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

avarageatbest·Jan 23, 2016·3 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.

IMMOBILE
AOE teamfighting
cc

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

Mobility
Mana regen and Itemization in general
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 . 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 comes running at me form a bush and I am 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:

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.
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.
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 this
adding on to #3 I would like to see new spell effects added onto items, like . 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.
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

TroiannJan 23, 20162 votes

"the reason they aren't picked competitively"

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

avarageatbestJan 23, 20161 votes

{quoted}

"the reason they aren't picked competitively"

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

I am talking more about the mages they want to update as well as Swain and Galio. I do see them as examples of healthy mages that have a role in the game. Also I really hope riot doesn't rework Viktor, Orianna, and Anivia D:

FrankerXJan 23, 20162 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"

qetzelJan 23, 20161 votes

Have you played Jhin yet? He doesn't feel the same as Graves.

FrankerXJan 23, 20161 votes

ik that he doesnt feel like graves since both are different. still its just brainless to give graves the ability to reload and the next adc gets that aswell.

StephenizgodJan 23, 20161 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.

avarageatbestJan 23, 20161 votes

{quoted}

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.

I agree for malzahar he should remain as the 1 v 1 Mage and I think that is where his niche should be

StephenizgodJan 23, 20161 votes

The only problem with him being the 1v1 Mage is game health. Why pick Malzahar when you can take Annie, do roughly the same damage, with hard CC, but also have teamfight with Tibbers. They can both pick off 1 person and burst them down, but Malz is more focused on 1v1 while Annie can stun multiple people. Her stun is only .5 sec shorter than his suppress and doesn't lock her down.

You can't just give him more damage, he would feel even more unfair than people already feel he is. It would also be bad to focus him entirely on 1v1 because after laning phase he would feel pretty useless. So this is one issue with his identity I would really like for the to address.

My idea would be for him to be 1v1 oriented and have more of a supportive role in teamfights until he can safely lock one person down. I don't want him to be an assassin who just waits in the shadows, waiting for an easy kill. I think he should be very active in teamfights but not so much in a high damage way. That would be why you take Malzahar over Annie, need some more peel and cc with the ability to make picks? Pick Malz. Need raw AoE damage and cc for teamfights? Pick Annie.

hi im mintyJan 23, 20161 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 LoveJan 23, 20161 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.