Kassadin - A True Rework

Still a work in progress, numbers have not been posted.

The Prequel For a long time, Kassadin has needed to be overhauled. It was evident from all the way back when he was released that he would present an obstacle to the game. That evidence was reinforced season after season and thread after thread of unhappy players.

Over time, Kassadin has received a soft rework and several nerfs. Now he sits at about a ~42% win rate and less than a 2% pick rate.

What Kassadin does NOT need, are simply number changes to his abilities. He needs a full rework to his kit. It has become pretty clear over time that his current kit is the antithesis to fun, either through his abilities being too strong or him being too weak.

Some suggestions that I have come up with, that I feel fit within his lore include the following:

Passive - Dimensional Slip Kassadin receives power from spells cast around him. Once 6 spells have been cast near him, he slips "out of phase" with reality, gaining special bonuses and adding additional effects to his abilities. He gains % Damage Reduction and ignores collision with units and terrain. Spells cast by Kassadin while "out of phase" increase the duration of his passive (slightly) When his passive ends, he explodes in a spread around him dealing true damage equal to the damage reduced by his passive while "out of phase."

EDIT 1< If Kassadin would end his passive while he is within terrain, he is moved to the nearest "open" terrain and takes damage based on that distance he is moved. This applies AFTER his passive ends, and does not factor into his burst.

NOTES This ability seems strong due to his potential to walk through walls and other terrain and the damage reduction, however it is contingent upon him actually reaching his passive, and even then it only gives him a small amount of damage at 5% Damage Reduction (DR) and if he was dealt 2000 damage he would deal 100 damage at 10% DR and 2000 damage dealt to him would deal 200 damage 15% ... 300 damage etc (while the damage IS true damage, it also isn't that much, and he has to survive massive amounts of damage to deal large amounts of damage with his passive)

Q - Void Stone / Null Sphere (AoE poke and slow. Short CD, decent mana cost) Kassadin throws a piece of void stone at target location that deals damage in a small area, dealing less outside of the initial impact. Dimensional Slip - Kassadin deals full damage to the target location and leaves a sphere that slows enemies by % MS

W - Nether Blade (AA buff and steroid) Mostly this ability is unchanged, although the exact numbers of it could easily shift to compensate for his new kit. Dimensional Slip - Kassadin's AA range is increased based off his ranks in Nether Blade

E - Rend Space / Rift Step (high CD nuke) Kassadin rends the area in front of him in a cone, dealing a large amount of magic damage (this is going to effectively be the same as Force Pulse, but without the slow... if the slow would be more beneficial to him and would fit, then it wouldn't be difficult to add one. The other difference would be that it is contingent upon it's CD rather than spells cast nearby) Dimensional Slip - Kassadin teleports to his Null Sphere and deals the damage from this ability in a spread around him (with the addition of him being able to teleport to his Null Sphere, he now has some mobility and potential to enter a fight, but him being able to exit the fight is entirely predicated on whether his enemies are still alive, focusing him, or if he can run through a wall.

R - Void Walk (moderate CD) Kassadin forcibly enters his passive, but gains its benefits if activated while he is within his passive, and gains a large % movement speed boost. Upon his passive ending he deals additional magic damage based on a % of the damage he dealt while "out of phase." (since his R no longer gives him the ability to teleport all the time, he now can run through walls like an otherworldly spectre, and gains a movement speed boost while doing so. The damage increase at the end of his passive would help give him some additional burst.)

I look forward to questions, comments, concerns, and ideas for cooldowns, costs, and specific numbers.