User blog:Rreflux/Gameplay update: Diana, Scorn of the Moon - v2

In this rework, Diana's kit supports her basic-attack focused passive more, and landing Moonsilver Blade is now more rewarding, due to significantly higher base damage. She is also increasingly powerful the more enemies she hits with her abilities and is solidified as the AoE magic damage diver. She also has incredible sticking power. In turn, her half-second burst has been decreased in many scenarios. There are ways to burst down opponents, but they require more set-up than before. Diana's ideal playstyle will revolve more around auto-attacking and staying alive using some new tools. I still wanted to keep as much as possible from Diana as she is now (akin to a Xin Zhao-level update), and she should still be able to quite easily burst down targets when far ahead.

Ability power will still be her most important stat, but complementing it with a combination of attack speed and survivability (primarily HP) will be more important.

Keep in mind that the numbers given are an indication: they are of course not perfectly balanced. They are there to give an idea of how strong each ability should be. ​​

Changes

 * Base attack speed increased to 0.665 from 0.625

Justification
Diana is now much more reliant on her basic attacks to do damage. Therefore, she deserves to scale better with attack speed. This base attack speed puts her more in the middle of the pack as a basic attack-focused champion.

Changes

 * Damage increased to  from    (Damage increase: ).
 * Now applies on all units hit for 1.5 seconds (also applies to towers to provide attack speed).
 * Attack speed granted after applying instead of after using an ability.
 * Attack speed decreased to 30/40/50/60/70/80 from 30/50/60/70/80/90.

Justification
Zeal: Diana now gains the attack speed after hitting an enemy with certain abilities or hitting her 3rd basic attack. Thus, she is rewarded for landing an ability before going in (Q), or she has to wait to ramp up her attack speed (after 3 attacks), but her passive will now grant her sustained attack speed. Keep in mind that Moonsilver Blade applies to turrets, so Diana will still take down towers quickly as she gets the Moonsilver Blade proc again and again. The attack speed has been slightly lowered to compensate the base attack speed buff.

Scorn: The Moonsilver Blade proc now does significantly more base damage during the entire game, especially during the early to mid game, to make Diana more viable as a sustained fighter and/or reward her for setting up her passive before a fight.

Changes

 * Enemies hit by the end-explosion of the ability are slowed by 30% for 0.5 seconds

Justification
Crescent Strike: The end-explosion now briefly slows to reward Diana for landing it precisely. This allows her to more easily catch up with her opponents or escape during enemy ganks. Crescent Strike remains mostly the same, because it is a lovely and unique ability.

Changes
Moved to W. Reworked:
 * Now only draws in all enemies afflicted with, regardless of distance. It consumes the in the process.
 * Maximum pull distance increased to 300 from 225.
 * Slow duration lowered to 1.25 seconds from 2
 * Cooldown lowered to 18/17/16/15/14 from 26/24/22/20/18.
 * Passive attack speed lowered to 40/50/60/70/80% from 50/60/70/80/90%

Justification
Moonfall: the cooldown is significantly lowered, because only enemies will be pulled. Moonfall can be combo'd with Crescent Strike to pull enemies from range and to pull back enemies after a longer engagement (e.g. when hit with Moonsilver Blade)

Changes
Moved to E. Reworked:
 * Damage removed.
 * Range lowered to 750 from 825.
 * Reset on targets: 100% -> 60%.
 * The ability is reset by 30% of its maximum cooldown every time Diana applies, or half that amount if she only hits non-champions.
 * Lunar Rush resets Diana's basic attack timer, attacking her target immediately after the dash.
 * Diana gains a shield for 3 seconds based on her ability power and bonus health.
 * If the target was afflicted with, Diana's next attack and its on-hit effects deal 20% increased damage.
 * is only consumed on the target.
 * Cooldown lowered to 15 from 25/20/15

Justification
Lunar Rush has been significantly reworked. It deals significantly less damage: only 20% more than a basic attack, but if this attack has on-hit effects such as Moonsilver Blade, Nashor's Tooth or Lich Bane, the damage can rack up high. As well, Lunar Rush is available before level 6, and can grant very strong tankiness when is used well. Its range has been decreased so that enemies have a chance to escape Diana if they dodge all of her skills very well; she will need the slow from Q, the pull from W or the movement speed from R to catch up to hard-to-reach opponents. Diana's new shield scaling allows her to build more defensively and Lunar Rush's basic attack reset and on-hit amplification opens up opportunities for on-hit items.

Changes
Moved to R. Reworked:
 * No longer grants a shield.
 * Orbs rotate much slower around Diana (about 1/3rd of the speed). They are twice as large and further away from her; at slightly less range than old Moonfall.
 * Orbs only detonate on contact with enemy champions
 * Now grants movement speed for each unexploded orb, increased towards enemy champions.
 * While active, shields Diana receives are 25% stronger. When all three orbs detonate, she retains this buff for 5 seconds.
 * Orbs now apply.
 * Orb damage increased to 60/100/140 from 22/34/46/58/70
 * Cooldown increased to 90/75/60 from 10.

Justification
Pale Cascade is now a high-impact ability that unlocks the rest of Diana's kit; It gives her increased target access or some escape potential through movement speed; It allows Diana to burst down single opponents with good positioning; It applies multiple times and in an area of effect, unlocking Moonfall, Lunar Rush and Moonsilver Blade's attack speed. Still, the orbs can be body-blocked by enemy tanks, stopping Diana's movement speed boost. The slowed rotation of the orbs means both Diana and her enemies have some time to strategize around them. The shield power grants Diana a unique synergy with champions that can supply her with shields

Summary
This rework makes Diana a high-damage, area-of-effect diver that can survive against a group of enemy champions and never lets them leave her range if played well. Diana has more utility and outplay potential, but there are more opportunities to outplay her as well.

Diana has many ways to catch up to opponents: a long range slow on Q, a pull and slow on W (long range if combined with Q), a dash on E and a movement speed boost on R. She is a relentless pursuer that keeps attacking her opponents, destroying them with her Moonsilver Blade, never backing down from a fight.

Moonsilver Blade will grant Diana attack speed for 3 attacks if she hits Crescent Strike or Pale Cascade first. Afterwards, she will keep sustained attack speed every time she lands that 3rd attack, as it also applies. This Moonlight allows Diana a brief window to catch back up to enemy champions that she has fought.

Crescent Strike sets up Diana's assassination of her enemies, as the slow allows her to catch up to opponents and the sets her up for multiple uses of Lunar Rush or to pull them toward her with Moonfall.

Moonfall can not only be used from long range, but also after Diana has engaged her enemies and applied to them to pull them back toward her as they try to escape. As long as Diana has revealed them with Moonlight, she can pull them back to fight again.

Lunar Rush is Diana's most important engage ability. As long as Diana can use her other abilities well to apply to multiple opponents, she can stay in the fight, getting shielded in the process. In this way, Diana can survive for a very long time against many opponents.

Both Moonfall and Lunar Rush consume on enemies, so Diana wil have to choose between pulling enemies toward her, allowing her allies to catch up or going deeper into the thick of the fight, and gaining another shield.

Pale Cascade unlocks the rest of Diana's kit, by allowing her easier target access and a high amount of applications. It also makes her tankier by enhancing both her shield from Lunar Rush and ally-granted shields. She can use the movement speed it grants to get into a fight, if she is not body blocked by a tank, or she can use it when she is already up and close with multiple enemies to do significant area-of-effect burst damage. Pale Cascade will grant her the attack speed from Moonsilver Blade, will allow her to gain a lot of shielding with multiple Lunar Rushes and will allow her to pull an entire team towards her with Moonfall.

Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed this blog post! Let me know if anything doesn't make sense or my changes will not work and why they don't. Any feedback is appreciated!

A player known as Reflux.