Making Kennen Feel Like A Ninja (Rework Concept)

l am a troll··9 votes·2,562 views

Kennen Kennen doesn't really feel like a Ninja. He's the only ninja character with pretty bad mobility, and in my opinion, makes him kind of stick out compared to the other ninjas in the game. Additionally, his current play patterns both, with, and against, are not very much fun compared to the rest.

Here is my rework concept I think would make him feel more like a ninja with a better gameplay experience.

P - Mark Of The Storm: Enemies hit by Kennen's abilities receive a Mark of the Storm for 6 seconds, stacking up to 3 times. At three stacks, the marks consume themselves to create a thunderstorm above the target for 2.5 seconds and restore 25 energy. The thunderstorm deals x/x/x + magic damage over time. Kennen's basic abilities have additional interactions with Mark Of The Storm.

Notes: Kennen's current stun on his passive is a pretty bland ability, which isn't very interactive or satisfying. Landing a stun during laning phase usually only results in an auto attack or two. Changing it to a damage over time thundercloud effect that interacts with his other abilities plays up Kennen's lightning thematic, and creates more entertaining gameplay.

Q - Thundering Shuriken: Kennen draws three charged shurikens, and is able to throw them in a line in front of him, dealing magic damage to the first enemy it hits. Shurikens that hit a target afflicted by Thunderstorm deal extra damage.

Notes: Three shurikens instead of one more fully fulfills the shuriken throwing fantasy, beyond auto attacks, and throwing 3 in quick succession becomes the main source of activating Mark Of The Storm. Currently, Q is a useful last hitting tool, so the holding time in between shurikens must be decent enough to allow for that similar last hitting gameplay, while also allowing for a higher cooldown on the ability.

W - Electrical Surge: ACTIVE: Kennen bursts a surge of electricity in a circle around him (New Aatrox 3rd Q sized) dealing magic damage and gaining bonus armor and magic resist for 5 seconds, and apply Mark Of The Storm. Enemies hit by Electrical Surge who are afflicted by Thunderstorm are stunned for .75 seconds. Hitting a Champion with Electrical Surge restores 40 energy. PASSIVE: Kennen deals bonus magic damage and applies a Mark of the Storm once every 5 basic attacks.

Notes: W becomes a blend of Kennen's current Passive,W,and E while also keeping his charged auto attack passive. This new W keeps the mage-like ninja durable when diving a marked target to initiate and restore the energy needed to continue the fight after going in. The stun on a Thunderstorm target preserves Kennen's initiation possibilities.

E - Lightning Rush: Kennen dashes in a straight line(slightly shorter Shen taunt length, his master and all right?), dealing magic damage to all enemies hit and applying Mark Of The Storm. If Kennen hits a Champion afflicted by Thunderstorm, the cooldown is refunded. Stores two charges.

Notes: Kennens old E is outdated and boring. With this new E, it gives Kennen the mobility that his other ninja counterparts have. Thematically this new interaction with Thunderstorm targets greatly increases the "lightning swift Yordle ninja" idea, allowing him to continually dart around the target. The dash pairs very well with the new Q and W, allowing multiple play patterns. You can ready 3 Q shurikens, dash out of the minion line to throw them, or dash in for a quick stun, unload shurikens in quick sucession, and get out. There are many different options with this skill over his rather boring movespeed electro-ball it currently is.

R - Slicing Maelstrom: Kennen summons a Shuriken Storm, a magical storm around himself for 3 seconds, dealing magic damage to all enemies within range every 0.5 seconds.

Each maelstrom hit applies a Mark of the Storm, up to a maximum of 3.

Slicing Maelstrom deals 10% increased damage with each successive strike against a target, up to a maximum of 150% damage with one strike.

Notes: His ultimate remains unchanged, but with the updated Passive ability, Slicing Maelstrom unlocks Kennen's "ultimate" thematic fantasy, with multiple targets afflicted by Thunderstorm, paired with his new E dash, allows him to dash around the fight like the lightning swift Yordle ninja he is, hurling ninja stars and stunning important targets along the way.

Closing: I was brainstorming this for a little bit after seeing the new Akali rework and thought about how Kennen really sticks out like a sore thumb compared to the rest of the ninjas in League of Legends, and I think updating his kit in a fashion similar to this brings him up to speed with modern LoL and significantly strengthens his core thematics and gameplay patterns.

This is my first time submitting my ideas to the board, I look forward to the comments and criticism. Thanks for reading!

7 Comments

Caretaker Jack2 votes

Kennen does not need a skill set update... However a model update with a voice over update? Yes please.

l am a troll1 votes

Thanks for commenting, I have one question for you. What part about Kennen's kit feels like a ninja to you?

I don't really get any ninja-esque feels from Kennen's current kit, besides the simple fact that he uses energy instead of mana.

Caretaker Jack1 votes

{quoted}

Thanks for commenting, I have one question for you. What part about Kennen's kit feels like a ninja to you?

I don't really get any ninja-esque feels from Kennen's current kit, besides the simple fact that he uses energy instead of mana.

The shurikens.

But on a more serious level, Kennen isn't your conventional ninja in the lore. He's very direct. I would not expect a yordle that is known for busting out his mothers womb to be stealthy. And his title is "heart of the tempest" (violent storms aren't very stealthy or ninja like.)

Kennen relies on his speed to finish foes quickly. I feel his kit meets that standard just fine. He just needs a new model and voice over, lore update. and splash art.

rayzo1 votes

don't give riot any ideas they will give him true stealth, 10 dashes, make his mark of the storm do 10% max hp true damage, and make him immune to cc during ult.

HalcyonDweller1 votes

This is awesome! +1

l am a troll1 votes

Thanks! I wonder if Rioters read the posts on this board, I hope they saw this and can start brewing an update for Kennen soon!

HalcyonDweller1 votes

They read, it would be nice to know if/when they have but they lurk a lot. Chances are your idea will be seen. Especially if they decide to update kennen, because then they will likely search the boards for posts about kennen.

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