Talk:Swain/@comment-26448040-20160420053739/@comment-26001789-20160421091710

Before you look just at the numbers and say "OMG RITO Y U NERF SWAIN" you gotta look at the context in which these changes are made.

First off, the new E is better made to be a one point wonder spell. Yes, before the very recent nerfs, the actual way you would play Swain was Max EQW and play him like a Burn Mage with Corrupting Potion and DFT. Since the recent nerfs, that playstyle changed and Riot adapted into it. W now scales the snare with ranks, meaning right now you have to make the choice between maxing W for more time with R or Max E for more damage amplification. Not anymore. Swain can just get a point into his E at Level 1 and leave it at that until he has to max it. This makes him have better lockdown while still keeping his damage. Good. This directly comes into the new Q.

The first thing, besides how utterly ridiculous and silly it looks, the new Q is actually a lot better now. Since Swain will be most likely maxing W for added lockdown, the new Q also makes it a better spell in regards to this. It now patrols an area. Say you wanted to block of an area during a siege while you are busy marching forward. You can now do that. Enemies which try to move away from Beatrice will now also have to consider not getting caught into a well placed W. It makes Swain pattern of damage also more healtier because reckless enemies will simply pass through Beatrice, get slowed, snared and directly punished because of this. No longer does Swain damage all come around him being able to just press Q and do damage and as such, if Swain damage becomes problematic, Riot can simply make it more conditional instead of straight nerfing numbers because there is literally no counterplay besides not being in clickable range.

Finally, the Ult changes makes it so it's easier for enemies to fight you but it also makes you more deadlier in Teamfights. 5 Ravens vs 3 means you are hitting the entire enemy team instead of just the fron/backline and the reduced Mana per second means Swain no longer has to consider how much mana will it drain him. It's a matter more of "If I use my morph too soon I will not have it ready when it matters", thanks to the increased cooldown.

It's overall a healthening of Swain, rewarding those that play smart and making it easier for enemies to fight him because, let's be honest, a good Swain was very very un fun to play against.