Make Neeko a battlemage, not a burst mage

Neeko does a lot of damage. The devs did this on purpose. The whole idea of her kit is that she needs to be able to trick enemies into bad trades using her passive. If she didn't have the damage to back it up, the enemy would be just as fine killing her as the person she's pretended to be.

But we don't need more damage in this game. Being blown up instantly by a mage who roots you in place doesn't feel fun, especially when you can't really do anything about it.

Instead of making Neeko a burst mage, balance her as a battlemage. Instead of winning surprise trades through sheer burst, she would win them through self-sustain. She wouldn't destroy people when she tricks them, but she would still come out on top.

Lower her damage, give her a bit more base armor, and add self-healing and/or shields to her other abilities. Maybe her Q could pulse healing to her whenever it blooms. Maybe her W could grant her a shield to make escapes a bit safer. Maybe her E could lower enemy damage output for a short time. Some kind of damage mitigation instead of tons of damage.

She already has the AoE spells. She just needs sustain to be a battlemage, and doing so at the cost of a bit of damage would make her less frustrating to play against while still letting her have the upper hand when she tricks people with her passive.