So, about the Karma Changes on the PBE,,,
EDIT: Don't even bother reading this. This post complained about missing promised Karma changes. There now ARE some delayed Karma changes on the PBE, making the post hugely obsolete. For anyone wondering what the changes are, they are so minor they probably aren't even there. But just nerfing a 49% winrate champion further wouldn't have made sense anyways.
Karma
- Inspire (E) shield value lowered to 70/100/130/160/190 from 80/110/140/170/200
EDIT: Everything below this point is outdated. And a bit unnecessary. Read at your own risk.
######...there aren't any? Why? Didn't you talk about them not even three weeks ago?
######Focusing a bit more on Pro Play in 6.14 and 6.15
######Finally we'll be prioritizing work on champs that are particular problems in pro play a bit more in the next couple of patches (6.15 is the patch for most, or possibly all, of the Worlds qualifiers). First up we've got changes to Rek'Sai (initial thought - slower tick rate on Tremor sense?) and Azir (less early damage, more of a marksman like damage curve over the course of the game?). There will probably be some more changes prioritized by pro play impact in 6.15 too (Viktor and Karma look likely, potentially others like Elise?).
######Viktor, Azir and Rek'Sai got adressed in 6.14. In both 6.13 and 6.14 we had major changes to support items and champions. Some called it a mini-support update. So I was surprised the most picked/banned support in mid summer LCS did not get adressed there. And also apparently not in the next patch 6.15.
######Should I be relieved or worried?
######* Relieved, because Karma, who only has a 49% winrate in non-competitive, does NOT get the nerfs some expected her to get? ######* Or worried because you seem to forget about her yet again? ######* Or do you think the changes to Lulu, Sona and Leona already do the trick (because they are competition or counters respectively). Or, with the Talisman buildpath being more attractive again, is her speedboost not needed anymore anyways?
######I am honestly curious.
Why did Karma get picked in the first place?
######She was not contested before the 6.6 changes, which HUGELY buffed her mantra shield (RE), so that must be the main reason. RE does not have any counterplay, is up every teamfight and does not require any significant skill to land. This makes it VERY reliable. Reliability is a huge deal in competitive games. So whereas the buff only upped her a few percentage points in normal play,making her rather balanced, her usefulness in a Talisman-free competitive play skyrocketed.
######As far as I've seen, those buffs were not asked for by the Karma community and highly puzzling. Some Karma fans were angry even, because it seemed to turn Karma into a skillless shieldbot, instead of the duality-duchess she once was supposed to be. It upped her power, instead of adressing her issues. It also increased a problem, namely the imbalance between the mantras; depending on your buildpath, choosing which skill to mantra is just too simple. RE for support, RW for tank and RQ for mage. RW is especially problematic, because its unreliable nature and tank scaling makes it too unattractive for her most frequent builds. And deciding between unreliable damage/slow (RQ) and reliable shield/speed (RE), is just a no-brainer if you are a support with no money/AP and the huge buff RE received.
######I expected Riot to adress this in one way or another. So I patiently waited for 6.15 to hit PBE. But... nothing? I'll ask again: #Are you happy with Karma's current state, Riot? ######Is she worthy of leaving that way, until the eventual Enchanter Update (not happening in the next year or two) or a possible Ionian Event (Bard knows when that might happen). And yes, Meddler stated that Karma would be "a prime candidate" in those cases.
######Your move, Riot
