Let's talk about Assassins.

In League of Legends, there are several different types of champions one can play. There are tanks that excel in staying in combat the longest and soaking up damage for the rest of the team, marksman that deal high DPS, AP carries that excel in bursting down one or two (typically squishy) champions, and then we have assassins. The last class of champions offer a strong mix of mobility, damage, and utility that grant them extraordinary killing capabilities, far above ordinary carries.

Before you label me as someone who is just complaining, hear me out on this. I think assassins are a great part of the class system in League, but in their current state, they are just too strong.

Let's take a look at the basic design elements of today's assassins in League. They have excellent mobility, to jump on and "assassinate" a target, chase if necessary, and get out of the fray before they are supposedly slaughtered by the offended team (who are actually busy trying to kill the autoattacking AD/AP carry or defending against diving bruisers, etc.). In reality, this mobility allows them to not only get in, kill a target, and escape, it gives them the option to pursue another target immediately afterward, and another, and another....By the time the assassin targets the tank (if there is one!), any champions that build enough damage to actually end them are dead, and the result? PENTAKILL....It's just too much, Riot. However, I have a solution that can help redirect the focus on the assassin class and provide more clarity as to their role in a fight: to get in, kill a priority target, and get out.

As it is, assassins can take out multiple targets in succession with their high mobility, high damage, and sometimes even high-utility abilities (Akali shroud comes to mind). The issue is not that they can kill a target, but that they can easily wipe out multiple team members by themselves, when only ahead by a kill or two, or even just a level and CS advantage. Do you see what I'm getting at here? Assassins, in my opinion, should KEEP their high damage and KEEP their high mobility and BE ABLE to outplay opponents to escape or get a kill. But I think they need FAR higher cooldowns on their abilities.

Think about it. If assassins had long cooldowns on their abilities, I'm talking 8-ish seconds at max rank and 40% CDR, they would have to conserve their abilities until just the right moment, something that mana or energy costs simply don't justify the lack of. With increased cooldowns, assassins would be able to assassinate targets by abusing their high mobility, damage, and utilities, and get out in one piece. And it wouldn't be broken, because they couldn't simply assassinate the entire team within such a short amount of time as it takes now for a fed assassin.

In a team game such as League, champions should not be able to 1v5 as well as most assassins are capable of, even when fed. It creates a toxic environment and does not promote healthy gameplay for either side. I think with my proposed cooldown alterations (which do not require deleting or reworking entire kits, as has been proposed), assassins can become a part of a fun, balanced game of League and promote teamwork and strategy, as well as clear up a few permaban spots in ranked!