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Utility ADCs and Crucible.

Hayaishi·6/8/2014, 4:11:23 AM·12 votes·533 views

In the recent patch plans Riot stated that they reason whyAshe andVarus don't see enough play it's because of Crucible.

Anybody else finds it hilarious how Riot misses what exactly doesn't make Varus and Ashe valuable picks? I can assure you NOBODY uses crucible to counter Ashe/Varus, specially when the latter has an ultimate that spreads.

As a Varus main myself i can exactly tell you why they aren't picked as much as everybody else.

A) Because being immobile is like being a crippled. You could say their utility justifies them being immobile but it really doesn't, you could argue their niche is their CC but it means nothing. I like Varus being immobile, that's perfectly fine, infact if he was reworked and they gave him a mobility spell i wouldn't like it.

B) Now that they're actually immobile where's the reward? Varus has a delayed burst that is skillshot dependent, that's perfectly fine and well designed, but then you find everybody else burst faster and harder than him, so he can't even defend himself from a dive unless he blows his ultimate, unlike everybody else, i'd discuss Ashe but we all know her damage is nothing special.

Also the existence of Jinx doesn't help, why is it that she gets to have almost the same utility they have, with far more steroids/damage and survavility than them? but she's also rewarded properly for not being mobile, she does a ton of damage.

My point is, that utility is seen as an extra while mobility is mandatory, the only way Varus and Ashe will be seen as awesome picks is if they get rewarded properly for being crippled and more team dependent that everybody else except probably Kog Maw who recently got really good buffs to help him. And let's be real, a meta where immobile picks outclass mobile picks is not likely to happen considering champion releases and how stuff like Vi and J4 exist.

6 Comments

Rockmanenius6/8/2014, 3:14:47 PM4 votes

I love how you use the word crippled and the post spot on

JackYAqua6/8/2014, 6:31:56 PM2 votes

I think Riot knows this, that Crucible is not popular with the majority of players, but they sometimes balance aspects of the game based on the information they could gather in the competitive scene. There, I heard, Crucible is extremely popular and disallows playing certain champions, for example Varus and Ashe.

Freezman6/8/2014, 6:45:31 PM1 votes

No, riot is full aware of mobility creep and there are tons of player posts and red posts on the topic. Crucible just adds to it.

As a support main I tell you that I buy crucible, sometimes as first finished item in an ashe lane (didn't see varus for a while).

Quantum Weeb6/9/2014, 1:43:29 PM1 votes

I think a lot of this stems from Jinx. Jinx basically set a new, higher bar of where non-mobile ADC's should be while having greater escape potential through ZAp and Chompers than either Ashe or Varus. Neither of them will be strong until either they get buffed to Jinx's level or Jinx is nerfed to their level.

This is kind of the same thing that happens to Irelia and Jax.

skippersd6/9/2014, 4:05:41 PM1 votes

I think both sides of the coin have some truth in them. You would play even the current Ashe/Varus if their ults would make them worth it. Right now they trade power for CC, and that CC could be crucibed away in a second. Solution is:

  • Kill the item 3222 . That way the enemy ADC is forced to get item 3140 , or take summoner 1 . Both would make them realtively weaker against Ashe or Varus, couse they either a summoner 7 behind in lane, or an item behind late-game.

  • Buff their damage/steroids. For Varus, a passive buff would be reasonable (20% AS? even Ezreal gets 50%! Maybe it could stack up to 3 times?) , or giving his W on-hit an AD scaling. With Ashe, and her 2 non damage spells, she needs some serious rebalancing. My idea: Her E (when off CD) gives her n+M% armor pen against movement impaired units.