Rammus could use a little TLC - Here's how!

darkdill·May 12, 2014·2 votes·810 views

Ever since Rammus lost his 3-second taunt, he's fallen into obscurity. I never see him these days, even in Dominion, and I think he needs a couple of small buffs to see him get back on his feet.

1. Defensive Ball Curl should deal 50% increased thorns damage to minions and monsters.
Right now, Rammus' jungle clear is awful. He takes too much damage, and clears too slowly. Upgrading DBC to deal extra damage to jungle monsters would help his clear speed, without affecting his team fight at all.

2. Give Rammus a bit of his taunt duration back.
I doubt Riot will give Rammus back 3-second taunts, but he should at least have a 2.5-second one instead of 2.25 seconds. Fiddlesticks got his Terrify nerfed because it's RANGED. Rammus, on the other hand, has to get into melee range, and has plenty of counterplay to prevent that. As such, nerfing his taunt duration wasn't entirely justified, and was done too hard.

If you have any other suggestions, post them up.

16 Comments

JamenerMay 12, 20142 votes

With so many disengages available these days (Thresh, Syndra) that work against Rammus, he should be rewarded for finally getting into melee range for the taunt. The duration should be extended.

PolaritieMay 12, 20142 votes

I'd also compare this to Thresh's hook, which is a fairly long duration and I don't think is affected by tenacity (while Rammus's taunt is).

DocfreemanMay 12, 20141 votes

I am going to take a wild guess and say that the reason many tanky, utility junglers/top laners have not received buffs is because they are currently working on an item change that will affect all of them as a whole and do not want to buff before that change occurs.

If this isn't the case, rammus does need compensation for his previous nerfs.

Locke64May 12, 20141 votes

Ranged/melee evidently doesn't matter when considering toxic interactions to remove. (See: Skarner ) "He has to get close first" is no longer a valid excuse.

(speaking from what I see, not my own opinion)

CaptainWednesdayMay 12, 20141 votes

Do I think Rammus needs a buff? Yes.
Do I think he needs the buff you've proposed? Not exactly, and I'll you why.

His clear is fine, provided you take proper runes and masteries. With Armor and a Spirit Stone, you take little to no damage in the jungle. Addressing the increased thorn damage, I do not think it needs to be 50%; that is a huge amount. I think 25% would be nice to have. About the increased taunt, no. Rammus received crucial mana cost buffs in exchange for the taunt nerf, and I believed it was well accepted. Rammus takes very little damage with the Defensive Ball Curl, so getting in close is not that big of a deal, especially with the Powerbll movement speed. I think if Riot changed Powerball's ratio from 100% AP ratio to a 50% Total AD ratio and had the ability deal physical damage, it might put Rammus on the right track. Or have his ultimate deal physical damage. Just some things to consider.

darkdillMay 12, 20141 votes

Whenever I play Rammus, my first clear is always extremely rough. You always end up taking a lot of damage, and don't compare in clear speed to offensive junglers like Vi, Tryndamere or Master Yi.

Right now, I'm looking at buffs that will cause the least power shift in terms of team-fight power.

Hyrum GraffMay 12, 20141 votes

This is an issue with itemization - spirit stone gives back hp based on damage dealt, but tank junglers like rammus don't deal much damage.

CaptainWednesdayMay 12, 20141 votes

The Defensive Ball Curl returns loads of damage through Butcher, especially paired with a Sunfire Cape and Thornmail.

CaptainWednesdayMay 12, 20141 votes

Really? My first clear goes fairly smoothly. Typically I'll leave the jungle with two or three unused Health Potions after the first clear. It also depends on the Runes and Masteries you take. What is your usual setup when playing jungle Rammus?

darkdillMay 12, 20141 votes

0/21/9 masteries, Arpen reds, flat AR yellows, MR/lvl blues, MS quints.

CaptainWednesdayMay 12, 20141 votes

Alright. Typically, I go 0/18/12, taking the three moved points into Vampirism in the Utility Tree for a little added sustain. That's just me; I feel tanky enough to move three points around.
As for runes, I use an Armor Tank page which consists of Hybrid Penetration Marks (Rammus's abilties all deal magic damage plus Sunfire and Thornmail, but he is melee so the small added armor pen helps), Armor Seals (he is the Armordillo after all), Scaling Magic Resistance Glyphs (for those pesky mid laners), and Armor Quintessences (added jungle resistance). The reason for choosing the Armor Quint over the Movement Speed is strictly on Powerball. You ramp up to 165% movement speed, making your ganks nearly unavoidable and your roam unmatched. But, that's just me! Feel free to try it if you like.

Dax AyrtonMay 12, 20141 votes

It's not just Rammus; tank junglers in general need a lot of love. Though their ganking is fine, their clear speed suffers a lot, and they do mediocre damage.

A proposed fix to this is addressing Spirit of the Ancient Golem, the item most commonly bought by these tank junglers. The item is given the unique passive "Butcher", which increases the damage dealt to monster by 30%. However, this 30% additional damage only scales with damage, a stat which tank junglers don't tend to build. A possible fix will be to change the "Butcher" Passive of SotAG, to something more tank-based, like the following:

UNIQUE Passive: Butcher. Basic attacks and spells against monsters deal additional magic damage. This damage is equal to 1% of total health + 3% total armor +3% total MR.

darkdillMay 12, 20141 votes

Certainly a possibility.

Cosmic WarperMay 12, 20141 votes

No. Taunt doesn't need a buff and it never did. A taunt on rammus is still ridiculous as it's not exactly melee range and can interrupt many escape abilities. Leave it the way it is. It's fine.

JackYAquaMay 12, 20141 votes

I think they should give his Q a power boost effect. Like the yellow birdie in angry birds.
You speed up and then you can re-activate to dash forward a distance depending on your speed. Enemies hit are pushed along as you dash. That way he can get through minions and to enemy champions in-lane.