Blitzcrank Rework Concept
Thanks Malicious and Dark Calinou for getting my head rolling though this thread.
I very much got bored and started tossing ideas around my head. Blitzcrank is a very old and traditional champion who could very much use a modernization so that his kit isn't entirely revolved around "land a Q or be useless." It lacks quite a bit of luster compared to the newer champions, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. Though what is rather bad is his massive disconnect between his lore and his gameplay; though not all champions have to follow this it might be a good idea to connect the two.
Right, so let's get rolling on the rework concept, I suppose. The objective is to turn his kit away from purely locking down one target and into a kit that can both pick off unsuspecting targets as well as help his team when they need him most.
Disclaimer: please focus on the effects of the kits instead of the numbers; numbers are something that can change. Base stats, cooldowns, and other such factors remain the same unless noted otherwise.
>Passive: Steam Barrier Upon dropping below 25% maximum health, Blitzcrank releases excess steam from his body. This steam shields himself and nearby allies for 10% of his maximum health + 50% of his maximum mana for 4 seconds. *Additional possibility: Shield is halved for allied champions. Shield Application area for allies: 350 units.
First and foremost, his passive. It had quite the interesting little playstyle already, but it was quite odd that it would consume his current mana for a shield, meaning late in fights his shield really wouldn't help, early in fights if he took too much damage he would have this massive second health bar.
It lasts for a much shorter duration so that you don't end up wailing endlessly on a shield if you happen to drop him low early in a fight; and later in a fight isn't nearly as bad due to having no mana. It also scales on maximum health so Blitzcrank is encouraged to build some more health; though the current value might be quite negligible.
>Q: Rocket Grab Blitzcrank channels for up to 4 seconds. While channeling, Rocket Grab gains increased range and damage (but no additional travel speed.) When the channel is released, Rocket Grab is fired in target direction, dealing 50/80/110/140/170 (+60% AP) to 100/160/220/280/340 (+120% AP) magic damage to all enemies in a line,knocking aside minions, and stopping at the first enemy champion hit. If it hits a champion, that champion is pulled to blitzcrank. If Rocket Grab does not hit a champion, Blitzcrank must retract his arm, locking himself in place until it returns (the travel speed back is the same as the travel speed forward.) Range: 500 units - 1300 units Maximum benefit is gained after 2 seconds of channeling. If Rocket Grab is not used, it is put on cooldown. Mana cost: 50/60/70/80/90
Rocket Grab is what Blitzcrank is famous for; pull some victim to their deaths. If the target is rather close to blitzcrank, he can simply quick cast it to pull the unsuspecting target easily, but for more distant targets he will need to channel the pull. This will give his opponents warning that he's going to try and pull someone before he actually does it (assuming you can see him.)
>W: Overdrive Charge After 0.5 seconds, Blitzcrank charges in a line, knocking aside minions and knocks back the first champion he hits, dealing 50/100/150/200/250 (+50% AP) magic damage to the first target hit. If he collides with a wall, he stuns himself for 1 second. This ability can't travel over walls (if it wasn't obvious enough.) Mana cost: 40/45/50/55/60 Cooldown: 14/13/12/11/10 seconds Range: 700/800/900/1000/1100 units
Initially, I had the idea of just giving him a toggle; consume mana per second, give him the old bonuses of his W until toggled off, then slowing him. That seemed like it would have similar problems to his old W, where he would just run up to you and E you when he got the chance (not that it would be that simple with his new E, but we'll get to that.)
Blitzcrank now has an initiation tool if necessary, and a way of getting to his allies quicker otherwise (if he separates from them during the fight.)
>E: Power Fist Blitzcrank supercharges his fist for 6 seconds. His next autoattack will deal 50-120% of his total AD as bonus damage, based on how long he held on to the buff, and will slow the target by 35% for 1.5 seconds. If Blitzcrank holds on to the buff for at least 2.5 seconds, the next attack will knock up the target for 1 second instead of slowing. Blitzcrank's fist during this time will emit electricity while hold onto the buff. After 2.5 seconds have passed, his fist will emit steam.
A bit of an update to his E. Now Blitzcrank has to prime up his attack to knock the target up, giving his opponents an indication in the process. I gave his E a little more maximum power because he now has to wait an additional 2.5 seconds before he can even use it, which also extends the ability's cooldown by 2.5 seconds. It can be left at 100% if that's necessary.
>R: Static Field Blitzcrank detontates the static energy from his body, dealing 100/150/200 (+80% AP) magic damage to targets in the area around him and silencing them for 1 second.
>Blitzcrank may also channel the ability for 2 seconds, which will cause the static field to surround Blitzcrank for the next 5 seconds. It will instead deal 200/300/400 (+100% AP) magic damage over the entire duration to enemies that remain in it. Allies who are in the static field gain +30% movement speed and attack speed while remaining in it (this also applies to Blitzcrank.) Enemies who stay in the field for at least 2 seconds are also statically charged. If an allied champion basic attacks a statically charged enemy within melee range (225 units), they take an additional 80/140/200 (+30% of Blitzcrank's AP) magic damage and consumes the charge. Enemy champions can only be statically charged once per ultimate. Cooldown: 100/90/80 seconds.
A bit of a power update to Blitzcrank's ultimate. It still has the classic use (damage+ silence in an area around him) but it does seem fair to remove quite a bit of the damage considering the power it holds.
The secondary use is much more for initiation/team support; Blitzcrank can charge his allies to escape a bad fight, or to initiate a good one at a choke point. I also wanted to keep that old "static bolt" effect, but at the same time I wanted to give Blitzcrank more interaction for himself, his allies (who can trigger these static charges) and his enemies (not all of his damage is tied into an instant aoe damage spell.)
This was mostly just me tossing ideas around, but I hope something worth discussing came up.
The numbers might be imbalanced somewhere, but I'm not really any balance expert, so I wouldn't know where. I wanted to toss in my 2 cents towards Blitzcrank in a post of my own, so... there we go.
Now back to lurking, unless this thread somehow picks up some... steam.
...yeah, there's the door, I'll get out now.