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PBE Karma analysis

Hupsis··4 votes·1,267 views

Karma got some changes in the PBE which are refreshing to say the least.

Read more here if you don't know about it yet: http://www.surrenderat20.net/2015/05/513-pbe-update.html

Passive - the passive change is HUGE. It allows Karma to use her mantra more often. And we know how deadly she was in URF mode. PBE testings have proven that it is now much easier to cast double (or triple) mantra Q later in the game.

W - castable on jungle monsters! Also seems to reduce mantra cooldown when used on jungle monsters. I'm not sure whether this is a bug or not.

Mantra W - this is a big hit to solo lane Karma. The healing portion is less efficient on 1v1 situations and it is only useful in team fight situations and taking jungle objectives. The change is quite drastic and I wouldn't be surprised if Riot decided to buff W damage to compensate the loss of damage on the mantra version. In the PBE it also doesn't seem to scale with mantra ranks at all. We'll see if this gets addressed or not. Hopefully yes.

Mantra W now increases the root duration by 0.75/1/1.25/1.5 seconds based on mantra rank and also heals for 20% missing health when you cast it and when the root is applied. Bonus damage is still removed.

E - Cooldown reduced from 10 sec to 10/9/8/7/6 seconds based on rank. With 40% cdr that is a 3.6 second cooldown on a 4 second lasting shield. That is a huge buff for any Karma player. The reduction of shield value is compensated by mantra effect. Also mana cost reduction, YAY!

Mantra E - Damage removal is understandable since it wasn't the main source of damage on Karma's kit anyways. The extra shielding will be handy when dealing with high burst champions. A nerf to her late game wave clearing and it doesn't proc her passive anymore.

#Mantra W

Many people have been upset about the change which reduces solo lane Karma's sustain/safety. Personally I believe the buffs to the passive and mantra E compensates for the loss of burst healing (which was over the top to begin with). Karma is still able to gain a good amount of health from mantra W during a jungler's visit. Karma has the tools to keep herself safe during the laning phase even without mantra W self healing. Proper positioning and use of shield will reveal the good Karma players from the bad ones. Mage Karma will survive if you adjust your playstyle to the new changes.

Karma is now able to root a target for 3.5 seconds at level 16! The change is still somewhat a nerf to solo lane Karma's trading potential since the bonus damage has been removed from mantra. You are still able to gain a lot of health at low health and guarantee your escape due to increased root duration.

Shield bombing

Some Karma players might say that shield bombing is the core of Karma. When she was first released she was indeed a proper shield bomber. However after the rework the shield bombing got overruled by mantra Q and people soon realized that mantra E was just useful on rare occasions as a damaging tool. I'm glad the damage portion of the shield got removed and added as additional shielding to better define Karma as THE shielder.

HOWEVER!

I'm disappointed that such an interesting support ability has now been removed from the league. I will be looking forward to seeing a new champion who can utilize this power even better than Karma could.

#Overall

Karma becomes more suited for the support role but is still able to go to a solo lane. Top lane Karma will most likely vanish since she'll need aid from the jungler more often. Baiting tactics become more harder to pull off due to mantra W changes. Some minor damage buffs to W and scaling to mantra W would be nice.

10 Comments

jmonster1292 votes

I really agree with a lot of what you said

They got rid of everything that was unique of old karma to really make new karma healthier

Although the I really do hope we get to see another champ with shield bombs and aoe tether tagging, someday

Hupsis1 votes

I really hope we'll see a shield bomb support ability someday. Would be cool if it was an ultimate :P

Vistha Kai1 votes

By this flawed logic half of abilities that currently deal damage shouldn't, because "they aren't the main source of damage".

Hupsis1 votes

Well you basically always sacrificed mantra Q damage when using mantra E. Might as well use mantra Q if you want to deal damage.

Vistha Kai1 votes

Or we can do it the proper way and give back Mantra two stacks, then balance around it.

Hupsis1 votes

As fun as that would be it's very unlikely to happen.

Vistha Kai1 votes

Then we will have another weak-to-mediocre champion with no backbone. Which is sad because I actually liked Karma and deceased Karma.

REDREX71 votes

I cant think of a single reason as to why to Mantra W or E in the laning phase anymore. The heal will not be noticeable in 1v1 situations. Nor will the 10% damage amplification since Mantra W has no scaling damage and she will only get one q off during the laning phase plus 2 or 3 autos at best. Mantra W is basically useless until the 25 minute mark. And Karma maxes Q first and then Shield. Hopefully the mantra scaling buff to shield will help her survive from assassins during the laning phase but I still have my doubts since the shield is maxed second. The only buff is to late game Karma where she can have an ult cd of 20 with 40% cdr and potentially be able to Mantra W then Mantra Q, Within a 4 second time window to get the 10% damage bonus and 20% heal bonus for Mantra Q. Also E is heavily buffed but losses damage. Some ideas to for the new kit I have are

lower Q cd to potentially get it down to 2.5 seconds with full cdr to allow better use of Mantra W mid to late game Mantra E keeps the shield damage as it is now and or Mantra E receives an auto attack buff on the ulted target. Mantra W debuff scales with levels or Is doubled on champions or the root duration is longer or Keeps the current damage bonus when Mantra is used

These are only suggestions. :D Obviously do not implement all of them.

Currently all of Karma's Mantra abilities are strong throughout the phase of the game. Early game Mantra Q for the harass, Mantra W for low hp moments, and Mantra E to escape ganks or wave clear. With the changes now only max leveled abilities are worth using. This limits the diversity of using Mantra.

Hupsis1 votes

You can use mantra E when an enemy is about to burst you. The 80% AP ratio on mantra version makes it kinda good even if you don't level Inspire. It's only a 120 damage absorbtion difference between 1st rank shield and 5th rank shield. Mantra W is good when your jungler comes to help. But I do hope that it gets buffed a bit.

Hupsis1 votes

Updated post due to additional changes to PBE (which haven't yet been implemented).

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