User blog:Makbloo/Kassadin's Rework - Suggestions for the new Kit

Kassadin is finally(?) getting reworked and the basic kit is already on PBE. I myself have been a Kassadin player ever since I started and so I though of making this post explaining my ideas and the reasoning behind them and of course reading the community's ideas about them. Before introducing my ideas I provide a link with his live and pbe kits.

Kassadin's live and PBE kits

SUGGESTED CHANGES:

Passive: Void Stone

Kassadin takes 15% reduced magic damage and ignores unit collision.

NOTES: no change. i like the new passive, since it removes the AS steroid, for trading it with better utility, especially during early game, helping last hit and survive early ganks, while also making better synergy with the new ulti I am suggesting.

Q: Null Sphere

ACTIVE: Kassadin fires an orb of void energy at a target enemy, dealing magic damage and interrupting channels. The excess energy forms around himself, granting a shield that absorbs damage for 2 seconds.

• MAGIC DAMAGE: 80 / 105 / 135 / 175 / 200 (+ 70% AP)

• SHIELD STRENGTH: 45 / 70 / 100 / 130 / 170 (+ 30% AP)

• RANGE: 650

• COOLDOWN: 9

• COST: 60/70/80/90/100 MANA

NOTES: The idea behind this is for Kassadin not to be able to just poke and silence enem champions, since he is a melee anti-mage, hence the disruption of channeling spells instead of chanelling. (Although Im not sure of the effectivess of the removal of silence, as far as the usefulness of the ability is concerned, unless few specific champions are faced.) What I changed in this ability, compared to the PBE one, was to increase the ratio and the damge at later ranks, aiming at a better late game, since the damage was a very low, compared to the live server's corresponding. Further I increased the health of the shield at the first and last ranks, while also increasing the mana costs at all but one ranks, so that better protection against high burst enemy laners in the early game is available. Changing the shield into blocking all types of damage is intended at making it useful against minion and turret aggro, as well as against AD assasins/caster and phhysical damage dealers in early game.

W: Nether Blade

PASSIVE: Kassadin's basic attacks deal 20 (+15% AP) bonus magic damage on-hit.

ACTIVE: Kassadin charges his Nether Blade, causing his next basic attack to deal bonus magic damage and restore a percentage of his missing mana. Mana restored is greatly increased against champions.

• MAGIC DAMAGE: 40 / 65 / 90 / 115 / 140 (+ 60% AP)

• MANA RESTORED: 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 % missing mana

• MANA RESTORED AGAINST CHAMPIONS: 20 / 25 / 30 / 35 / 40 % missing mana

• COOLDOWN: 6

• COST: NO COST

NOTES: Overall the new W, enables Kassadin to trade with AA's, as all melle champions should be able to do, instead of relying on Q for poke in lane. The changes in this ability really help Kassadin with early-game last-hitting, while engaging and autoattacking the enemy champing, instead of immediately disengaging is much more rewarding in terms of damage and restoring of Mana. The only change I did on this ability compared to the PBE one, was to slighly increase the ratio of the passive, which will be more helpful in early game and hardly impactful in late game.

E: Force Pulse

PASSIVE: Kassadin draws energy from spells cast in his vicinity, gaining a charge whenever a spell is cast near him, including his own spells.

ACTIVE: Upon reaching 6 charges, Kassadin can emit a pulse of void energy, dealing magic damage and slowing enemies in a 90º cone in front of him for 3 seconds.

• MAGIC DAMAGE: 80 / 105 / 130 / 160 / 190 (+ 65% AP)

• SLOW: 30 / 35 / 40 / 45 / 50%

• RANGE: 700

• COOLDOWN: 6

• COST: 70/75/80/85/90 MANA

NOTES: Being Kassadin's new wave-clearing ability, I increased the radius and ratio of the ability and the damage at later ranks, to compensate for the higher mana costs. This change intends to help Kassadin farm during early game, but forces him to wisely use this spell, since it may be abused against spamming enemies.

R: Rift Walk

ACTIVE: Kassadin teleports to the targeted location, dealing magic damage to enemy units within 150 range upon arrival. The greater the distance travelled, the greater the mana cost. Damaging an enemy champion or minion reduced the cooldown of the ability to half.

• MAGIC DAMAGE: 90 / 120 / 150 (+3% of max mana)

• MINIMUM RANGE: 400

• MAXIMUM RANGE: 900

• COST: 50 / 100 / 150 (+50 / 75 / 100 MANA per 100 units)

• TOTAL COST FOR MAXIMUM RANGE: (300 / 475 / 650 MANA)

• COOLDOWN: 14 / 12 / 8

• REDUCED COOLDOWN: 7 / 6 / 4

NOTES: The main changes I made on the PBE kit concern the ultimate. Although I agreed that having a "free flash" (as many call it) every 3-4 seconds in late game, really leaves few counterplays to the enemies, I found the new ultimate rather confusing, while it forces a mana-tank Kassadin build. In my version, the player is able to determine, to a certain extend how far he will rift walk, depending on the situation. The further away the player travels the more mana is required. In order to prevent abusing of this, I added a maximum range of 900 units (i.e. Kha'Zix's evolved leap strike) and a minimum of 400 units (i.e. between Nidalees Pounce andLucian's dash). Further, as many peiple have proposed in forums (and if I'm not mistaken it has already been implemented on Gragas) in order for the player to get a low-cooldown flash he will have to actually hit an enemy, since otherwise the cooldown is much higher. This change prevents an escape machine Kassadin, allows counterplay, by either dodging or catching Kassadin off guard and rewards taking risks to burst down the enemy adc/apc and then staying in battle with W activated, before leaping out and having long cooldowns. In terms of visual effect, I imagine cocentrical circles to indicate the different ranges that the player can reach, indicating the mana cost at teh ability's icon. I completely removed the stacking of damage and mana costs of consecutive casting of abilities, since I believe that it is not about spamming the ability, but making the right decisions of engaging or disengaging (+sendind a message).

Concluding, the numbers, especially concering the ultimate's mana costs can be changed, the purpose is to discuss the idea in terms of viability, balance and having fun while playing.

Please comment your thoughs :D ===I have posted almost the same blog as a post on reddit, (which is full of lee sin posts about his changes), so in case anyone wants to contribute on reddit here's the link: Reddit post===