Talk:Ezreal/@comment-3238314-20120605220359/@comment-50.103.41.31-20120606080324

"When compared to other AP carries, low damage output is simply wrong, based on scalings and base damages."

That statement is misleading because it depends HEAVILY on the stage of the game.

"If you max you're W first on AP ezreal, you're doing it wrong. Max Q. Spam it to charge tear. Farm amazingly well with it (last hit minions in the middle of the lane from underneath your tower), and poke like a baws."

Right, so for the first 10 levels, you're going to trade vs Mages in Mid with:

1) Mystic Shot, packing a puny 0.2 AP Ratio (compared to 1.0 AD) on your AP build.

2) A level 1-3 Essence Flux with a flat 9 second cooldown.

3) A level 1-3 Arcane Shift

Any of whom are going to have ratios of around 0.6 AP, with higher bases per spell.

You have the advantage of Cooldown from Q, but your low damage means you will have to land twice as many shots anyway just to break even. And Ezreal is no more durable than most mages to begin with.

"If your Q isn't enough to farm, utilize your passive, it's still there on AP ez, and is still amazing during laning."

No, the damage will be fucking pathetic, just like a mage's auto-attack, because like all Ranged AD Carries, Ezreal's base Attack Damage REALLY SUCKS. This is why Carries are called "ITEM DEPENDENT". They start with low bases because they (eventually) scale into the highest DPS archetype in the game.

You might win in auto-attacks vs the mage, right? Well, as a counter-balance most mages have Crowd Control effects which Ezreal lacks. Your AS Debuff is just going to make the enemy mage (or indeed, ANY skill based mage) giggle at its irrelevance.

Conclusion: Vs most viable mages: YOUR ASS BE ZONED, BRO.

(You DO have a great matchup vs Ryze though!)

In fact, your only significant advantage over AD Ezreal is the increased cap on Trueshot Barrage. This is due to AP being more (initially) cost-effective than Attack Damage. AD Builds will eventually overtake this advantage anyway due to crit doubling their damage output, and attack speed further magnifying THAT total.

FURTHER COMPLICATING MATTERS:

1) No AD means your passive doesn't let you farm or push as well. This can be shored up with Lich Bane, but your intitial farming is going to be painful as you're relying heavily on Sheen-shot Qs to finish minions AND harass at the same time. In comparison AD Ezreal can poke with Q (with far more power at that) and actually last hit.

2) Your early game burst is going to be mediocre at best which means your ganking is going to be done primarily via your Trueshot Barrage, and at great range. While technically possible, it's a riskier gambit.

And finally,

3) Trueshot Barrage as a "Farming Tool".

Stop huffing paint. No, stop CHUGGING paint. Please.

Unless the lane is overstacked (at least three minion waves) AND you just finished a teamfight, you should NEVER resort to burning your Barrage for farming. It's your best skill by far. It's what keeps enemy junglers and supports up at nights. It's why enemy carries juke like coked-out-bunnies in teamfights.

It's your WIN-BUTTON. It's the real reason anyone fears Ezreal in a teamfight. His burst damage is good, but it pales in comparison to shaving 20% of the enemy team's life total off in a single shot, at any range and at most stages of the game. The threat of ATTRITION (trades: 1:1 vs 2:1 vs 3:1) it provides is that powerful.

I cannot emphasize how powerful this spell is.

Don't. Waste. It.

Having to use it to keep up in farming is a handicap, not an advantage.