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{Champion Concept} Strak, the Sparkkiller

TigerNox·10/13/2016, 10:40:40 PM·1 votes·797 views

Disclaimer

Now, I am not sure how, but the last time I posted this, it just went. Somewhere. But definitely not the Boards. Bet it's in space having more fun than me. Anyways, again, here we go.

Hello there! Welcome to an idea by a fan for something that never really will be in the game but still seems interesting enough to balance it. Ah, who doesn't love some good 'ol champion crafting? Let's dive right into it.

Table of Contents

  1. The Stats
  2. The Kit
  3. The Story 3.1. About Strak 3.2. Short: Foiled again
  4. Quotes
  5. Tipps
  6. Thanks (and stuff)

Today I am going to present to you #Strak, the Sparkkiller If it wouldn't be for Strak, Zhaun would probably already destroyed the world a few times (which still is pretty likely), for he is an Assassin for the fun of it. A man, that has seen most ugly faces of pretty much everything and smirked at them, rises to the challenge of killing champions.

#The Stats

Damage: 61 (+2,5 per Level) Life: 425 (+84 per Level) Mana: 0 (+0 per Level) Attack speed: 0.669 (+1.98% per Level) Armor: 21 (+3.25 per Level) Magic resistance: 30 (+1.25 per Level) Life regen: 6.9 (+0.6 per Level) Mana regen: 0 (+0 per Level) Movement speed: 345 Attack range: 125

Defense
Damage
Magic
Difficulty

Note: All of this is more of a rough estimate than an accurate balancing. I have no means of playtesting so they'll have to do

#The Kit Passive: Crackling Hands

This champion uses a recource named Charge. Strak will gain a Charge when he hits an attack or ability without Charge-costs. Additionally he gains a Charge every 15 seconds. He can hold a maximum of 5/6/7/8/9/10/11/12/13/14/15/16/17/18/19/20 Charges at once, starting with 5 at level 1 and 20 at level 16. In addition Strak's basic attacks deal additional magic damage (1% of ability power per maximum Charge), which is doubled against enemies with impaired movement (10 seconds internal cooldown). When he uses Charges, he gains 20 movement speed and ignores unit collision for 2 seconds.

Q: Cable Blade

Throws a knife with a cable in a straight line, which will attach itself to the first enemy hit for 3/3.5/4/4.5/5 seconds. On hit it deals 70/100/130/160/190 (+50% ability power) as magic damage. As long as the connection lingers, the ability can be reactivated to jump to the afflicted enemy. The connection will end if the target and Strak move more than 1050 appart from one another.

  • Cooldown: 18/16.5/15/13.5/12
  • Range: 900

W: Surge

Empowers Strak's next attack, dealing 40/60/90/130/180 (+20% ability power) additional magic damage and stunning the target for 1 second. If he is connected to an enemy however, it will instantly zap the connected enemy, dealing 65/100/135/170/205 (+65% ability power), and slowing them by 35% for 0.75/1/1.25/1.5/1.75 seconds. If triggered like this, the connection duration will be lowered by half of the maximum duration. If this reduces the remaining duration to 0 it will terminate.

  • Cost: 5/6/7/8/9 Charges
  • Cooldown: 12/11.25/10.5/9.75/9 seconds

E: Reinsurance

Dashes into the targeted direction, throwing an knife at the enemy closest to the starting point, dealing 10/20/30/40/50 magic damage plus your attack damage as physical damage. It triggers on hit effects. Can only hit visible units.

  • Cooldown: 18/17/16/15/14 seconds
  • Dashing range: 400
  • Throwing range: 450

R: Network

Unleashes a plethora of Cables onto the enemies in front to him, attaching a Cable to each one of them. Then Strak energizes them, dealing 150/225/300 (+80% ability power) over the course of 3 seconds (6 ticks). During that time Strak is not able to attack or use abilities, but can move. After that the cable will linger 0/2/4 Seconds, unless they have been disconnected already. If more than one enemy remains like this, Strak won't be able to use Cable Blade, but can shock all afflicted targets with Surge at once.

  • Cost: 10 Charges
  • Cooldown: 120/105/90
  • Range: 900
  • Angle: over 80/90/100°

Explanation Strak is an Assassin who specializes in finishing off targets rather than fighting them. But to explain this troughly, let's start with his defining ability, Surge. Surge is what keeps this kit together and is Strak's main damage and picking-people-off tool. Crackling Hands ensures he will be quick on his feet, whether in an aggressive or defensive play, but also establishes a need to prepare and analyse. Strak-Players will need to manage their resource, because no matter how useful, it will always be not enough to wombo their whole team. When you want to stay in a fight, you will need to dance. That's where Cable Blade comes in, as it allows for target mobility, engage, disengage and/or mind games with whoever is on the leash. Hitting it will also net you a Charge so better don't waste it. Reinsurance grants Mobility that is not based on targets, but rather to disengage. Together wit Surge it is almost a safe escape, given they are close. Lastly, Network is of course your teamfighting ability, but it only works if someone else engaged and preferably CCed them already. Also note that it may not be broken by CC besides silence, but they will be able to walk out if they can. In general, Strak begins to bloom in the late game. With all the Items and cooldown he needs he can shrek any carry, hold the tanks on a leash and dance the dance of death with the bruisers. Keep in mind though that Strak, like all other assassins (or anyone in general), is very susceptible to CC and is easily picked off himself if he doesn't pay attention to his resources.

#The Story

##About Strak

Strak was born and raised in one of the more peaceful parts of Zhaun. He developed a special talent very early, which was the ability to kill. Now, in Zhaun you can get killed by a lot of things, but little sweet Strak killed with an efficiency others could only dream of. He wasn't mentally impaired by it though: It seemed more like it was a thing of fervor. He is totally balanced and if you'd meet him privately, you'd probably have a ball. It was after school he decided to turn his hobby into his job. And you wouldn't be surprised that there is actually quite the need for headhunters in Zhaun. While first trying a few iterations of himself, he finally settled on one persona and more importantly on one stile of killing. Over time that particular decision earned him the name Sparkkiller, for his victims did not stand a chance against the pretty basic but effective magic and the seemingly unlimited supply of cables that left the iconic markings on them. He still climbs the ranks, for he is not driven by some dark events in his past or some kind of revenge, he is there for all the fun to be had in killing. His passion and pride for his job are unmatched by probably any other assassin. During his time he was hired by almost all people: Demacia, Noxus, Piltover, Zhaun of corse, and so many other factions. He came to the conclusion, that probably none of them were or ever will be good, else they wouldn't have hired him. And come back.

##Short: Foiled Again

The wardens office looks more like a downtrodden, scrapped storehouse, which it most likely was. The chairs are a bit uncomfortable, but that is mainly because I am handcuffed. In retrospect, that small shack ceiling really looked unsafe, but heck, breaking through and ruining the wardens coffee break? That was quite the surprise. My luck I suppose. Now I am doomed to wait. I hate waiting. Especially with the two wardens watching me, whispering and giggling a deep, dumb giggle. They look more like monkeys I guess, but in Zhaun anyone can be anything, right? Who am I to judge? Now the giggling stops, for the doors open. The boss is here. The stubby little guy and his two gorillas with the proportions of closets walk into the room. I can't help but ask myself if any of those would fit through my door, while the boss takes a good look at me. Then he starts grinning a greasy smile. "Look at that boys", he says, "That's the guy they send for me. The best!" Gorillas and Monkeys laugh in union, while the boss makes a dramatic pause. "And now you sit here, chair bound, and are taunted by your target. What a turn!" He now grins maliciously as he picks up one of my throwing knifes. Oh god, please don't drop it. I just sharpened that one. "Do you want it back?" He slowly moved towards me, playing with the blade in his hand. Unskilled I see. He will drop it. "Sure", I say kindly. The boss seems confused, the apes in the back are really perplexed. But the boss quickly recovers. "Then I'll put it back, deep into your chest." That was neither funny nor original. But on the other hand he barely looked smarter than his oversized primates. "Oh, don't strain yourself", I tell him, "I have to go anyways, so I'll take them myself, alright?" I stop pretending that those amateur knots could hold me and rise. With the precision they deserve I throw out my cables and get all of them. In the moment of total astonishment I conclude: "I all wish an utterly painful death to you" Then I energize my victims. They fall spasticly. Some eyes pop. The usual. I begin picking up my stuff, namely my mask and my throwing knifes (Thank god he didn't drop that on), and head for the door. In the nights cool embrace I allow myself to grin. I love it when a plan comes together. Next day I have late breakfast at a Café, when my contact shows up. I look up from my newspaper. "Good morning", I greet him smiling. "Hey there, how was yesterday?", he asks whispering. "Page 4, local news", I answer, handing him the newspaper while munching on a croissant. He skims the article, and hands the newspaper back, nodding contently. "Did you ever check the travel column? There is so much happening in Zhaun, you should consider taking some days off. Or even moving!" I flip to the page in question. Some letters are marked with inconspicuous dots. I look up from the newspaper again, this time in disbelieve. "You've got to be joking", tell him, giving him a doubtful look. "I've heard they also make jokes in the league", he chuckles. Then he just gets up, giving me a "Good luck!" or "Have fun!", leaving me with a new contract. "Infiltrating the League of Legends"

#Quotes

Choice "This promises to be interesting."

Spawning "Let's start the 'Taking oneself too seriously'-Contest" "The mission: Killing them dead. Always remember that"

Moving "Yeah, got it" "If you say so" "In search for victims" "Why do I even do this?" "Let's just not facecheck again, okay?" "A relaxed assassin is a dead assassin" "Quick on my feet indeed"

Attacking "The Mission: Kill" "Hold still and it will take only one stab" "I am no fortune teller, so let's not talk about your future" "Stabbedy stab stab" -> Last hitting "I love this" "Oh, shiny!" "Do they even have pockets?" "Where do they come from, where do they go?" "Doesn't matter, they're dead now"

Taunt throws a blade in the air and catches it with his extended arm, so it points forward. Then he energizes it. "We all have to die. You sooner, I later." "I do quality killing. Want a free sample?"

Joke looks up to the player "No" "No means no"

##Interactions

Taunts

Any Jhin Jhin : "Killing is an art, sure, but this business is about time, not beauty"

Enemy Azir Azir: "How about you do your work yourself?"

Enemy Lulu Lulu: "So you are a little curious? To bad my employer is a big furious."

Enemy Ekko Ekko: "I like Zhaun for it's interesting victims, guess you could say the same" "Ekko? more like Ekgone"

Enemy Zac Zac: "You kiss your mother with that mouth?"

Enemy Jinx Jinx or MundoDrMundo: "I don't hold a grudge against the mentally challenged, but you make everything so difficult"

Any Demacian: "Demacian Valor? Demacian decay."

Any Noxian: "Noxian Strength? Noxian Cruelty."

Any Ionian: "Ionian balance? Ionian Struggle."

Any Piltover...ian? "Piltover is as bad as any other city. You just know how to hide it."

Any Zhaunian: "In Zhaun, the city of scrap, only the worst things can survive."

Jokes

Any Bard Bard : "What... is he? A tuba?" "I know inclusion is great, but the verbally challenged don't belong onto the battlefield"

Any Aurelion Sol AurelionSol: "So... he just waits? Great tactics."

Any Brand Brand: "I guess that's a tiki torch come to life, no?" "Bet he throws some sick BBQ parties"

Any Jhin Jhin: "Somebody got really exited there I see"

Any Thalia Taliyah: "Underage fighting is not cool man!" "But she rocks"

Enemy Malphite: "Sticks and stones may break my bones... really badly" "Seems like I've got to put this one to bed with a pick axe and shovel."

Any Illaoi Illaoi: "Oh HELL no!"

Any Kennen Kennen: "I like that one"

Ally Jinx Jinx: "I want to work with professionals just once. Just one time!"

Other

Upon seeing Urgot Urgot: "Uhrg" "Yikes" "Kill it before it lays eggs" "When you thought you've seen it all..."

Killing Urgot Urgot: "Thank god it's dead." "I released you. Yeah, definitely released you."

Killing enemies after their stealth: "Oh no you don't!" "Better luck next time kid"

Enemy jokes: "That was almost a bit funny" "Neither funny, nor original" "Oh, damn, I've got to remember that one" (on certain jokes)

#Tipps

##-> Playing with Strak

  • Your connections are also useful for mindgames. As long as they last they cannot tell if you are going to shock them or not. It makes for pretty effective zoning.
  • With Cable Blade jungle creeps make a good escape route if needed.
  • Always gather Charges. There is no time where they aren't useful and not scarce.

##-> Playing against Strak

  • Strak isn't good at farming and thus his laning phase in general lacking. Punish him early and win before he gets his Items.
  • As long as Cable Blade doesn't hit, he has little to no power over you. Use his rather long cooldowns to breathe.
  • In team fights CC and knock backs in particular are very effective against him. Shut him down fast as he is pretty frail when he is exposed.

#Thanks (and stuff)

Thank you for sticking with me throughout this whole post (whoo)! This section is pretty empty for now, but later I think there could be a changelog or other stuff I did, so stay tuned! Or not. I am just a guy you don't know. Don't let anybody tell you what to do.

As a good neighbour I want you to check out Sierra, the Skybreaker, quite cool if I might say so :P Also go and see Samuels and Estabaan, Host of the Shadow for a cool concept and sassy quotes and Jade, The Keeper of Compassion for your different kind of tank.

Changelog (it is here!)

14/10/16: Added Changelog! Added Quotes! Dealt with formating issues... maybe. We'll see. Lowered E Dash range from 450 to 250 Lowered E Throwing range from 500 to 450

15/10/16 Increased E Dash range from 250 to 400 (I kind of think I overdid myself there)

19/10/16 Kinda big one! I wanted to adjust some numbers and rearrange some mechanics. Hopefully this won't get me kicked D: But then again I added in more quotes. Passive now grants additional damage on attacks, based on the number of maximum charges (1% ability power per charge). This bonus doubles against movement impaired targets. Changed Q base damage from total attack damage to 60/90/120/150/180 Lowered Q tether time from 3/4/5/6/7 to 3/3.5/4/4.5/5 Adjusted W stun duration from 0.5/0.75/1/1.25/1.5 to 1 at all ranks Reduced tethered W base damage from 50/100/150/200/250 to 65/100/135/170/205 Increased tethered W scaling from 65% ability power to 70% ability power Also tethered W will no longer just terminate the connection directly. Instead it will half the remaining duration which will still disconnect if the remaining time was smaller or equal the reduced time. Changed tethered W stun to 35% slow Changed E scaling from 65/70/75/80/85% attack damage to attack damage Updated E tooltip for clarification

Anyways, see ya!

5 Comments

Come and Get Me10/14/2016, 9:22:36 AM2 votes

Hiya! I'm your good neighbor! If you'd like to have me :V Let's begin.

Reviewing mostly the kit because the numbers for the stats are slightly ridiculous in some places, don't mind though.

Overall before I get in-depth, the spells look great and I can see the flow of this character already. W is the spotlight but its the hammer to the anvil which is Q and R. E is independent but helps the character play smoothly.

This new resource bar is unique, that is for sure. I can't help but wonder if there are going to be any name issues with people having to refer to this "mana" as charges of charges.

Change sever to "Disconnect" on the Q description sever implies that its going to cut again or do more damage to me. Also you repeated yourself when you said the connection will sever.

E is more than what meets the eye, Strak has a lot of utility and combos and E adds to both. It seems like Strak is a character that can pick people easy and decimate groups just as easily. I almost want to call this ability over powered but it just helps the character so much when it comes to how the character functions. Perhaps alter how much damage it does, the distance is also pretty high rivaling Ezreal at 475 vs 450.

There is a Kennen vibe here. There is quite a burst combo but this character is kinda like what Kennen should of been. But if that is case it would be absolutely broken. Kennen's weakness is not being able to close the gap so easy to get his combo off, not only does Strak does this but he also does Kennen's job of mass murder better. Kennen is just better at CC compared to Strak. Kennen's pure and only escape is his lightning ball, Strak has many other tools.

Strak's Utility and damage overshadows an existing league of legends character so much so that I would always play Strak over Kennen.

Skylarke10/17/2016, 1:11:24 AM1 votes

CCOS Review

Sorry this is a bit late.

Passive: This is fairly interesting. The charge mechanic does work, but I would question it's thematic relation to the rest of the kit. In this regard, it seems somewhat detached because of how it doesn't relate too much. A brief note I would like to make is about Charge expenditure: is it based on any expenditure of Charge, or the number of Charges expended? What I would like to see here is a more dynamic integration of the Charge system into the kit - while it is present, it is very limited in application, where the W and Ultimate are the only abilities involving it. A more significant system, perhaps involving the integration of autoattacks more heavily.

Q: I would recommend normalising the tether duration - something like 4 seconds is more than enough, with early cooldown reduced to match. 7 seconds can be overly oppressive, especially in the laning phase, where CDR rush can result this ability pretty much being permanently available. The range is also a bit of an issue - it's almost as long as J4's Flag N' Drag, which he gives two abilities for. Admittedly this does require a target but it still falls on the lower end of the spectrum.

W: The concept behind this idea is nice, though the tradeoff between melee and ranged stun, especially at higher levels is negligible. There is a substantive drop in damage, but given that one puts you in AA range, which is likely to exceed (75+45% AP) damage, then the only real application for the ranged stun would be if you were fleeing an enemy. This also brings up the issue of bruiser builds. Building Strak as a bruiser is much more effective than as an assassin, if only because his burst is pitiful and overly reliant on Lich Bane (which is a poor choice given the large base cooldowns) However, what his kit does offer is reliable engage and CC, two desirable qualities for a tank. The ultimate (when I get to that) exemplifies this.

E: It's functional? My praise for the ability has to end there though. It is mobility, but the fact that your Q is already mobility and is conditional (thus offering better counterplay) means that this ability has little if any place on the current kit. The way it is designed is awkward too - the only plausible reason I can think of is for Lich Bane abuse ala Ekko, but it is worse because the best-case scenario revolves around you already being on top of the target, which is self-defeating if the design intention is a gapcloser. It's a decent kite tool, but you don't have any built in on-hit effects, nor synergy with AS (unless you count the Charge system, but that's...eh in terms of justification). Additionally this just reinforces the idea of building like a bruiser since the only onhit you will abuse is Fervor, which requires extended combat in order to be effective.

R: This could be very, very overpowered. For one it has 900 range which is very powerful for a melee oriented kit. Being able to threaten enemies with a potential 1800 range stun is incredibly powerful, and is likely what holds the kit together despite its other pitfalls. Additionally, it's design makes it very hard to position against. An issue would be that it requires you stay close to enemies for 3 seconds, similar to Morgana - effectively what this ability is. The damage component is not very impressive given how long it's spread over. Teh damage is far too delayed to be impactful and is reminiescent of Kennen/Morgana that I'm not its biggest fan.

In conclusion, this works very poorly in its intended role as an Assassin. Possessing a kit that has synergy (however limited) an E that is very out-of-place, and a nerfed version of Morgana ult, this incentivises a tank/tanky build which goes against what you intended. The damage on the abilities is very limited, being insufficient to burst/kill targets. As an initiator mage, the role is better filled by Kennen who is ranged, has a more dependable stun, and who's AoE is nowhere as delayed as Strak. Morgana, the other champion he is similar to offers unparalled pick potential and has the ability to make a team member immune to CC. I would recommend doubling down on the theme and revamping the kit so it meshes better with the intended vision, as it comes across as cluttered right now.

fugertech10/17/2016, 3:32:14 PM1 votes

Because my computer likes to crash every time I try to make one of these reviews, I'll make this brief but as informative as I can. Apologies in advance, but I've posted like 18 paragraphs worth of review for this champ and every time I was getting close to finish my computer would crash. So I'm not risking it again.

So without further ado, I'll get right into it.

[Passive] - I like this passive. You might consider making Charge stack up to 100 and give him the ability to gather it in ways other than auto attacking and landing an ability. It fits his theme...sort of, but you could also make it something more cohesive with his kit. Otherwise I love the idea.

[Q] - Nice synergy; it affects one other ability in his kit and gives him lots of combo-ability. Maybe make the range they have to walk away a bit less though...it hits them at about a turret's range and then they have to walk even farther to break the chain. Just saying that this ability might tilt some people, but honestly that's up to you.

Also, before I go, I'd like to point out that this ability scales very weirdly. Taking away the words, it's scaling is 100% of AD(+40% of AP) magic damage to the first target hit. That's....odd. If you're going to have it scale, either make it deal a base damage that scales with AP or make it deal some % +AP scaling. Just some things to think about.

[W] - I like the synergy and how little it scales. Keeps it so that you don't have this spam-able high-damage hard CC. How does the chain thing work though? Does it just automatically shock the target hit without empowering his attack, or do you still have to auto attack them? Otherwise it's a good ability.

[E] - This...ok again, you should really consider what you want Strakk to be. Is he a mage? If so, then take away this whole "Scales with % of attack damage" thing because that makes building him really hard. Do I go AD so that I can have X ability deal more damage, or should I build more AP so that I can get a better stun on Y ability? If he's gonna scale, make it one scaling so that you don't have to pick. Other than that I like the concept; it can be used as an escape that deters people from following him, but not really as an engage because it only damages people near the point where he dashed from.

[R] - This ability is bomb. It deals enough damage to make it good and the final utility makes it great for team fighting with. I have no complaints here.

Now I won't get into the lore or anything because I'd rather not push my luck, but I'll give you a quick overview.

So in conclusion:

  • Scalings need to be decided upon
  • Numbers can always use fine-tuning in terms of damage and stuff. Not saying yours have problems, but you can feel free to change them.
  • This concept is good, definitely brings its own things to the table.

Overall, on a scale of 1 - 10 in terms of cohesiveness and uniqueness I'd give you a whopping.....

7/10.

So great work on this. There's always work to be done, and it's really up to you what you want him to do and what you feel like needs to be changed. I'm eager to see how this places in the CCOS!

Best of luck to you on the Fields of Justice and, as always; Stay Frosty.