[Champion Concept] Fusil, The Absolver

For CCOS - Good Neighbour Reviews Eshar, The Celestial Duelist Imoen, An Honest Thief Elena, Herald of the Purge Lone Starr, the Profiteer Protector Sierra, the Skybreaker

Fusil, The Absolver

Name: James Fusil Age: Appears in his late 50s Description: An aging man in an old, brown duster; tall and wiry. His short brown hair is streaked with with grey, and he appears to need a shave. Upon his back, he carries a fairly standard looking rifle; though modestly ornamented in brass-like materials, the metal is tarnished and dull. Though hidden inside his coat, Fusil also carries a fairly utilitarian dagger (it’s drawn upon performing a basic attack and is put away when out of combat, similarly to Yasuo’s sword).

Role: Slayer (Hybrid Assassin/Skirmisher) Race: Human Birthplace: Bilgewater (Port Mourn) Place of Residence: Bilgewater (Rat Town) Allies: Miss Fortune Rivals: Jhin, Shaco, Talon

Lore

Summary

“I don't enjoy murder, but I do derive satisfaction from a job well done.”

Once the greatest assassin in all of Runeterra, Fusil’s combined skill with his daggers, rifle and poison were beyond compare. Unfortunately, time is not a foe that can be slain with mortal weapons and the years caught up with him. In his twilight years, he returned to his home of Bilgewater, resigned to a slow, unmourned death. With the chaos in the wake of Gangplank's 'death', Fusil has been hired by Miss Fortune for one last job; help her bring law and order to the mess that is Bilgewater.

The Job

It’s not much of a bar. Not much of a crowd either. It’s for the best, really. He doubts many would recognise his face, but there’s always that the risk. That old, nagging worry. Plenty of people want him dead, even if they don’t know his face. Plenty more want him dead and do. For the longest time, the price on his head’s been enough for a young man to retire on and that’s the least of the ironies that plagues him.

In this forgotten watering hole, an old, hollow man slowly dies, drowning himself in whisky.

He’s neither a poor man, nor a friendless man, yet he drinks the cheapest rot-gut and always drinks alone. He hasn’t enough friends to watch his back when throwing around his money, and the few he has left can’t afford to visit, lest they attract unwelcome eyes. And perhaps the most tragic irony; though he hides in this bar to protect himself, it is here where he is most vulnerable, out in the open and half a bottle down.

His name is James Fusil. And once, he was the greatest assassin in Runeterra.

Even when drunk half-way to unconsciousness, his steps are too quiet, movements too sharp. He is a silent, brooding drunk and he conceals as much of his weakness as he can out of habit. Still, not half as silent when clear-headed, nor a quarter as a decade ago. Still twice what the crowd who sell their skills these days. The kids who call themselves 'Assassins' these days don't have a professional bone in their bodies.

It’s early in the evening; just after opening and just before sundown. It’s the only time he’s close to sober.

Once again, as has become habit, he curses that one last villain he could never hope to slay nor even face down; time. Men like him were never meant to grow old, no matter how they tried. Men like him were never meant to see their forty fifth birthday, let alone their fifty fifth. He blames those melancholy thoughts on the whiskey.

There’s a sudden burst of grimy light from behind him, as the door opens.

The woman walks in. It’s a testament to his mind that he can very nearly place her face through the haze of time and liquor, despite the mass of crimson that frames it. Her confident strut is alien, as are the fancy clothes and captain’s hat.

Thankfully, it’s far easier to place the pair of pistols holstered to her hips and then the rest of the pieces fall into place.

He recognises Sarah Fortune, though last he saw her in person, she was a young, bright-eyed girl with blonde hair. He recognises the daughter of the gunsmith responsible for the museum piece on his back. He recognises the person who'll likely inherit the crown left behind by Gangplank.

And he recognises trouble when he sees it.

Quotes

Selection “Every man has a price. As does every head.”

Upon Start of a Game “Sooner we finish, the sooner we can get back to the tavern.” “Half a bottle of rum left. Anyone want the last swallow?” “After this, how about we all go back to The Woozy Wharfrat? My shout?” “Well, the job’s the job and krakens are krakens.”

Movement “Ugh, not as spry as I used to be.” “You never actually retire in this business.” “This is hell on my knees…Pardon my Noxian.” “Laying down the law’s always been my job. Only difference now is who’s law.” “I’ve definitely had better days.” “Where have all the years gone?” “Maybe we’ll get through the rest of the day without any more fighting… But I doubt it.” “Lucky for you, I’m paid by the head, not the hour.”

Attacking “Just remember, I don’t do credit.” “Sorry, but a man has to make a living.” “Don’t make me come over there.” “How about a drink, friend?” “Disturbing the peace is a capital offense around here.” “I’m pretty sure you’re breaking three different laws just by standing here.”

Jokes “A Noxian, a Demacian and Freljordian walk into a bar. You’d think one of them would’ve ducked.” “A Noxian, a Demacian and Freljordian walk into a bar. Bartender says ‘What is this, some kind of a joke?’” “How do you know a Zaunian merchant is lying? His lips are moving.” (Follow up to any other joke) “…What, were you expecting some morbid pun? ‘Assassin’ is my profession, not my obsession.”

Taunts “Half a minute for any final words or prayers. That’s all the courtesy I give.” “If you want, I’ll tell them you died with your boots off.”

Taunting an enemy Jhin “There is no art in murder and no value in your ‘performances’.” “Compared with paint, ink and the stage, blood is the inferior medium.”

Taunting an enemy Shaco “I suppose it’s better than crying.” “To always laugh at the same ‘joke’…I suppose that requires a special sort of person.”

Taunting an enemy Talon “Hmm, there’s definitely potential with you. How unfortunate.”

Taunting an enemy Graves -chuckles- “Always knew you’d get yourself in trouble, Malcolm.”

Taunting an enemy Twisted Fate “Don’t know who you pissed off this time, boy, but I can tell you it was the wrong person.”

Taunting an enemy Miss Fortunes “You know the rules. No refunds.” “You did say to administer justice ‘Indiscriminately’, Sarah.”

Taunting an enemy Sivir “Not everything is about money, dear.” “Take it from me. Gold can’t buy back wasted time.”

Taunting an enemy Kindred “Ah, my old foe. We meet again. How it ends this time… Remains to be seen.” “I may be old, but you will not have me yet. I will not go gently.”

Taunting an enemy Cassiopeia, Nami, Vel’koz or Aurelion Sol “If you want, I’ll tell them… Oh. Well, I suppose it’s technically true.”

Taunting Vi or Caitlin “We don’t recognise your authority around here.”

Upon killing an enemy champion “Go with grace.” “Better luck in the next one.” “Let the waves ferry your soul to a better place.”

Overview

Fusil is an Assassin/Skirmisher hybrid that primarily functions as a jungler. Though he has the same ‘get in, get out’ play style as many assassins, Fusil’s damage is abnormally ‘back loaded’. Due to his passive, most of his damage doesn’t arrive for 30 seconds and thus his playstyle on a micro level revolves around applying as many stacks as he can get away with, then escaping before the second part of his passive can trigger. This leads into a game of cat and mouse, where Fusil has to both evade his opponent and prevent them from recalling (usually with his W, Sharpshooting). This makes him generally unsuitable for lane (as it may mean denying himself of experience to ensure his passive) and unsuited to build tanky (as it’s unlikely he’ll ever be able to prevent Salvation from activating if he takes a prolonged fight against anyone building damage).

On a macro level, during the early game, Fusil mostly wants to alternate between taking buffs/the occasional camp and ganking. By going for quick drive-by ganks, Fusil has the opportunity to apply 2-3 stacks, which can potentially force a target to blue pill (or just die if your laner can pressure them afterwards). As long as he doesn’t fall too far behind, Fusil can translate into a decent split-push threat or poke champion during the mid game. If he starts to get bullied by his opponent, like many jungle assassins, Fusil will fall off completely due to his low utility. Most notably, since his passive's health threshold is based on his level, if he gets outpaced heavily, he becomes unable to reliably trigger his passive (since his opponent needs to put less damage on him to make him drop the antidote).

During the mid-late game, assuming he isn't fed beyond belief, Fusil transitions into a harassing/flanking role where he tries to poke the enemy squishies with Sharpshooting; in a team fight, unless he's ignored or he plays incredibly well, he won't be able to apply his passive without dropping the antidote (though he can potentially apply his passive to multiple people and hope he doesn't have the 'double antidote drop' from taking a burst of damage -> dying). His passive becomes reserved for enemies in the front line, who he will ideally be able to hit without taking massive burst in exchange.

Design Commentary Fusil is the latest in a long line of custom champions I’ve been work on since somewhere around 2009, who have a fairly similar role (even if their lore and personalities have changed drastically). If you want to find ground zero, look up Operative 110, The Secret Agent on the old forums. Things have changed drastically since then. Fusil is a curious mix of Assassin and Skirmisher, in that he has the mobility and survivability mechanics of a Skirmisher (compare/contrast with Fiora), but the burst and deceptive nature of an Assassin. He’s my attempt at an assassin with a long burst window, but who can get away without building tank.

Personality-wise, Fusil fulfils a niche that I’ve found sorely lacking in LoL’s cast. Fusil is a professional assassin, emphasis on the ‘professional’ part. He isn’t in this for thrills or revenge or because he enjoys murder. He’s in it because it’s his job and he has nothing against his target (usually). Though he shares some of this design space with Sivir, Fusil doesn’t share the same cynicism/malice towards his target. In fact, he’s often quite cordial, as can be seen in his jokes and taunts.

Fusil’s kit complements this idea. Firstly, unlike most other assassins, Fusil doesn’t limit himself to any single method of murder. Fusil does what he needs to do, whether it’s slitting the target’s throat, dosing them with poison, or picking them off with his rifle. His focus on the latter two results in what is a fairly impersonal playstyle where it’s not unusual for his target to die when he’s nowhere to be seen. Similarly, his focus on survival and evasion echoes his cautious, patient fighting style.

Base Stats

Health: 510 – 1921 (+83/Level) Health Regeneration: 6.5 - 15 (+0.5/Level) Mana: 350 – 1030 (+40/Level) Mana Regeneration: 6.35 – 14 (+0.45/Level) Range: 125 Attack Damage: 51.6 – 106 (+3.2/Level) Attack Speed: 0.679 (+0% – 66.1%) (+3.3%/Level) Armor: 24.8 – 86 (+3.6/Level) Magic Resist: 32.1 – 53.4 (+1.25/Level) Movement Speed: 335

Abilities

P – Absolution

Penance: Fusil’s basic attacks apply a slow acting poison that incubates over 30 seconds. Upon expiring, the poison deals 40 – 175 (based on level) (+80% Bonus AD) true damage per stack. Stacks up to 5 times. Can be removed by visiting the shop. Incubation time is reduced to 6 seconds against minions and monsters. Additional stacks do not reset the incubation time.

Salvation: After 4 - 12 (based on level) instances of non-minion damage within a 6 second span or upon death, Fusil drops a vial of antidote. Enemy champions afflicted with Penance can walk over the vial to instantly cure themselves.

Notes: Upon first applying Penance to an enemy champion, they will be alerted of its effects with a Quest Prompt.

Find an Antidote!

Additionally, the edge of their screen will be tinged purple. The duration of Penance is not reset upon application of additional stacks. Damage over time effects such as ignite or poisons only count as one instance of damage, but persistent damage effects such as Swain's ultimate or Morgana's pool will count as multiple instances; the same logic as Spellthief's Edge is followed.

Comments: The ability that Fusil’s kit is mostly based around. Though the damage it can potentially do is massive (and thus allows him to jungle reasonably quickly despite his lack of sustain), it is wholly unreliable and the 'mini-game' that results afterwards is where the rest of Fusil's kit comes into play.

Q – Flying Daggers

Fusil dashes a set distance, then tosses a fan of knives in a cone towards the cursor that deal physical damage. Can’t dash through walls.

Damage: 70 / 115 / 160 / 205 / 250 (+80% bonus AD) Cost: 60 / 65 / 70 / 75 / 80 Mana Cooldown: 12 / 11 / 10 / 9 / 8 seconds Dash Range: 450 Dash Speed: 900 + Movement Speed Cone range: 550 Cone Width: 60° Projectile Speed: 1400

Notes: Will fire towards where the cursor is at the end of the dash.

Comments: Flying Daggers provides a lot to Fusil’s kit; it’s his only waveclear option (minus Hydra) and his best way of chasing down his opponent, though it can also be used defensively, firing the knives backwards as he escapes. It’s not super flashy or complicated, but it (theoretically) does the job. Note that it can’t be used to jump walls; if he wants to cross terrain, Fusil has to use Elude.

W – Sharpshooting

Fusil pulls the rifle off his back and fires a shot that travels in a line, dealing physical damage to the first enemy hit. While this ability is on cooldown, Fusil may reactivate it to manually reload the rifle over 2.5 seconds.

Deals 50% extra damage if it wasn't manually reloaded.

Damage: 40 / 60 / 80 / 100 / 120 (+60% Bonus AD) Cost: 50 / 55 / 60 / 65 / 70 Mana Cooldown: 30 / 27 / 24 / 21 / 18 Seconds Range: 2100 Projectile Width: 75 Projectile Speed: 3200

Notes: Has a 0.35 second delay on cast, and has a visible trajectory indicator, similar to Jinx’s Zap! or Jhin’s Deadly Flourish. While reloading, Fusil is considered in a 'casting animation' and can't cancel it. If Fusil waits long enough after reloading that Sharpshooting would've cooled down naturally, or if his ultimate cooldown reset activates, Sharpshooting recovers the extra 50% bonus damage.

Comments: Though his passive is the focus of his kit, I’d argue that Sharpshooting is what differentiates his playstyle from that of most other Assassins besides maybe Nidalee. Sharpshooting allows Fusil the ability to impact a fight when behind, without putting himself in danger, or when the enemy team is wise to what he’s trying to do. However, if he wants to put down a lot of harass, he leaves himself vulnerable. Perhaps its most important function for him personally, however, is the ability to consistently harass recalling enemies to prevent them from curing Penance.

E – Elude // Escape Plan

Elude: Fusil tracks target enemy champion or large monster for 2.5 seconds or until he attacks, evading their basic attacks and abilities that target him. If Fusil moves more than 850 units away from the target while Elude is active, he can cast Escape Plan for the next 4 seconds.

Escape Plan: Fusil jumps to target location. If he ends the jump outside the enemy's vision, he gains a movement speed boost for 1.5 seconds.

Movement Speed Boost: 40% / 45% / 50% / 55% / 60% Cost: 70 / 75 / 80 / 85 / 90 Mana Cooldown: 24 / 22 / 20 / 18 / 16 seconds Elude Range: 750 Jump Range: 800

Notes: While Elude is active, Fusil will always face his target. For abilities such as Nether Grasp or Frozen Tomb that have both a single target and AOE component, Fusil will evade the target component (i.e. the repression/stun in these cases), but still get hit by the AOE part. Abilities that are 'single target' but are in skillshot form, such as Mystic Shot, will still hit Fusil.

Comments: Fusil's one and only 'true' defence tool and likely the only way he's going to have any chance of applying his passive to an ADC (or someone like Cassiopeia). Despite the name, Escape Plan is viable as a re-engage tool if the enemy is running away, but ultimately, Elude/Escape Plan are best used to prevent your passive activating after you've already applied a bunch of stacks. Please note, however, that while your opponent can't right click you, you're still susceptible to AOE effects.

R – Mind’s Eye

Fusil focuses intently, gaining the ability to detect where his enemies have vision and see through brush and terrain. After 4.5 seconds have passed, Fusil's basic abilities will have their cooldowns refreshed.

Duration: 6 / 7 / 8 Seconds Cost: 100 Mana Cooldown: 140 / 120 / 100 Seconds

Notes: Does not increase vision range. While active, areas the enemy team can see will appear as a glowing white colour and the screen will be slightly de-saturated.

Comments: Though he's a mediocre ganker pre-six, Mind's Eye gives Fusil a very unique advantage when going to gank lanes; the ability to evade/detect vision without being seen himself. Even a champion like Evelynn can potentially be caught out by a well hidden ward. Unless you have an impenetrable wall of vision, Fusil can potentially find a way around your vision line. The cooldown reset is also a very powerful effect; if timed right, Fusil can use Elude to approach, apply a couple of stacks of his passive, double proc Flying Daggers, elude again to back out, escape plan out of vision and end in a prime position to use Sharpshooting with the bonus damage.