Boards›Gameplay

Ok Riot, here's what should be changed with mages, and more importantly the game in general.

avarageatbest·1/23/2016, 9:28:28 PM·3 votes·783 views

I think that if we look at mages we need to define their identity in the game. These are the points that I think riot should keep with mages.

  1. IMMOBILE
  2. AOE teamfighting
  3. cc

Additionally lets look at why mages are not viable at the current moment.

  1. Mobility
  2. Mana regen and Itemization in general
  3. Abundance of CC

We'll get to immobile later don't worry. I think that mages should shine in the teamfight since they have high damage aoe abilities and dont do that well in a laning phase, also we have many roles that define other aspects of the game. Assassins are good at single target deleting. Supports protect the marksman at the beginning of the game and provide lockdown on targets. Tanks soak damage in teamfights and provide some utility. Marksman bring somewhat sustained damage. Fighters are a mix of assassin and tanks. What mages should be are the kings and queens of teamfighting I think that that is where they should fill the gap and due to their playstyle of damage coming from cooldowns (instead of aa's) and their aoe damage abilities.

Mage's problems don't always come from their kit's. The reason why they aren't picked competitively is because of how champions are designed and how the game works now. If we look at the AP items they were across the board nerfed and increased in price, that is undeniable, also there are fewer ap items than ad items leaving every build stale and better suited for assassins like item 3100 item 3285 . item 3092 was and is popular for 2 reasons 1: it was cheap 2: it gave 125% mana regen. Mages need NEED mana regen to do damage, which is something that no other class of champions has, no adc or tank or fighter get exhausted after using their auto attacks but it is necessary to buy an item to simply be able to do damage on your champion.

2: lets look at cc and slows. Right now in the game there is a huge creep on slows and cc, it is extremely rare to see a champion without cc today and that only makes mages weaker. If a mage is cc'd or slowed there is nothing that they can do if they are immobile. If Volibear comes running at me form a bush and I am Swain then I can hope to god that my w is set 1 second into the future to root so that I am safe, also the ward changes don't help. I'm 1000% ok with cc and slows being in the game as they should be it's just that they are too good and reliable right now, they can be used to engage and disengage without any drawback (LOOKIN' AT YOU SPOOKY GHOSTS) and as such immoble champions are harder to play now a days.

3: mobility. I think mobility is an extremely fun part of the game, however I do think that it is way too good because like cc it can be used to engage and disengage without consequence and unlike cc it can be used negate slows and dodge skillshots, aka mages damage. MOBILITY IS REALLY FUN and unique in that it can be used in so many ways leading to good champion design. However this leads to mages getting weaker and weaker as they become almost necessary on every champion in the game.

I think that all champions on the update list need to be tweaked and updated to fix but here's how I would change the game and the champions:

  1. add the debuff that is on poppy's w onto a lot of the mages (lets call it grounded since they can't dash) an Idea I had for velkoz was if you hit both stacks of his w on an enemy they are grounded.

  2. reduce all slows and possibly cc by a small percentage.Again, I think that they are keeping immobile champions out of the meta because they are the reason why the mobility meta started in the first place.

  3. NEW ITEMIZATION: give some more itemization to mages and have the new items fit playstyles not just add stats. After all how often do we see thisitem 3165 item 3020 item 3089 item 3157 item 3135 item 3285

  4. adding on to #3 I would like to see new spell effects added onto items, like item 3285 . Ad has lifesteal and crit while ap has only spellvamp (Yes I know that riot doesn't like spell vamp) although it would be interesting to add an item with an active that heals you for 1/3 of the damage you deal for 3 seconds for example or every 6 spells the next one heals you for example.

  5. increase mana regen for late game, if adc's can do 1/4 of your health with an aa then at 40 mins mages should be able to use their spells a lot. But still limiting it early game to help assasssins.

11 Comments

Troiann1/23/2016, 9:31:09 PM2 votes

"the reason they aren't picked competitively"

VIktor, Orianna, Lulu, Anivia are picked all the time.

FrankerX1/23/2016, 9:33:02 PM2 votes

dont tell riot anything about identity pls. "in season 6 we want to make adcs more unique. thats why we give graves the 'ability' to reload. and the next champ we release is an adc who also reloads. we are a unique company with unique ideas"

Stephenizgod1/23/2016, 9:53:03 PM1 votes

Good post but personally I like how Malzahar shines more in a 1v1, I would like him to feel more useful in a teamfight, but ultimately he should remain the ultimate 1v1 mage.

hi im minty1/23/2016, 9:53:57 PM1 votes

idk... a fed mage is hard to beat. I do, however, agree that mages need a larger item variety. Actually, the entire game needs new items. Tired of the same builds on the same champs.

Sterek is Love1/23/2016, 10:12:52 PM1 votes

I mean I agree with most of this. I've been uber upset about mana pots being gone since it happened, always will be, and with the less than helpful mana regen boost it's even worse. However mobility is a big part of mages actually...they burst, they pack heat, but most of them don't move fast and for a reason. They generally have a lot of range and ways to hurt you from afar. Like Cassiopeia for example, slowest mage I can think of that isn't Zyra , but her reach is obnoxious, and her damage output is absurd, even early. But on the other hand we have champs like Ahri and Leblanc , Sona , Lulu , etc. The list goes on, there are mages with very high mobility and they use that every moment that can. It is obnoxiously hard to soft cc an Ahri or a LB because both of them can escape you in an instant, even slowed. My point is, mobility is a very big factor in mages, but if they don't have it, there's likely a very important reason as to why, and as such people just have to learn how to utilize that immobility into outsmarting their enemy.

For instance, take Yasuo vs. Cassiopeia . Very fun matchup, but people would get frustrated because Yasuo is very mobile and hard to hit. It puts Cass at a disadvantage should she overextend and render herself unable to escape him. However to every con there is a pro, like Wind Wall having no effect on Cass. She can poison him through it, under it, over it, it has no effect. Her ultimate aside. While it's difficult to catch a dashing Yasuo, the goal is not to chase him, but to outsmart him and predict where he will dash to. He only has so many minions he can dash to, land a poison cloud in front of him where he's dashing before he can stop himself. Mobility isn't a defining factor in win or lose, it's just another challenge.

And items, yes. 100% yes. Except Luden, I don't think that one is viable for an AD option. But spellvamp, yes, please. Dear Christ spellvamp would be nice.