Soraka's mana costs are oppressive now

Linna Excel·Jun 12, 2014·2 votes·557 views

I just played her in a game of ARAM. Only mana item I got was Athene's. I was playing against an AP heavy team including nidalee, so I didn't exactly have a ton of room to stock up on mana replenishing items. Building more mana items just wasn't a possibility based on that game's needs.

I think that adding a mana cost to her E really hurt her (she can't self-cast it anymore either). This is specially true in extended teamfights, which ARAM is. 50 doesn't sound like a lot, but when you have a Q which requires a lot of MPS at later ranks (to get her W up ASAP). Her W isn't cheap either.

I really wonder how much riot tested her last nerfs before pushing her through. Yes I get it her win rate was starting to freak riot out. However, it's been a few weeks and she's still at 44% win rate. That's a pretty significant liability to a team.

I'd like to say just build as her core build...

Realistically, that costs almost 10,000, and you still needs boots and other items. Supports can't afford those 3 items in most games (unless they get crazy fed) and she'd still have to buy a sightstone and gp/5 item first. Taking her mid or top might make it easier to afford those items, however she's still not getting many kills and riot just made it harder for a solo lane Soraka to push.

I know a lot of people hate her, but a lot of people like her too and I just don't see her being a viable champ right now. Who knows when her rework is coming. I understand it'll take awhile and there are other champs being worked on. She really needs help now. At least partly roll back her last nerf a little.

15 Comments

Hyrum GraffJun 12, 20141 votes

Yeah. I used to play soraka all the time; I've only played her once since the nerfs, because she's useless now.

In the meantime, I get by on Karma . Never gets old.

Linna ExcelJun 13, 20141 votes

Yeah, Karma would be good if I had her. She's on my eventual to get list.

My problem is I could play Nami or Sona bottom (have both), but I'm left down a champ I could take mid or top. I've got others, but I've played a lot of Soraka and I felt comfortable with her and taking her into any lane role.

This is why the nerf really stung personally. She was one of the few champs I felt like I could play in any role or against an unknown matchup. I just don't have that same familiarity with many other champs ATM.

Hyrum GraffJun 13, 20141 votes

My problem is I could play Nami or Sona bottom (have both), but I'm left down a champ I could take mid or top. I've got others, but I've played a lot of Soraka and I felt comfortable with her and taking her into any lane role.

This is why the nerf really stung personally. She was one of the few champs I felt like I could play in any role or against an unknown matchup. I just don't have that same familiarity with many other champs ATM.

If you want a versatile champ like that... Karma can do it; Like Soraka , I've taken her in literally every role, lane and build (and most combinations thereof).

If you want, add me in game, and I'll talk to you about her.

Also, she's supposed to be on free week this week.

DorkdavJun 13, 20141 votes

Lulu <- she is also good in any lane. But I think she's on Riot's radar for more nerfing.

Linna ExcelJun 14, 20141 votes

I'm a little familiar with her, but she's pretty expensive. The last support I payed 6300 for was Nami. That's a lot of IP to save up.

DorkdavJun 14, 20141 votes

Though she's not a passive support, Annie can still do it. She can also go mid.

Linna ExcelJun 14, 20141 votes

She is and I just played with her in ARAM. She's kind of fun, so I'm definitely going to get her at some point.

Still, it's not the same. ;)

Linna ExcelJun 14, 20141 votes

More proof that Soraka's nerfs were a tad overboard:

http://forums.na.leagueoflegends.com/board/showthread.php?t=4600619

One of the guys who was in challenger who mained her fell out because of nerfs. That seems a wee bit extreme even if it does end the Caristinn-KirbyCake saga.

MackleDogeJun 14, 20141 votes

If they used just a single champion (or an absurd majority of one champion) all the way to Challenger, that is actually a good sign that she needed to be nerfed. The nerf was purposefully intended to make it so that she wasn't absurdly oppressive and ruining games until the rework happens.

Linna ExcelJun 14, 20141 votes

Kirby main Soraka since season 1 or 2. He got to challenger before the last rework (just before season 4) to make her a more active champ. And there are plenty of people in challenger who've mained just one champ to perfection. Like the urgot main in challenger.

However, every time I look at her win rate, she's not in the top tier anymore and I think people have given up on her solo lane. That means she's a burden as a support only now.

That's not good. It was her solo lane that was nerfed (and what Kirby got her to challenger as) but she's not being used for that anymore and her traditional lane is suffering.

That's a bad balance. Sure she needed one, but she's been left in a state she can't do anything well enough anymore that she isn't a burden on the team.

So what was the two main things in her last nerf?

Damage ratios on her Q. This is a different topic for later.
Added a mana cost to her E. She never had one until recently. Originally she could self cast E.

The rest of her kit was build around her E never having a mana cost. Then she got an ally cost. Then she got an enemy cast cost. While her Wish was streamlined to other support mana ults, the rest of her kit wasn't changed.

Also on PBE both Athene's and Mirkeal's are being nerfed. Those were her main mana items, so she can't rely on those as much anymore... not that just one is able to help her now as is.

When those nerfs go live (they were needed), her win rate is going down even further. It's 44-45% right now. Is riot willing to let a champ fall below a 40% win rate and stay there? I'm not sure these nerfs will do that, but they are going to cost her another point or two.

MackleDogeJun 14, 20141 votes

Quite frankly, I'd rather a champion have a low winrate and be out of favor because they were nerfed until a rework could suitably balance them. Soraka was completely dominant and far too safe in solo lanes before these nerfs, it was damn near impossible to kill her, it was boring and not fun to play against her, and she brought an absurd amount of healing, utility, and hidden power to the game without requiring any risks whatsoever. It sucks that a champion you like is nerfed, I get that, trust me, but it sucks for everyone else when a champion you like is entirely devoid of interactive possibilities for the person playing against the champion and you take absolute minimal risk and receive a completely egregious amount of reward in comparison.

For the record, I do think that with the adjustments to Athene's and Crucible on PBE Riot could adjust the numbers on Soraka's kit without bringing her back to being too powerful in a solo lane. Regardless though, Soraka should have a mana cost on Enemy Cast for E, she just should. Getting an entirely free silence and damage (even if that damage isn't enough) that takes away your opponents ability to react at all is bad and is something that Riot is looking at removing entirely, which is why you see the LB discussions in regards to removing her silence proc in her kit.

Linna ExcelJun 14, 20141 votes

Regardless though, Soraka should have a mana cost on Enemy Cast for E, she just should. Getting an entirely free silence and damage (even if that damage isn't enough) that takes away your opponents ability to react at all is bad and is something that Riot is looking at removing entirely, which is why you see the LB discussions in regards to removing her silence proc in her kit.

I'm going to disagree with this part for one reason: the mana costs of the rest of her kit made up for E not having a mana cost. Remember, she was fine overall for years without having an offensive mana cost on infuse. Her win rate hovered around 50% and the biggest complaint people had about her is she was too passive.

It's not like the the lack of a mana cost was a new thing. That part had been around forever and she wasn't a huge problem back then.

So what happened? Well, first riot added a mana cost to her ally cast. I really think that set things in motion. Then supports were encouraged to use it offensively. Then it was a case of her being popular in solo lane that forced riot to give a knee-jerk reaction by adding a mana cost to her enemy cast E just to do something to make players not want to play her as much.

Again, I think she needed looked at, but riot went too far.

The S4 support changes were a bit of a domino effect and I don't think riot was ready for supports to carry (despite saying otherwise), weren't ready for them to be solo lane champs who weren't pure supports, and probably aren't really sure what they and the fans want of supports.

MackleDogeJun 14, 20141 votes

I'm not going to argue with your chronology because that is correct, but I can't take someone seriously who thinks that a champion can have a no mana cost, point and click, damage, silence, and deny ability and that's perfectly acceptable. I don't see how anyone could possibly say that is a healthy ability to have on a kit. I do think that because a mana cost was added to it, it could have been given some decent damage to compensate, or they could have done some adjustments to the rest of the mana costs of her kit. Just straight adding the mana cost was the wrong move without compensating in some manner, especially when paired with the other nerfs that Soraka received. I like Soraka, I don't have anything against her or healer champs, but that doesn't excuse something as one sided as that ability before the changes.

Overall, I don't think Riot is going to make any changes to Soraka before the rework other than maybe some slight mana adjustments based off of the item changes. Personally, I think they could make some adjustments that would improve her without putting her back to the point where she was a free lane unless you made a lot of mistakes and your opponent played perfectly. That being said, I do understand their trepidation with the matter and can't really blame them for it.

Linna ExcelJun 15, 20141 votes

I can defend Infuse not having a mana cost because I'm looking at things across the board, not just at her E.

How much MPS and DPS are her Q? How much MPS and Heal is in her W? What does her E bring to the table? What items can support soraka build? What do they allow her to do? What items can solo lane soraka build? What do they allow her to do that solo lane can't?

Her silence doesn't do that much damage and it still allows you to run at her and AA. It's only soft CC. Yes it scales with mana too, but she rarely builds much mana. Support can't, solo lane has too many other things she has to build.

Here's Soraka's biggest problem right now, for a support, she's extremely item dependent at this point. She needs health, mana, mana regen, CDR, at last 200 AP, AR, and MR. And she needs those things in large amounts.

Don't forget boots. Also a sightstone if you are supporting right.

Support Soraka can't afford everything she needs to be viable and it's that much harder to play now. Solo lane Soraka was put in a point where she can't push as well, but she also can't get kills either. She has to build damage to do damage (perfectly fair) but her first two items need to be a item 3028 and a item 3070 . That's 1500 GP just to give her the mana she needs. Maybe a item 3114 if you opt for morellonomicon instead of seraph's staff.

The point is, she needs too many items for too few item slots and not enough money.

So yes I can argue for infuse to be free damage because she needs it to be free.

MackleDogeJun 15, 20141 votes

It doesn't matter what theoretical situations you create, a champion having a free spell that does damage, negates the opponent's ability to meaningfully play against it, and has absolutely no risk involved in using is absurd.