Can we talk about Karma?

Why isn’t her as strong in game as she is in lore? Where is her “indomitable will and unbound spiritual power”, the fact that she is the “soul of Ionia made manifest” and a “inspiring presence on the battlefield”, “a strong leader” and all of the rest described in her story?

It’s really underwhelming to see a character who has the capabilities to be as strong, or even stronger (in game, at least) than a number of characters being poorly depicted as she is now. Now, that is not a design problem, after all, strong black woman donning her homeland clothes and motifs always equals badass, her problem seems to lie in her skills and lack of real “I have a big power and know exactly how to use it well” feel.

The problem of her skills lies in the fact that all of them are very simplistic in its effects, you know? she pierced a Noxian general with spiritual double dragons in her lore, not with twin ribbon-like hand powers. Her root isn’t more than a plain, single green line! It’s really sad to say that a character idealized to be the embodiment of balance, with limitless magical power and one of the best commanders on the battlefield has a shield and an enhancement (her ult) as the best designed skills. Talking about her ult, why is it so subpar? Mantra was supposed to give her access to her full powers, the perfect opportunity for her to change her entire moveset around to show how much power Ionia holds. After all, she is the leading (and inspiring) force, and is always on the battlefields in the most important hours, and considering that Irelia is the “raw force” commander, Karma should be the technician behind Ionia’s success, which means that her mantra could really be something more like a gigantic double dragon, a super shield that protected everything inside it, or rooting dragons that followed enemies. She could even transform her skillset to a full defense or full offense mode with mantra, or (using actual game mechanics) enhance an ability to act differently if casted on an ally (like a powerful shield) or an enemy (shield bomb, anyone?) and so on. She really has great potential to be a very tactical-like mid/support champion with impactful decisions that could change the game around her team’s favor but as of now she is simply an early game poke champion that falls flat late game and is on that “champions in a good spot” limbo, where they are good, but there is always better options for almost all situations.

Before concluding, I just want to mention something. I really understand that Karma was reworked to be a more appealing champion and to have a more consistent kit, but why have you, Riot, took away things that were very characteristic of her? Yes, I’m talking about the fans. But not only her fans, her own dialect is broken now, too. She doesn’t complete her phrases anymore( Where did Phyla, Jia and Saera go? ) , and now they don’t make that much sense even if they are what people most recognize her for. It’s like taking half of Garen’s iconic “DEMACIA!” and calling it a day because “it sounds better this way”. And her fans. Yes, they are important. Yes, they are a part of her character, like Ahri is not Ahri without her Spirit Orb, Katarina isn’t Katarina without her endless supply of daggers, and Miss Fortune is not herself without Shock and Awe (they could do their jobs just fine without them, but it would still feel odd, wouldn’t it?). And mainly, yes, they have a good meaning that adds to the character’s lore and backstory. Fans are not only a status item (which was used in some Asian countries as decoration; the higher the status, the better/more drawings it had) but a weapon in the battlefield too. It sometimes acted as a substitute for swords (mainly the gunsens/tessens, or iron fans) but as a commander’s accessory to give out instructions in the battlefield, which seems very fitting for someone like Karma herself. And I not even talking about how it directly relates to Ionia, as war fans generally look like harmless, beautiful accessories (like a little pacific country with beauties and treasures) but are actually deadly weapons (like the many sword masters, mages and martial artists that inhabit Ionia). Looks very fitting for the “soul of Ionia made manifest” to walk around with one, huh? (And even the guy who reworked her said that if he could, he would put the fans back into her moves. So do it Riot, nobody is stopping you!).

So, all in all, I can be really biased saying all of this (After all, Karma was the character that motivated me to play this game, I’ve fallen in love with her since before her rework and played her for a long, long time. She was the first one I got mastery 5, too!) But I really want Riot to put Karma more into her “badass, strong leader that shoots double dragons with her magical fans” fantasy that we all see and love in her lore. So, please Riot, can you take a look and make some changes into Karma?

Tl;Dr : looks like a common Ionian mage and not the leader of a new era, boundless power holder and soul of Ionia that she really is. Lore is good, character concept is good (Zeronis did an amazing job here) but skills and animations not so much. Also, quotes and fans, she needs more of those.