im figuring that this is a lost cause in wondering, but still, since dravens bleeds have been taken out ive found him MUCH harder to get going with early game. He still catches up around 30-40 mins in based on your ability to cs, but his early game is now outmatched by almost every other ADC (at least in my experiences). So either i just suck, or his early game is just not as potent anymore. (Its probably both.) Any thoughts?
Saying you suck is a bit harsh! No, but seriously, ADCs aren't really supposed to have an "early" game. And believe it or not, his damage is still quite high compared to other carries. The difference is his damage is consistent if you can juggle his Q while many others are more cooldown/pokey. Truth is, Draven is more of an all in kinda guy with no real poke like more common ADCs. I like to think of him as I do Vayne (he is not a hyper carry, though), tough too play early, but God is he scary later on!!!
As far as laning goes, your choice in support is key, you either take a support that can poke for you until you can zone/initiate (it's common for opponents to force you to drop axes, so care), example: Sona; or you take a support that can all in when he sees you with 2 axes, example: Leona/Alistar/ Thresh (my favorite). Either way, find your play style and stick with it! Find a buddy to support you and get used to each other. Get into customs and practice leading his Q. Once you get that down you'll be able to poke. Since Draven doesn't have to worry about his Qs cooldown (if juggled correctly), he does do more damage than most ADCs during the laning phase because, as I said before, it's consistent. Commit to a champ and they'll work for you. Ever gotten stomped buy a decent Poppy? Not many like her, but those that do and commit to her usually own; same thing with Leblanc!
Trust me Draven is still dreadfully potent, you just gotta get used to him so that he fits YOUR play style that's all and when he does, you'll appreciate his new passive. Truth is, he's one of my favorite champions and so I do. It makes him get to late game much sooner than most so his damage goes to late game sooner because of it.
Riot makes a lot of changes to champs all the time, but they wouldn't destroy they champion. You just gotta get used to it. Think about it! And PS: Have fun!
It might be cool for flavor purposes to make Spinning Axe deal .1 less AD up front, but .2 AD in a very small bleed over time.
