User blog comment:Rowtuh/Boiler, the Disjointed Automaton - Remake 1/@comment-69.165.137.140-20121219003617/@comment-1618239-20121219035033

Well, the thing with AP Sion is that Riot actually stated that they wanted both AP and AD Sion to remain viable. (There are better choices for AP Sion now, of course. Or so I want everyone to believe, because I hate fighting him and I don't particularly enjoy playing him.)

As for the Q, one of the original reasons for its presence (and what continues to be the primary reason it's around) was that I wanted him to have some sort of ranged ability for top lane, so he could last hit if being zoned and he could harrass if equal or winning. I also wanted to tie in both of his themes (mechanical, cursed) and grant him a very small amount of AoE non-R effect. The AoE is extremely small, though (only a few Teemos across); maybe enough to hit a couple of pursuers or the melees of a minion wave, but no more.

I think your R is interesting and if I revisit his kit again I'll certainly consider it, but the changes I made earlier are probably sufficient for rebalancing it - as far as the concerns previously given. I actually think I may have taken it too far - his base percentage damage is pretty low at this point. If you have any thoughts on the current iteration, I'd love to hear them.