Some Insights on the New Talon!!!

Talon is one of my two-trick mains (besides Anivia) who (used to) help me won 70% of my games and reached Diamond in TW server and platinum in NA (at my peaks) (just not much time to climb after I am in College :/) here are some reflections of the many games I have played on the live server and the PBE.

=His earlier game QA is too reliable; like what Riot Stashu has said on the PBE board, I think the instant A after his Q could be adjusted, with its strength added to elsewhere in his kit, Otherwise, his laning, especially against melee champions, is way too binary and unfun for both Talon and his enemy. =His R feels lackluster right now; I understand that the intention behind its nerf is to tone down his aoe damage, but with the delay of R2 and his less reliable W, I think his R should have a more immediate impact. =His snowball potential in early/early-mid/later-mid game is still really high, but a little bit binary. =Talon falls of quite a bit in later late game (40+) where major teamfights happen. His damage toward his primary targets, in my opinion, is too unreliable for the risk he will be taking. =The trade-off of his Q in melee range or in longer range doesn’t feel significant in later games. His melee Q should reward good positioning from E even more.

Q: =relax the instant A after Q in the early game (maybe scale it with his attack speed according to his natural attack speed from level 1 - 18) =slightly decrease Q’s base damage =make his melee Q’s crit scales with level: i.e 120%/140%/160%/180%/200%; by doing this, his early and mid game damage can be toned down a little bit; it also rewards Talon’s good positioning during his later game. =with a lower Q damage and a longer window for opponent to react, I really think Q should be turned back into a blink, as a blink will make Talon and his lane opponent more interactive, while still offering Talon’s opponent sufficient counterplays due to its short range and lowered damage. The blink will particularly helps a talon if he is behind, as it gives him way to outplay/dodge some primary projectiles that other midlaners have.

R: =increase R1’s base damage =increase bonus movement speed if R1 doesn’t hit any enemy champion. =significantly lower R2’s base damage, but add a scaling’s according to his enemies’ missing health. These changes reward Talon’s positioning during a teamfight, while also offering some decision makings to the time he is using his ultimate: do I want to get to the battleground faster but lose a chunk of damage? Do I want to use my R now where everyone is full health? This change also punishes relentless super-fed Talon jumping on someone during stealth, because he will lose a portion of damage without his ult, giving his enemies more room to react.

General: If he does get a damage reduction in early game: =buff his base movement speed a bit, maybe like 10 (345)

TLDR =Tone down early to mid game damage; but at the same time enhance his mobility tools to interact with enemy laner. =Make late game damage more reliable =Reward Melee Q more in late game =More impactful ultimate

Talon currently has a 43% winrate, according to OP.GG. While winrate doesn't mean much at this stage, it does show that Talon is different than before(a 53% winrate) which requires players to relearn him. Neverthess, once learned, I I think his early game damage will be abused, while his late game will still be not as reliable as some other assassins.

Thank you for reading this!