The problem with damage.
I would like to preface this post by saying that these are simply my ideas, and I welcome constructive criticism
For the purposes of this post, high burst mages ala syndra are treated as an assassin, and should follow the same guidelines for damage
Let's look at a few points: The almighty ADC, and his necessity in team comps, The fighter, who lacks a well defined role in the game, and the assassin, who is designed to one shot enemies.
An adc is a staple of any teamcomp, for their high damage and high safety in fights. with the exception of some mages, no other champs can output the sustained damage of an adc while remaining mostly safe in fights.
A fighter is a bit of a quandary, as his damage only compares to adc's and assassins when built full glass cannon( tryndamere, yasuo, riven, etc), but is too easily killed because of their melee range and no survivability. A class that encompasses far more champions than any other class, the fighter class lacks a distinct role.
The assassin, perhaps the simplest concept, the defining point of this class of champion is big numbers, deleting enemies before their teammates can save them. If the job of the assassin is to suicide jump onto the adc, why do full built adc's/ fighters deal as much damage as full built assassins in nearly the same timeframe?
From these points, I have come to a conclusion that damage in league, is simply too high.
The amount of damage in a quick time frame that can be dealt by any class should follow this order:
Assassin
Mage
Fighter
Marksman( adc)
However, in practice, the damage is mostly equal, while slightly favoring assassins. But assassins, and fighters risk their lives getting near the enemy carries, and often die in the process.
The amount of damage dealt over a longer timeframe should be more like this:
Fighter
Marksman
Mage
Assassin
I place fighters at the top, as they must risk life and limb to deal damage equal to that of a marksman, where they should deal more because of their melee range.
Given these discrepancies, how do I propose to fix the damage in league?
Nerf it all.
By nerfing the amount of AD/ AP on items, you reduce the overall damage dealt by anyone.
Through long cooldowns, and VERY high ratios, assassins should be able to deal immense damage to anyone, but deal less over long engagements
Fighters should have higher base damages, and decent ratios. This way, they can build full damage and be no different from an assassin, or build off-tanky, and be able to compare to a marksman in viability
Mages should maintain their cc/ aoe themes, with decent ratios, but lower base damages than fighters. Given this would be a major nerf to mages, I would suggest reducing cooldowns/ mana costs as cases warrant
Marksmen should generally have poor ratios and base damages, relying on their range to deal consistent damage, if below the fighter's level of damage
The cons that I see with my ideas.
A massive scale rework of balancing, that should by no means be implemented before season 5.
Non- burst mages have a bit of a less distinct niche in the game
Building bruiser assassins, taking advantage of their high ratios to make a tank/ damage dealer that might surpass actual bruisers.
TL,DR Damage dealt in a short time should be Assassins > Mages> Fighters > Marksmen, but over a long time Fighters> Marksmen> Mages > Assassins
Please share your thoughts/ideas in the comments section
