[CHAMPION CONCEPT] Saitou, the Wuju Warlord

Saitou The Wuju Warlord

The Temple was all he knew. Learning the Art was his life. As he grew, Saitou showed a deep understanding of the Wuju way, such that even some of the masters were envious of his deep and tranquil heart. Each day he would spend disciplining his body in the training yard, furthering his mind in the library, and strengthening his spirit by tutoring his sibling students. None could contest Saitou’s dedication to Wuju.

When Saitou learned of the Noxian invasion into Ionia, he was saddened by such loss of life, but grew worried when his fellow student Yi went to meet the invaders on the battlefields. He feared for what this would mean for the temple.

His fears proved well founded when Noxian High Command unleashed a terrible chemical attack upon the temple. Most died choking on their own blood, the chemicals wracking their bodies and destroying them from inside. Few survived, and those that did, including Saitou, were lost to madness.

Saitou could hear their screams, their cries of agony, even now so long after the massacre. He could feel his lungs on fire still, even long after he received the breathing apparatus that forces air into his crippled respiratory system. Those he grew up with. Masters, students, all of them are gone now. Saitou’s eyes, bloodshot and yellowed from the chemicals, squinted viciously into near slits from the rage that threatened to overpower his sense of self. His mind may have returned, but he was by no means whole again. The ever-present fury threatens to overtake him again. His discipline is the only wall between a frayed sanity, and utter madness.

The years following the massacre sent Saitou down a dark and dangerous path. His mind set on vengeance, he trained day and night, transforming the once beautiful and serene art of Wuju into an abomination, dedicated to only pain, and destruction. A tool he plans to use to great effect on the ones responsible for the destruction of his home and family.

Noxus will fall for their inhumane machinations. Singed, the Zaunite Alchemist will suffer for the pain his creations have wrought. Yi, for allowing Noxus to recognize the power of their humble art, will suffer most. For without him, Noxus might never have turned their eyes to the temple. Without Yi, the temple might yet have survived. Saitou will have his vengeance, and all who stand in his way will perish.

Edit Log 5/26/2018 - 12:52 AM EST: E: Winds of Wrath cost changed from 60/65/70/75/80 Mana to 20/40/60/80/100 Health. Enemies running from Saitou are No longer slowed. Saitou now gains 5-25% Magic Penetration based on rank for duration, and gains 50% increased Tenacity from Vengeance Unimpeded.

5/27/2018 - 2:07 AM EST: Added a Calculation Notes section where balance calculations based on choice item sets are explained. Currently only 1 build has been posted, but more will follow as I have time to finish calculations and post them.

Designer Notes Big shoutout to FrostlySpark for the 5/26 Edit. Their idea to sacrifice health to improve combos inspired this slight redesign of Winds of Wrath. So thank you FrostlySpark, I really enjoy the change from cling to combo in my simulations.

Physical Appearance

Height: 5’10

Weight: 145lbs

Hair: Bald

Eyes: Bloodshot w/ Yellowed Pupils

Frame: Wiry/Thin

Musculature: Dense/Toned

Complexion: Pale/Heavily Scarred (Including various cracks along his flesh, particularly on his skull.)

Weapon: Wuju Sword (blood red hilt w/ Black Blade. Topaz Energy trail)

Clothing: Stomach wrapped in dark bandages, Coal black lower robe, Utilitarian black trousers, sturdy leather boots. All with crimson accents. Pitch Black Steel Gauntlets cover hands.

Accessories: Metal Rebreather unit surgically attached to his body. Covers jaw, entire neck, collarbone, some of chest and shoulders. Rebreather unit has three cylinders attached sideways to his jaw, with center cylinder covering mouth area

Note to Graphics Designers & Animators: The Rebreather covering his mouth and jaw makes it essential that you capture the disciplined, yet volatile hatred Saitou has for just about everything in his stance, but most importantly his eyes. The chemical attack left his eyes permanently bloodshot and warped his once beautiful crystal blue eyes into some sick, pustule looking yellow. Everything he was has been warped and tainted, and as the creator of Saitou I cannot express enough just how much raw pain he experiences each day from the damage he will never fully recover from.

Quotes Against Yi: "You brought this on our family... It is only right that you join us in suffering!"

With Yi as Teammate: "This does not absolve you of your sins, brother... nor will it abate your coming judgement..."

Against Singed: "Finally, I will have my Retribution!"

Against Noxians: "Your leaders brought us death... I am simply returning the gift."

To Tryndamere (Allied or Enemy): "Your rage is impressive... but undisciplined... Allow me to Educate you."

Note to Voice Actor(s) & Sound Technicians: Saitou's rebreather is a pressure based system. periodically, it will create a sharp inhalation sound as it forces air into his lungs. His lines should be read slowly and deliberately. He doesn't have a lot of air, so each syllable has to count. Further more, this should create either a metallic muffle effect to his voice, or an electronic effect. Both make sense and would fit the intimidating aura he gives off.

Statistics Base Attack Damage: 76(+2.2/lvl) Base Attack Speed: .64(+1%/lvl) Base Health: 710(+70/lvl) Base Mana: 260(+22/lvl) Base Health Regen: 12(+3.6/lvl) Base Mana Regen: 5(+1.8/lvl) Base Armor: 34(+1/lvl) Base Magic Resist: 29(+1/lvl) Base Movement Speed: 335

Role Primary Role: Fighter Secondary Role: Tank Difficulty: Moderate-Low

Abilities Passive: Vengeance Unimpeded- Saitou gains 10 Armor/Magic Resist and 1% Tenacity for every 100 HP he is missing.

Q: Retaliation- 50/60/70/80/90 Mana. Saitou spins with his blade dealing 50/100/150/200/250 + (.5AP) Magic Damage to enemies in its radius. This damage is increased by 1% for each 1% of Saitou’s Maximum Health he is missing. Damaged targets are stunned for .25 seconds. 8/7/6/5/4 second cooldown.

W: Relentless- 100 Mana at all Ranks. Saitou shouts in defiance, healing himself for 20% +(.6AP Flat) of his Missing Health and cleanse himself of all Movement-Impairing effects. Taking damage from enemy champions reduces the cooldown by 1 second. 24/22/20/18/16 second cooldown

E: Winds of Wrath- 20/40/60/80/100 Health. Saitou gains 1% Movement Speed for every 1% of his Maximum Health he is Missing +(.2AP Flat Movement Speed) for 3/4/5/6/7 seconds. During this duration, Saitou gains 5/10/15/20/25% Magic Penetration, and his Tenacity Bonus from Vengeance Unimpeded increases by 50%. 22/21/20/19/18 second cooldown.

Ultimate: Retribution- 120 Mana at all Ranks. Saitou teleports to the target enemy champion, Dealing 150/200/250 (+.4AP) Magic Damage to the target and knocking them up for 2 seconds. This damage is increased by 1% for every 20HP Saitou is Missing. Enemies surrounding the target take half damage and are knocked back a short distance. 100/90/80 second cooldown.

Tips & Tricks Playing as Saitou: • Saitou gains durability and damage as he loses health. Don’t be afraid to engage a high damage opponent. You’ll deal as good as you take, maybe even better. • Enemies tend to run away when they get low in health. After a long trade, when the enemy is looking to disengage, Winds of Wrath will allow you to keep the pressure, and maybe even secure a kill. • Watch out for being Kited, Relentless will only stop what’s currently impairing your movement. Enemies that can Reapply their slows and snares will still be able to keep you at bay. Abuse CD windows to succeed against High CC enemies.

Playing Against Saitou: • Saitou gains a lot of Resistances as he gets low in health. Make sure to build Penetration items early to counter this. • Even at max rank Winds of Wrath has a long Cooldown. When it isn’t available, Saitou has a low movement speed. Knowing this CD window will allow you to truly abuse his lack of engage/escape options. If he doesn’t burn his flash to get away, you can almost guarantee a kill. • If Saitou uses Winds of Wrath to close in for Retribution, He loses any form of Re-engage. All it takes is a knockback to push him out of the fight for a few seconds while you take care of the enemy team.

Calculation Notes(1) AP Bruiser Saitou: Calculations made based upon item set at full build being . Build order is obviously situational, but should Saitou reach full build with this set, Important stats are as follows: AP: 370 HP: 3500 Move Speed(Before E): 380

With the build as stated above, Base damage from Q becomes 435 not including % gained from missing health. Damage from R becomes 397, also not including missing health calculations. Flat Movement speed bonus from E is 74 Health restored from W is 222.

I used a current health value of 500hp, which is 15% of his maximum health, as a reasonable "Critical Mass" situation, where Saitou is simultaneously most dangerous, and most vulnerable. At this point, Saitou's ability value's change as thus:

Retaliation damage increases to 804 Relentless Healing increases to 822 Total Movement speed during Winds of Wrath is now 738 Retribution Primary target damage increases to 992

At this point he becomes a very volatile entity, provided his CDs are all recharged, as he can quickly engage an enemy with a timely Winds followed by an RQ combo, while still having a relatively good chance at escaping the fray he just entered. His vulnerability comes from well aimed roots. Also note that at this "Critical Mass" state, while his health is very much depleted, he would (with this build) have an armor value of 351, an Magic Resist Value of 346, and 30% Tenacity (45% if E is active). Bursting his remaining health will be more difficult than first glance would assume.

Final Analysis: Provides (arguably) optimal combination of durability and damage, but fails to address the vulnerability to hard Crowd Control with any CC removal/evasion.

(1) Please note that all builds calculated in this section do not factor in Rune Sets. Due to the kit's synergy with several rune combinations, and my being a single person, calculations will be restricted to only item set testing. If you have suggestions for item sets you wish me to test on Saitou please leave a comment below and I will be happy to run the calculations for them. If you wish to run the calculations yourself, feel free to comment below on the build you calculated as well as the statistical results, and I will happily add them to this post, with appropriate credit for the assistance.