An early analysis on Fiora

I think I know why Riot didn't release a spotlight trailer for her, though the reasoning seems absurd to me. Basically, this update came without a voice update, so she's still using "outdated" voice lines. Seems stupid, but there you go.

Mobility: C early game, S late game Lane Clear/Push: A- Mana efficiency: A early game, C late game Damage: S- Crowd control: B- Tower Smashing: A- Sustainability: B+ General required skill: S- Durability: B+

So... Fiora. I liked this update, actually. I didn't have much experience with old Fiora unless I was on the receiving end, but Riot perfectly summed up all my issues with her old form. Basically there was virtually no counterplay to her, her Riposte didn't work on any champion that wasn't going to focus you with basic attacks and it had a nebulous window, and her ult boiled down to praying that you could survive (or if you were playing AS her, hoping the enemy died to) the onslaught. There was also the whole feast or famine issue; either she was a face stomper or she was better off jumping into the waterfall chasm in bot lane.

To start, my build was . I capitalized on speed, sustainability, slowing the enemy whenever I could, armor pen, and lots and lots of cooldowns. I think to refine this build, I would have switched Ninja Tabi with Mercury Treads, and remove Zephyr altogether. The idea for building zephyr was to further amplify her strengths as an AD melee while giving her tenacity to counter crowd control that I couldn't parry for one reason or another. Not sure what I would build to replace it; perhaps another melee item like Hydra.

Fiora plays much like a true fencer now. Careful positioning brings out her true strengths. In the supposed mobility creep, she's an oddity for having a VERY short dash (short enough that you have to mash your face up against the thinnest of walls to make the jump) and her real mobility coming from whacking at the enemy's vital spots. Mobility items suddenly become paramount, hence why I bought furor over homeguard or something (granted this test was also in a bot game, so shut up). To deal with champions who have REAL mobility, well, there's not much you can do about that. I bought items with slows to deal with this fact, but anyone from Lee Sin to Tristana is going to have much better mobility than her. With my build, I never really had any problems pushing a lane, but it was designed around dueling champions, since that's her whole identity.

Fighting against Fiora becomes a game of keeping her on one side of you until her passive picks another spot, then reposition yourself. In fact, fighting against her also becomes a game of being forced to play on her terms; trying to feint her to using Riposte early then counterattacking with something real, or ganging up on her as a group (though just two will suffice) and hit her with staggered strikes. This last part is vital; her Riposte is able to parry five Darius ults from all sides if they all hit in the small window.

Fiora's main weaknesses comes from fighting more than one champion. It's possible, but rather difficult trying to figure out which one will hit you next and parrying in that direction. In a teamfight, she's best at marking a single champion for death (preferably a weakened or slow one, though her passive and ult are great for tank busting) and beating the crap out of them until the health pinata from her ult cracks open. Her second weakness, as I discovered from my build, comes from the fact that she tires VERY quickly. If you build for cooldowns and mobility, she burns through her mana bar fairly quickly, which makes her unsuitable for drawn out, sustained fights. To supplement this, I think I would build either a Manamune or Essence Reaver in place of the Zephyr.