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Karma - Why do people want old Karma back? Love Karma for what she is now!

Frostmane·6/10/2016, 1:35:22 AM·6 votes·1,231 views

My favourite champion is , I used to main but was frustrated by her short range and limited mobility. A friend suggested that I try Karma (I have never played "Old" Karma so I am unsure her changes were before her rework). So I did and instantly fell in love with her kit (a powerful mixture of high damage and utility. I love how versatile her kit is yet she can be a really powerful poke mage).

However people kept talking about how "Old Karma was better", so I decided to check that out. Yeah... Her original splash art is HORRIBLE. She looks so much better now, before, she looked like Uhura in Star Trek V, doing that weird fan dance in the desert. Her outfit was horrible, an awful mix of white and black that made her look like a clown. If Riot had no reworked her splash, I probably would have overlooked her. (I play champions based on what I like personally, rather then what is the most OP choice at the moment).

Karma looks so much better now, the Jade Green magic is beautiful and I love the tattoo on her leg so much that I am actually getting it done in real life.

I understand that a lot of people liked the whole "theme" with old Karma of every ability having an offensive/defensive component. But she has that NOW. Her Q has a slow on it for defense while dealing damage, her snare does damage and snares a target with the same ying/yang style. Her shield does not really have an offensive counterpart, however it is simple, in my opinion, the best shield in the game because of its low cooldown and massive MS boost at level 1.

So she STILL HAS the same theme. Her splash art is much more commanding/authoritarian yet peaceful (remember! She is one of the LEADERS of Ionia) and her voice was just better. I never got the stupid "fan" concept of the original because she is supposed to be Indian-like and not from Japan/China so I am really glad they dropped that in favour to show her in a state of peaceful contemplation while channelling her mantra, gathering her inner fire.

So this, I think, is a perfect example of a rework done right and I have absolutely NO desire to see Karma return to pre-rework state. I like her as she is now.

6 Comments

SilverSquid6/10/2016, 11:51:21 AM4 votes

Karma looks so much better now, the Jade Green magic is beautiful and I love the tattoo on her leg so much that I am actually getting it done in real life.

Yes, yes she does! But when people say, she was better, they usually talk about her gameplay and thematics, not her optics.

I understand that a lot of people liked the whole "theme" with old Karma of every ability having an offensive/defensive component. But she has that NOW. Her Q has a slow on it for defense while dealing damage, her snare does damage and snares a target with the same ying/yang style.

No. Just.... stop. If we start counting "slows" as "duality", then nearly all champions have this theme. The interesting part about Karma was, that she had a damagespell that healed affected allies and a shield that could deal damage. While it was mechanically underwhelming, rationing your mantra for the right situations and finding ways of applying those duality spells efficiently (hitting the right allies and as many enemies as possible) was fun and refreshing. There is nothing in current league, that compares to it. Current Karma might be fun, versatile and good looking, but it was built on the corpse of something that has been completely removed from the league; fans and duality.

Her shield does not really have an offensive counterpart, however it is simple, in my opinion, the best shield in the game because of its low cooldown and massive MS boost at level 1.

People have different opinions on what makes something "the best". Her shield is surely useful in the right hands. Her old shield was simply the most powerful (non-ult) shield in the game - at a 10s CD! I think her new shield wins with flavour, her old shield in power.

I never got the stupid "fan" concept of the original because she is supposed to be Indian-like and not from Japan/China so I am really glad they dropped that

Ionia is supposed to be resembling asian culture, that's why she had yin-yang, fans and buddha written all over her. The Indian thing is new. No other Ionian champion is Indian so far and no official note has stated Karma to be "Indian and not Chinese". Which would be stupid anyways, since this is a fictional world where those places don't exist. If you don't get why people miss it: It was Karma's weapons. She used it for her Q, her E and her mantra. Fanweapons are interesting and still absent from LoL. And now, while Karma might look beautiful, Karma doesn't have a weapon. She doesn't use fire, lightning, runes or anything. She just has green blobs of magic. This is so boring and meaningless, anything she had before is more interesting.

So this, I think, is a perfect example of a rework done right and I have absolutely NO desire to see Karma return to pre-rework state.

It's okay to like her current state, but saying it's better than something you don't even know, makes you appear ignorant and mean.

Milodic Mellodi6/10/2016, 2:31:45 AM2 votes

The only reason old!Karma is better than old Karma is because she used to be able to wield fans. In fact I think her Q was reworked because of that, or so I've heard. Other than that, new!Karma is so much better than old!Karma could ever be.

swiftsnipe6/10/2016, 4:55:54 AM2 votes

I'm a die hard Old Karma fan. I never play karma anymore. Let me explain...in a long reply... cause i think you will read it :)

tl;dr - Fans are gone, yin/yang became: do a lot of things, rather than making trade-offs for offense and defense based on your decision.

1) The fan theme is non-existent in her present kit. It used to be incorporated in both her auto attacks and her Q 2) Yin/Yang theme is present but it's not a based on trade-offs anymore. Abilities Just do both or many things. ALSO the yin yang tradeoff was present in the gameplay becasue of how her ultimate worked with her abilities.

-Passive Currently is CDR (lame). It used to be: "become more deadly as you become more dead". This is a yin yang trade-off. More power with more risk.

-W infinitely better now thematically and mechanically. No complaints. This was the only required change for Karma.

-I'm going to discuss her E and Q and ult now. It's very important to realize that karma only had 1 real damaging ability which was her Q. You needed to spend an ult charge if you wanted her E (shield) to do damage. On her old W, the target you selected did not take damage. Only things that walked through the tether took damage (like walking through a moving jayce gate). In a solo lane you could not do damage to the enemy with W. We will ignore this ability.

So for max damage: i have to ult my E and Use Q (2 damaging effects, 1 Shield).
The most defensive option is to ult my Q and then E. (1 damaging effect, 1 shield, 1 heal)
This is a healthy yin yang interaction where my in-game decision matters. The ulted ability determines whether i'm on offense or defense.
-Also note that i require an ult charge to excel in either area otherwise i'm just a shield with E and damage in a cone with Q.

**In todays world: **

-Q currently does damage and slows. When you apply your ultimate, it still damages and slows but to a greater extent. This is not yin and yang with tradeoffs. -IN THEORY: the tradeoff still exists with the ult: you heal with W, Get utility with E, or do more damage with Q, but empowered Q is so strong that it promotes a poke style of gameplay which almost negates the use of the other options.

gib old kermit back plis rito thnx less than 3

IxtaliKing6/10/2016, 10:26:14 AM1 votes

The short answer is Karma had an identity. If Riot had reworked her with respect to what her players at the time liked about her, everything would be fine.

7thHeaven6/10/2016, 10:56:37 AM1 votes

Her ulti is like Heimerdinger Donger's ulti

Ionian StarChild6/10/2016, 9:28:27 PM1 votes

Old Karma was unique during her time. Back then you would hardly see a fully clothed female. Enter Karma, full of grace and poise, sporting an ill fitted dress that was impractical (her words!) for battle yet she made it work. She represented the elegant form of battle, maneuvering around the battlefield in a dance-like state, surprising allies and enemies alike with her subtle influence. After all, who would've suspected this innocent looking lady to pack quite a punch? I think her concept was well thought out. If you read her old lore, you'll notice that Karma wasn't a fighter. She was a politician, one that had a way with words. Her quotes were (and still are) inspiring. She was primarily a leader, but if push comes to shove she will fight for her people.

The black and white themes on her dress emphasized the duality of her spells. Karma's spells then all had the ability to both aid her allies and harm her enemies, all at the same time. The fans added to her appeal of a graceful fighter, also complimented the dualism that was present in her original concept. Fans can be beautiful, graceful, and yet deadly at the same time depending on how they're used. Even in her judgment piece you can see how she is this champion that's both beauty and deadly. She entered the league to stand before the summoners. Everything about her exuded grace and elegance. The frames of the marble doors parted as she opened then in a way as if they were trying to mirror her movements. Idly, she isn't one to pose a threat, but once she wields her fans, she becomes a champion you would dare not second guess.

Finally, her playstyle was very engaging. Karma was a battlemage, turning the tides of war through the use of her mantras. You had to be up close and personal to be able to perform. That required quick reflexes and a very reactive style of fighting. A quick empowered shield and heal can turn the odds of a fight to her favor. This is what I miss about her. If ever they touch up on her visuals again, i would hope for them to at least try and have her traditional closely resemble the original concept art that they did for her. Also, if they can't really fix the mantle to at least look like it's a part of her then they should just give her back her fans. I don't like how it seems like she's dragging it behind.