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I really want Kai'Sa to succeed

ZAELORD·2/22/2018, 8:08:20 PM·22 votes·4,269 views

So after playing Kai'sa a few times I've come to the conclusion that most other people have: She needs work.

I doubt that Riot will do anything to fix it at this point, but regardless here's an opinion/analysis from some one who really wants her to succeed:

Her gameplay is fun and inventive. I like it a lot since it fits my playstyle nicely, honestly I'll probably end up maining her for a while because she's so fun and has a nice learning curve. Her model is also really sleek as well as her skin and I like it a lot. I know that plenty of people have had problems with how she looks, and I have some issues too, but honestly all of that is so superficial. In order to survive in literally the most dangerous place in the universe, she would have to be in good shape, which means have a nice body. Attractiveness comes from our basic drive to be with someone who is healthy, and damn bro, she needs to be healthy to live in the Void. Say what you will about "too many sexy champs" but we haven't had a conventional "sexy" champ in quite a long time and it's kinda nice to think about how someone who had to live through hell got at least something nice. Of course, there was a lot of things that she could've been, and I agree with some opinions over others.

Though I'm waiting for the lore to be released, so far it feels like the symbiote isn't.. void-ey enough. It doesn't do what other Void creatures conventionally do. No Voidling is submissive or beneficial to anyone but themselves; why then is this one? IMO it would make for a better narrative for the thing to be more parasitic and have Kai be able to beat it into submission than for it to initially think: We can help each other. That's a big reason why people are dissatisfied: She doesn't represent the Void like she should because right now it just doesn't make sense . I can see Riot justifying why she looks the way she does in the lore, and her suit can account for why she doesn't have scars, but It really doesn't matter what she looks like because, as ya mommy always told ya: it's whats on the inside that counts. That's the real problem with Kai'Sa: she doesn't have a compelling enough personality to make her stand out from all the other attractive girls or Voidlings in the game.

People can be attractive. Plenty of people are. But the reason why people stand out is because of their personality, their motives, their desires. I don't see a lot of that in Kai'Sa. She could be the optimistic, badass hunter, loner type girl that she should be, that Riot has made her out to be. But all of her lines and design so far doesn't really reflect that.

Again, waiting on Lore for a solid opinion, but the thing that annoys me more than anything is her VO. I can take the accent that's fine. But based off of the VO she might as well not have been in the Void at all. Yeah sure there are a few lines that indicate it and some that are great, but I feel as if someone thrown into again, the most dangerous place in the universe would be mentally scarred from it. Even if she got used to it. There isn't much indication of it right now.

Also, this might be just a weird thing for me, but her lines ramble a lot. Like they are too wordy or long. I could get that if she was talking to herself to stay sane, but it's when she's talking to other characters and it just feels... weird. IDK. I don't mind if she doesn't have good social skills, but it should feel intentionally written awkward not unintentional.

Back to the suit, I wish it was more than "really itchy". Isn't it alive? Is she worried about it? Does she trust it? How did she get it? This suit is just as much apart of her as anything else now, she should talk about it more.

However, despite all that, she does have some parts that I really like. She loves peaches. That's great! It makes her feel human. She counts kills. Also fun! But I just feel like overall she is really flat and confused at the moment and it's just hard to stomach. I have faith in Riot. They usually do really well, but I really want Kai'Sa to succeed. I want to be as excited to play her as I am to play Jhin (my main), but right now I would only be playing her for the gameplay, not the character like I do with Jhin or Zoe.

Riot has the means to make her great, but I'm worried they'll skip over her. Even if they had to take her down for a while, it would be worth it to me if they put real effort into her to make it worthwhile. I want her to do well I really do.

17 Comments

RiotCoolRadius2/22/2018, 9:56:55 PM23 votes

Zaelord! Thanks for taking the time to express your feelings on Kai'Sa. I am confident that your questions can be answered upon spending more time with her. As well, there is more coming that I think will shed a little light on her and her relationship with the Void, her skin and what she desires. I hope I'm not being cheeky about it, but hopefully you'll see more as you play with her more. Thanks so much for being a passionate player and taking the time to give us some feedback. GLHF!

ArdoreAurorale2/22/2018, 9:47:06 PM5 votes

In order to survive in literally the most dangerous place in the universe, she would have to be in good shape,

well, i would have preferred her like this masterpiece:

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5c/Firenze_-_Museo_Opera_del_Duomo%2C_Maddalena.jpg/800px-Firenze_-_Museo_Opera_del_Duomo%2C_Maddalena.jpg

she's called ''the regretting saint madeleine" , a masterpiece from the italian sculptor Donatello during renaissance. saint madeleine was, as the legend says, an old woman that was wandering, lost, in south france. her very long hair, her expression, you can feel the struggle. that's how i'd imagine Kai'sa after being in the most dangerous place in the universe, the void. not just like a top model walking around for shopping

Ben O Nights2/22/2018, 11:57:41 PM3 votes

I really like the direction they're trying to go with her, but as you said, it sometimes seems a littlebit lackluster.

Her lines, especially the special interactions, sometimes feel a littlebit dull. She rambles a lot (she has a voice line, that has four long rows in the interactions spotlight). But i think that this can be traced to a certain condition.

Her lines indicate that everything that came before the void is nothing but a blur. She simply doesn't remember much so she is confused how to feel abut some distand memory that is nothing but a hint at a past life.

Her rambling, well that something that comes from being alone or semi-alone. Talking to herselve or the suit. If you have nothing to talk about other than the present, you have to make the most ou of it ( at least i think that could be an explanation).

What really bugs me are the visuals. I like the direction. Badass huntergirl with living armor from the horror-dimesion. I think it's great that she's a beauty, but her suit, which is actually a void-creatur, seems lackluster. It's not horrific enough. Make it disgusting. Make it creepy. Make us say: "Good God, how can she wear that?" A full unsettling beauty-theme. Pretty, but you just can't look at her.

At some point she says something about others seeing her as ugly or repugnant, but that she's on their side. That line feels misplaced since she looks very human and her suit, apart from the two wing-rocketlauncher-thingies on her back, quite normal.

Well, here's hoping for a skin that embraces the horror-aspect.

AbiwonKenabi2/22/2018, 10:20:43 PM2 votes

Good points, I think you cut to the heart of her personality problems. She feels very dull when she is supposed to be badass. She also doesn't seem to bear any meaningful scars, mental or otherwise, which feels unsatisfactory when this Champion ought to have suffered more than probably any other. My favorite lines of hers are the kill count as you mentioned, but it almost feels like a leftover from when they rewrote her personality. It fits a Void suited predator person, yet it doesn't fit the rest of her personality as its been presented.

I can see what they were going for, its compelling even if I don't agree with the direction. But I don't think they delivered on their vision of Kai'Sa as effectively as they could have.

FlameHalbrdOkido2/23/2018, 6:58:00 AM1 votes

I really feel you on the suit, it's really been undersold in the VO and game play, you can't really tell there's a symbiotic relationship at all

Sarennar2/23/2018, 12:02:43 PM1 votes

For the Good or the Bad,Riot has to keep things Simple in LOL, remember that while their ingame model looks aint bad at all, they are the worst of the competition, and its done for a reason, keep the load the lowest possible, so while her suit might not look alive enough, it might be quite alive in a future CG video, to the point of being disgusting(I doubt I will find it Disgusting, but Im a bit of a wacko), remember that LOL lacks Proper Glossiness, reflections, the shadows arent the best around(Good thing because shadows tend to kill my FPS.)so the developers need to do what they can, not what they want, Im sure RIOT would love to make a Game that looks absurdly good, to the point of people being scared of Chogath just by him being on the screen, but that would take a Absurd amount of Requirements to play(think the MOBA from the Company with E) and it would reduce the amount of players they get.

That being said, I would Love a CG Video with Kai'Sa showing how truly strange her suit is....

LordGeovanni2/24/2018, 1:08:49 AM1 votes

idk why they would give a ranged assassin auto lock on damage . and her evolving suit seems like she is just doing kha zix