Transformation champion: Elise rework
I'm excited for the upcoming champion Kayn. He seems like a cool champions with a unique transformation mechanic. Really made me think why Riot hasn't applied this type of transformation sooner into the game... or something closer to this than the "combat transformers" we currently have.
Immediately after hearing from Kayn I thought to myself how Elise's transformation could be more meaningful for her gameplay. Currently it is very crucial for Elise to transform whenever fighting since she doesn't function without utilizing both parts of her kit. However what would be the case if Riot made both her transformations function as separate kits? I'm not suggesting that Elise should choose one transformation each game like Kayn does, but just making her transformations more of a choice how to take on upcoming situations.
#Review of Elise
I love Elise's theme. I simply love all creepy Tim Burton style things and Elise fits that bill quite perfectly.
Pros of Elise:
- awesome graphical/lore design
- transformation based champion
Cons of Elise:
- straight forward kit even with two transformations
- lack of an ultimate ability
- lack of interesting spider mechanics
- transformation way too easily achieved (one button click, instant transformation, low cooldown)
Clearly the cons (for me) are outweighing the pros.
#Future of Elise?
I do not know whether Riot thinks Elise needs a mini rework or full blown rework. All I know is that there has been some rumors that Elise might need some changes (although these rumors are rather old). And I'm pretty sure in order to make her a more interesting champion, Riot has to change her transformation mechanic.
Elise is a mage/assassin/bruiser... She catches you with a cocoon and assassinates you with a mix of spells and melee abilities. This all happens very quickly and is deadly. How does that feel for the Elise player and the player who is against her? When a game becomes about "who does the most burst in shortest amount of time", the game gets extremely stale and it feels overwhelming for the opponent. That is exactly the case with Elise when she reaches her intended playstyle currently (it's extremely apparent when her burst abilities are targeted spells).
Now imagine if Elise had to choose to approach a situation as either in human form or spider form without being able to transform mid fight. In order for this to happen, she would need her kit to function independently in both forms (and a new ultimate for both forms):
- Human Elise approaches a fight as a mage, poking from distance, maybe applying poison and withering down her targets. Nothing too crazy or overpowering in short engagements. I heard of a mechanic that was cancelled in her design which allowed her to cocoon multiple targets which made all targets share damage taken... pretty damn interesting mechanic.
- Spider Elise approaches a fight as an assassin, closing distance fast, capturing an enemy, assassinating her target and escaping. Risky gameplay but highly rewarding. With Zac's new Ultimate, I wouldn't be surprised if there were ever going to be a single target capture mechanic.
So how would the transformation happen if not by pressing a button? Simply visit your local nexus base and click your precious champion icon. Very similar to Kayn's transformation except this time the transformation can be done as many times as you like as long as you are in base. Maybe even occasionally the spider god shines her "light" on a certain area on the map which allows Elise to transform without visiting base.
#Transformation: Kayn vs Elise
So why did I make this thread now and not before?
I wasn't so sure what Riot's opinion on champions that potentially fill multiple roles was (specifically with transformation kits). With Kayn being released and filling either the role of an assassin or a bruiser, it became clear that Riot is not opposed to having champions who can totally change their playstyle depending on situation.
There are still restrictions in Kayn's case. He can't change his form once he has chosen a form, he's gonna stick with that form till the end. In Elise's case this can never be true because Elise has always been intended to be played with altering forms during the game. Whether it's balanced to allow Elise to have two separate kits (mage/assassin), being able to play with either form efficiently and then allowing her to change forms as many times as needed depending on situation is not completely clear to me.
When Kayn was introduced, one of my first thought were if it was balanced to have a champion that could fill either an assassin's role or a bruiser fighter's role. He could potentially rule out many champions due to this duality mechanic. Would Elise do this with such efficiency, if she was changed to have two separate kits, that she would outclass all mages and assassins? Not necessarily. I believe there is a way to balance a champion with two kits however it might mean their kit's overall power level might take a hit. For example, she might not be as effective of an assassin as Zed cause she has the option to counter certain champions as a mage.
Sidenote: Nidalee
I really don't mind Nidalee being a combat focused transformer. We ought to have at least one of those as well and I deemed Nidalee more fitting as combat transformer than Elise since Nidalee's kit plays with the long range hunter / pouncing cat theme better than Elise does with her cocoon/rappel gameplay.
