movement speed and ignoring unit collision while stealthed. After leaving stealth for 2 seconds, Void Assault can be cast a second time within 15 seconds at no additional cost. Evolved Active Camouflage Evolved Active Camouflage: Void Assault can be cast a total of 3 times and each instance grants 2 seconds of stealth. When it comes to the ultimate there is but one complaint from me. It is too favorable to use it as an escape rather than aggressively. More times than not I see a Kha'Zix player use his ultimate to run away after trying to leap to an enemy to kill them, however that enemy wasn't taken down due to the reliance of isolation, in fact I see players save his' ultimate for an escape rather than using it to assault an enemy like the name of the ability suggests.

I have outlined my personal complaints about Kha'Zix and to sum up my thoughts on his current standing:

1. Passive is too weak to be actively pursued for its procs.
2. He is too reliant on his' Q, Taste Their Fear, for burst and damage.
3. His W's, Void spike, slow is unimpressive, its heal requires him to stand an arms length away and it isn't worth evolving.
4. His E, Leap, is far too reliant on an enemy making a mistake and is not an affective tool to secure a kill nor back off considering isolation and slow issues.
5. His R, Void Assault, provides players with a tool to run away rather than a tool to assault enemies and turn the flow of a battle.

Now here is my change to his kit, anything added will say NEW the flavor text name: followed by the information. Please read them thoroughly and comment on this post so Riot can see it and make the monster sized praying mantis a viable pick again.

Unseen Threat

Kha'Zix gains Unseen Threat when the enemy team loses Sight icon sight of him, causing his next basic attack against an enemy champion to deal「 15 - 190 」(+ 50% AP) bonus magic damage and Slow icon slow them by 25% for 2 seconds NEW Empowered Assault: Unseen Threat can now affect Kha'Zix's abilities. Slow is also buffed to 35% and stacks with Kha'Zix's slowing abilities. NEW Time to Hunt: Enemy champions affected by Unseen Threat are marked as "Prey" for 4 seconds. And may not be marked for another 12 seconds after the duration of the effect is complete. Marked targets are affected by the isolation bonus on Taste Their Fear and by the damage modifier of Kha Zix's ultimate, look down for more information, and provide his abilities with additional affects. If a marked enemy is killed Kha'Zix is granted invisibility for .75 seconds, a decaying 60% movement speed bonus for 1.75 seconds and breaks free of all slows. A maximum of two targets may be affected by the Prey debuff at one time. A third application on a different enemy will remove the first application of the Prey debuff if it hadn't expired already. The purpose of these changes is to increase Kha'Zix's trade potential with enemies, force payers to make smart decisions with the Prey debuff, make Kha'Zix's not so dependent on an isolation, give the Kha'Zix player an incentive to prioritize the uptime of his passive, and to fix the life long struggle of an assassin's escape arts.

Taste Their Fear RANGE: 425 / 325 / 375 COST: 25 mana COOLDOWN: 3.5
Passive: Kha'Zix marks all visible enemies who aren't accompanied by any of their allies nearby as isolated. Active: Kha'Zix slashes the target enemy, dealing physical damage, increased by 30% against isolated targets.「 Physical damage: 70 / 95 / 120 / 145 / 170 (+ 120% Bonus AD) 」 Evolved Enlarged Claws: Kha'Zix gains 50 bonus range on his basic attacks and Taste Their Fear, which also deals「 (+ 10 × Kha'Zix's level) 」(+ 104% Bonus AD) bonus physical damage to isolated targets. NEW Not so Nukey: Empowered Enlarged Claws now does 9 X Kha'Zix's level. Unevolved damage ratio has been nerfed to 110% bonus AD. NEW Beware the Predator: Landing a Taste Their Fear on an enemy marked by Prey will now deal 70% , if evolved the bleed is increased to 85% of the damage dealt by Taste Their Fear, of damage dealt as a bleed over 4 seconds and reveal the enemy. If Kha'Zix lands another ability against bleeding foes while the target is still marked as Prey. The attack will deal 75% of the bleeds TOTAL damage as bonus damage. This may only occur ONE TIME PER BLEED. In other words. 75% of 70% of the damage dealt by that SPECIFIC Taste Their Fear. I feel that a slight nerf to the Q's damage will make Kha'Zix's players take a look at his other abilities for some damage rather than just QQQQQQ. The new hunted bonus lets Kha'Zix's non isolated Q still do great damage and sets up for a burst from one of his other not so damaging abilities as well as providing vision of that enemy so he can truly act as a predator.

Void Spike RANGE: 1000 COST: 55 / 60 / 65 / 70 / 75 mana COOLDOWN: 10
Active: Kha'Zix fires a cluster of spikes in a line that detonates upon hitting an enemy, slowing all enemies in a small area 20% for 2 seconds and dealing them physical damage, increased by 20% against monsters. 「 Physical Damage: 80 / 110 / 140 / 170 / 200 (+ 100% bonus AD) 」 Kha'Zix heals himself if he is within the detonation radius. Heal: 60 / 85 / 110 / 135 / 160 (+ 50% AP) Evolved Spike Racks: Void Spike fires three clusters in a cone, slows by 50% and grants Sight icon sight of enemy champions hit for 2 seconds. Multiple explosions do not deal extra damage to the same target or provide Kha'Zix with additional healing. NEW Crippling Spikes: The slow has been buffed to 30%. NEW A Not So Risky Maneuver: The heal now applies to Kha'Zix indefinitely: he no longer needs to be within blast radius. NEW Skillful Aim: Kha'Zix is now healed for 30/65/90/115/150 (+ 50% AP) (+ 5% of his missing health). If Kha'Zix hits a champion he is healed for 60/130/180/230/300 (+ 15% of AD) (+ 50% of AP) (+10% of his missing health)- only applies to Evolved Void Spike. For each source of healing, its effectiveness is decreased by 25% NEW Prey Seekers: While a champion is marked as Prey, Void Spikes slip through enemy minions dealing 100% of its damage and healing Kha'Zix for 10% of the normal heal. If it hits the enemy champion he is then healed for 110% of the normal heal and does 130% of the normal damage, this damage will ignore 35% of their armor. NEW Speed Work: Cool down is reduced to 7 seconds and is further reduced by 3.5 seconds if Void Spike hits an enemy champion. I feel that the change to the heal would make Void Spike a more reliable personal heal and used more often. The buff to slow compounds with the buff to the Passive if used together and would help immensely to secure kills or to flee from the scene. The massive increase to the Evolved Void Spike heal makes it a more important evolution and I feel players would have to pick between the four evolutions more carefully depending on the team comps. In addition if used when hunting, this buff provides Kha'Zix with a reliable damage source rather than being solely dependent on Q. Also, the new cooldown mechanic would entice players to look for the poke in lane.

Leap RANGE: 600 / 900 COST: 50 mana COOLDOWN: 20 / 18 / 16 / 14 / 12

Active: Kha'Zix leaps to the target location, dealing physical damage to nearby enemies upon landing. Physical Damage: 65 / 100 / 135 / 170 / 205 (+ 20% Bonus AD) Evolved Wings: Leap gains range and its cooldown is reset on enemy champion takedowns. NEW To Freedom Or To Pillage: If Kha'Zix hits an enemy with Evolved Leap, he slows them by 99% for .25 seconds. If Kha'Zix doesn't hit an enemy, he is granted a 70% movement speed buff that decays over 1 second and removes all slows and disables. PLEASE NOTE EVOLVED LEAP WILL NOT APPLY PASSIVE, ONLY UNEVOLVED WILL. NEW Surprise Attack: If an enemy marked as Prey is hit by leap he or she will be stunned for 1.5 seconds, if hit by evolved leap: the 99% slow will occur after the target recovers from stun. In addition Kha'Zix will deal bonus damage equal to 8% of their missing health IN TRUE DAMAGE

Void Assault COST: 100 mana COOLDOWN: 100 / 90 / 80

Passive: Each rank in Void Assault allows Kha'Zix to evolve one of his abilities, granting it additional effects. Active: Kha'Zix enters stealth for 1 second, acquiring Unseen Threat.png Unseen Threat, gaining 40% bonus movement speed and ignoring unit collision while stealthed. After leaving stealth for 2 seconds, Void Assault can be cast a second time within 15 seconds at no additional cost. Evolved Active Camouflage: Void Assault can be cast a total of 3 times and each instance grants 2 seconds of stealth. NEW Fear of Isolation: Isolated enemies take 10%/15%/20% increased damage from Kha'Zix's abilities and auto attacks. In addition they deal 5%/10%/15% reduced damage to Kha'Zix and his allies. This affect is also applied to those with the Prey debuff, only when there are points in Void Assault. NEW I Can't Even Smell Him: Kha'Zix is now untargetable when stealthed via Void Assault. NEW Devourer Their Flesh: If evolved, Kha'Zix is healed for ( 10% of his maximum health) + (30% of damage dealt between activations) during stealth duration. If stealth is broken early he receives the remaining heal as a shield. NEW Void Escape: Kha'Zix can use Void Assault while stunned and it breaks roots or slows, applies to BOTH EVOLVED AND UNEVOLVED. I feel that the addition of this passive to his ultimate would give Kha'Zix a power spike at 6/11/16 and would increase his usefulness in team fights. He must be smart with marking Prey to minimize damage to his team and maximize his damage output. The buff to his Evolved Void Assault would make it more suitable for hunting prey in the middle of the pack and add a sense of fear to players. It only further progresses the idea of an assassin being able to change the flow of battle. Which in team fights Kha'Zix lacks.

On a closing note: I think the buffs would make Kha'Zix viable as a good trader in lane and provide him with more team fight potential. In addition, I feel the new Prey mechanic would force enemies to beware Kha'Zix's passive as well as let the Kha'Zix player to trade with enemies and open windows for assassinations. The changes I made to evolution would force players to make decisions on which abilities they want to upgrade and in what order it is needed. In general these changes would make Kha'Zix:

1. A good trader in lane.
2. An essential piece of team fights to reduce damage intake, a pseudo tank if you will.
3. Provide openings for assassinations of high priority targets even if they are in the middle of the pack.
4. Provide smart heals for a Kha'Zix with great aim.
5. Provide huge burst opportunities and all ins.
6. Give Kha'Zix good engage and flee potential.

That sums up how I would make Kha'Zix LCS worthy again. I personally feel these changes require the brains to use them to their full potential. Although, as it stands they are a little too strong but, a good counter play could squash this bug. Please leave comments and concerns. I would love for Riot to see this and make these changes to Kha'Zix. As you can see this took awhile to type and I'd love it if you guys don't hate too much when pointing out flaws.