Lets talk Gragas

Valenten·1/19/2014, 9:42:19 PM·5 votes·490 views

He has almost no down sides aside from him being melee for auto attacks. His passive heals for 2% of his health over 5 seconds every time you use an ability. His Q has a good burst and decent range. his W gives mana back for a short channel on top of ad and 20% dmg reduction. His E has a dash and AoE dmg that isnt split anymore. Then there is his ult HUGE burst and displacement. His kit has so much power for VERY little risk. i think its about time to actually do a real nerf to his dmg and a few other things. Lets not forget that he has been a very contested pick for over a year now. He has only grown more popular over time.

7 Comments

Drunk Old Man1/20/2014, 12:21:03 AM4 votes

He has pending nerfs on the PBE. They're actually dealing with this already, and not in a bad way. They're dealing with how overpowered his ult is late game, but not ruining the displacement it brings to a teamfight. From what I've seen, it's very balanced. I'll have to look more into it later, but they're looking good.

NHugo1/19/2014, 11:55:30 PM2 votes

Or you can learn to use him as he is. There are many downsides to play Gragas aside form him being melee. I disagree in giving him a nerf, specially since there are several champions that can effectively counter/shut him down with little effort.

Roaranor1/20/2014, 12:51:05 AM2 votes

I do agree that Gragas is pretty powerful right now, and a good Gragas can be frustrating to play against, but I don't think he's due for the Morello Hammer of Injustice just yet.

Realize that his ult is his biggest contribution to team fights/chases and build/pick against it.

will become your bread and butter defensive item as long as you avoid skill-based poke prior to his initiation. GA is also really nice.
Here's are a few champions you can pick into Gragas to give him a rough time from varied roles. (For locking him down before he can get a good one off) . (For negating his ult altogether) [makes it hard for him aim it] [WINDWALL OP] [spell shield needs to be tested still, but works for her individually regardless]. (For dodging the ult altogether via skill) . A lot of these can serve as counter initiations as well.

In laning, his barrels (Q I think) are very predictable and there's a window of vulnerability for trades right after he uses it. Champions like can really capitalize on this.
Bait out his dash (E?) and he's suddenly really susceptible to ganks.
If you can't beat him, out-sustain him. If you're not really into one of the above champs, or want to have a safe lane play Never-die Swain( ) or pick and simply make it a farm lane.

I've never played Gragas, but I've played against him plenty. I personally think there's still a lot of room for counter play (like picking OPoopy Poppy and letting him ult you into his team because it's fun). If I made a mistake anywhere, let me know and I'll fix it.

Noam Braumsky1/20/2014, 3:50:10 PM1 votes

I'd say he's pretty OP.

VexingRaven1/25/2014, 10:20:51 PM1 votes

You said it best yourself: He has grown more popular. That's it. Learn to dodge his spells and punish him when he blows his dash. Gragas is rewarded for good aim and positioning, and punished HEAVILY for missing or misusing his dash. This is perfect balance in a sea of low-risk, low-skill, low-punishment, high-reward champions. Leave him. When other champions require as much skill as Gragas to be good, then you can nerf him.