Kog'Maw Passive Rework Concept
So, out of all passives in the game, I've come to the conclusion the Kog'Maw's passive makes the least sense thematically, gameplay wise, and as an ability in general.
Problems with the current passive
- Can only be used after death, denying players access to the full champion kit (I think similarly of Karthus, but at least that lets him cast his ultimate uninterrupted)
- Has no scaling, while this does make it utility based, that goes against the rest of Kog'Maw's kit as an on hit artillery hypercarry.
- Requires Kog'Maw to get into melee range of an enemy to deal the damage
- Can be easily outrun and outmaneuvered by any high movement speed champions or mobility tools.
- If Kog'Maw dies in the backline, he needs to run even farther to reach enemy champions
- Due to the lack of scaling and being flat damage (as opposed to percent max/current/missing HP), its only very effective against squishies.
- It can potentially punish enemy players for properly focusing the backline.
I'm not saying its a weak passive, but I don't think its a fitting passive that makes sense on the champion. Due to all these issues with Kog'Maw's current passive, I have drafted a new potential Kog'Maw passive that fits with his kit, playstyle, and lore/character.
THE NEW PASSIVE Projectile Vomit -Every X autoattacks, OR -Every X seconds reduced by X seconds each autoattack Kog'Maw's next autoattack will leave extra puke dripping off the enemy, creating a small region under the enemy where the autoattack lands that slows enemy movespeed and speeds up ally movespeed. This region lasts X seconds.
ALTERNATIVELY
After Kog'Maw hits an enemy with an ability (Q, E or R), that enemy is drenched in vomit for X seconds. If Kog'Maw autoattacks a drenched target, the vomit will drip onto the ground, leaving a temporary region that slows enemy movespeed and speeds allied champions.
WHY THIS PASSIVE IS A GOOD IDEA? So in both suggestions, it takes advantage of Kog'Maw's artillery status. I like both ideas, the first more supports Kog'Maw's on-hit playstyle, the second supports a more ability intensive playstyle. Essentially, it gives Kog'Maw a very weak form of peel that he and his team can take advantage of, even when he's in the backline. Due to it only being a small AoE slow, Kog'Maw is still just as vulnerable to hard engages, blinks, dashes, or being picked in a teamfight. It also makes sense lore/character wise, since Kog'Maw is the upchucking machine gun vomiter.
Of course, I'm not saying that Kog'Maw's current passive should just be instantly replaced with this new idea without any additional balance changes. I would think that since this passive is stronger than his current one, things like his E would have its slow nerfed, and his W would either have its range, cooldown or duration nerfed, and maybe some adjustments to his bonus attackspeed from his Q.
Skinwise, the slobber can be drool on Pugmaw, eggnog on Reindeer Kog'Maw, oil on Battlecast, sparklers on Lion Dance. If thats too much, maybe assign it a similar sprite to his E on each skin.
Tell me your thoughts on the idea, and upvote if you want more people to see it! Thanks for reading. 