Disable Kassadin until he is fixed

Gragas Undressed·Feb 21, 2014·15 votes·1,528 views

Kassadin is getting hit with a 90%+ ban rate right now. Riot, why don't you just disable him until he is fixed. Obviously the consensus across the community is that he is absolutely broken and needs to be fixed.

Currently Kass is winning at just over a 52% win rate according to LoLKing. But he is only getting into 5% of ranked games. How many of those are from people competent with him or from people grabbing him because, as they say, he's the FotM. His win rate will drop due to people picking him up and just being terrible but they pick him because he is "OP". Pros don't ban champs for no reason. They are better than you, me, and probably everyone we know that plays this game. If they see him as being essentially broken he probably is.

Wouldn't disabling him be a better option than forcing summoners to use one of their bans nearly EVERY game on one champ? That ban rate is excessive. I'd much rather he just be disabled until he is fixed. Even those that enjoy playing him don't get to because he is banned so often.

20 Comments

PirSultanAbdalFeb 22, 20149 votes

This game does not only inclue 5x5 map or ranked solo.

This game has many players, casual and hardcore. There are 3-4 different game types. You see this game as it only contains solo ranked for your own purposes.

It seems that Riot thinks different than you when it comes to balance. And they are right. A champion should only be disabled if there is an exploit or vital bug needs to be fixed.

I don't see a point of disabling him other than satisfying your purposes on increasing your ELO. Main reason i don't play other game modes are simply because the vast majority doesn't take other games as serious as they do to Ranked games. They were always coming there to troll and said "it's just a normal game!" Well that "normal" game is entertainment a tool for those who has little time to play and only plays for fun. But having fun doesn't always mean having trolls in games or having fun through trolling games. I am also sure that many people quit playing normals for that obvious reason.

This game is not only Ranked solo or duo. I love and follow competitive scene as much as anyone in this community, but you should change your perspectives.

SchtauffenzFeb 22, 20144 votes

Ranked solo queue is the backbone of LoL and should be the primary focus of all balancing.

Sneak DogFeb 22, 20145 votes

Ranked 5v5 should be the primary focus of balancing. However, while the game should be balanced around the highest level of play, because that is the most objective measuring system, the game should be fun for all levels of skill and coordination.

I think one should never disable a champion for mere balance reasons, but I would not be against a nerf until he gets at least some counterplay in any situation.

NeroUSFeb 23, 20142 votes

Okay, then only disable him in Ranked Solo. Your whole post seems irrelevant.

Dudebro NiceFeb 22, 20146 votes

2 thoughts: I think that we need more than 3 bans per side. Seriously, give each team 2 more bans in the middle of the team picks.

Sooner or later people are going to get tired of banning out Kassadin because nobody actually has played him in a ranked game in months and they'll move on. Except xPeke will probably still carry hard with him.

SchtauffenzFeb 22, 20142 votes

With the growing pool of champions (albeit slower the last year or two) I find it interesting that there isn't 4 or 5 bans now. At what size does the pool have to be to merit more bans?

ninjanomikzFeb 23, 20141 votes

they do this in dota it leads to some awesome strats even in the esports scene, imagine if a team went for a comp and halfway the other team figures it out and they deny that comp...the teams have to get super creative. I think this idea would be awesome

NeroUSFeb 21, 20144 votes

Potentially, any champion that exceeds a (some number)% ban rate should be disabled so that people can use their bans to develop a strategy rather than as a balance tool.

Yasuo Kassadin Elise Khazix , I'm looking at you.

AuteyusFeb 22, 20142 votes

Here here

SchtauffenzFeb 22, 20142 votes

Yes please :)

IlyaK1986Feb 22, 20147 votes

Dumbest idea I've ever heard. Bans are supposed to be for edge case balance issues, not "hey let's ban out our opponents!"

Orpheus CrownFeb 21, 20143 votes

The reason they don't disable him, is that if they nerf him at all, he immediately becomes useless, he has very little power in the hands of an unskilled player, I used to be there, so I don't really see a solution. I think things just have to be the way they are for now. Believe me, I know where you are coming from, but if he gets nerfed then he'll become unplayable.

ScenvreshFeb 22, 20144 votes

if they nerf him at all, he immediately becomes useless, he has very little power in the hands of an unskilled player

That is completely untrue. You have to be completely clueless or just starting out in League to be unaware of Kassadin's immense power. The moment most summoners realize the capabilities that flash brings at level 12+, it becomes a standard to chuck it into your spell selection for every game.

It's not very hard to link that huge convenience and extension of your abilities into "what if I had it on a 7 second cooldown?"

On top of that, the average summoner picks up on the strong influence of crowd control very early into their "career" in League. Having a ranged silence that does so much damage and an AoE disengage or chasing ability that has only slightly less damage is not difficult to pick up on intuitively.

The only ability of his that might be difficult for beginners to master would be his W because of its range. Knowing when to go in and when to draw back, when it's safe to try and earn back some mana and when it's better to hold off and wait is a little bit more advanced, but not overly so.

Kassadin is a ridiculously effective assassin and mage and the instant he gets started, however late it is into the game, it's very hard to pull back his power.

YesImBuffFeb 22, 20143 votes

"Kassadin is a ridiculously effective assassin and mage and the instant he gets started, however late it is into the game, it's very hard to pull back his power."

That very mechanic is ubiquitous amongst MANY champions: Yasuo, Master Yi, Jinx, Jax, Talon - and Kassadin of course - to name a small few.

That, in and of itself is a point to create strategy upon. What you are asking is "Change the rules so it's easier to win" - and, assuming you are playing ranked games, that is ultimately creating an illusion of skill.

Keep in mind that there are FOUR [4] other players on each team. Not only are champions such as Kassadin extremely weak early game; they remain 'squishy' indefinitely. The only time that such champions reach "God-Mode" status is when their opponents are careless enough to die, become frustrated that such a 'weak' champion killed them, and subsequently feed them until they can buy their immortality and touch-of-death from the item shop.

All i can recommend is improve your play style. Do not take that as an offense. Moreover, become aware of 'protect-the-queen' strategies and never let yourself become vulnerable to being bursted down.

All that is easier said than done - but as a veteran player who has played with and against Kassadin, Yasuo and other 'broken' champions, I can assure you with 100% certainty that the problem does not lie solely in the circumstances.

MarthianFeb 22, 20142 votes

Yasuo, however hard it is to hurt him, is extremely squishy, and has no escape unless he has minions to E.

Master Yi is susceptible to CC, and as soon as he gets stunned and there is damage nearby, he falls easily.

Jinx only has W and E to escape, and unless she can get a kill, she's prone to bruisers that can close gaps quickly.

Jax shines late-game (and actually is somewhat problematic.)

Talon is a sleeper assassin it seems. His kit synergizes a little too well.

Kassadin can rush Rod of Ages, and do a lot of damage. He's got a ridiculous amount of burst, long duration and hard CC, and his ult can be an effective chase or escape mechanic. If he falls behind, he can still contribute to team fights at a range and possibly catch up because he can either all-in the squishy, and get out, or get out at the first sign of trouble.

NeroUSFeb 25, 20142 votes

I don't understand why dumb people like you post things. Presumably, there could be imbalanced matchups (to whatever limit you would like, even with champions whose win-rates approached 100%) and the problem would not lie "solely" in the circumstances.

You can look online at lolking to see what the win-rate/ban-rate of a particular champion is, at the moment. The higher the win-rate, the more it means that all plays together or all players of a certain kind have trouble with that champion.

This strongly indicates that playing that champion gives you an advantage over other people, which is a reason why the champion should be nerfed.

NeroUSFeb 23, 20141 votes

It's hard to understand this argument, although Riot has stated it before. I don't understand why small nerfs will make him "immediately useless." I feel that more must be done to demonstrate it than to say that he is a skill dependent champion.

Riot sometimes says things like: without a rework some character is unbalanceable. Why? Why can't you just tweak the numbers by small increments? Is it because you don't want champions that have a skill gradient?

These are questions to which I do not know the answer but I know what is being stated has been insufficiently argued for.

John JLLFeb 22, 20142 votes

Wah Wah Wah

ninjanomikzFeb 23, 20142 votes

he is not broken, watch any of faker's solo que games and he destroys kassadin, even bjergsen thinks you can destroy him if you have enough skill

Remlap1223Feb 25, 20142 votes

I think the win rate says it all. Only 52%. I think Kass is really overrated IMO, he's powerful, but squishy. He isn't broken like Blitzcrank. But Blitzcrank doesn't have a very high win count either. Of course win counts aren't everything, otherwise people would ban Swain every game.