User:Emptylord/MYMU Big Six

Please note that I am addressing the issues that Riot has identified and NOT reworking the champions as I otherwise might. I'm also trying to keep within the scope of changes that Riot has specified (i.e. a substantial re-defining, like Graves, or a smaller-scale shift in power, like Caitlyn).

Goals= My Solution= Thought Process= General: To fulfil the "why do I pick Brand?" question, I opt'd to go down a path that satisfies my own desire to play-up Brand's possession theme, which is currently only part of his lore and quotes. Up against someoone who is likely to blow you up, but your team still needs a mage? You now have the choices of for utility or  for damage versatility.
 * Things We Like
 * Simple spells with room to express skill, thans to his combo system.
 * His max health damage means he kills everything, eventually - a strength that is suitably off-set by his range and mobility (or lack there of).
 * Respectable burst and sustained damage patterns.
 * Good counterplay and interaction - his weaknesses are all very clear.
 * Things We Don't Like
 * There's not really much reason to pick Brand over other AOE mages - the decision just boils down to who does the most damage this patch.
 * R is frustratingly unpredictable to both Brand and his opponents.
 * His strength is too tied into killing 1/2 people well, rather than killing everyone. (Yes, 20thCenturyFaux wants him setting fire to everyone...)
 * He's too much of a bully early game, which inherently falls off if he doesn't get a lead.
 * Desired Outcomes
 * Maintain his current fun and surprisingly deep gameplay.
 * Is still good at turning around 1v2 engages. (He didn't mean to imply he would become worse at killing two people...)
 * A unique reason to pick him over Lux, Vel'Koz, or any of the other AOE mages.
 * to be less luck-reliant.
 * (Innate)
 * Renamed Burning Vengeance.
 * Damaging an enemy with one of Brand's abilities will apply Blaze for 6 seconds. Each of his basic abilities applies 20 + (10level) Blaze, with his Pyroclasm applying a greater amount. A fraction of the target's current Blaze is consumed every second, dealing as much in magic damage.
 * Additionally, if Brand is slain by an enemy champion, he possesses his killer for 6 seconds - also applying Blaze. If his target dies during this time, Brand is resurrected with.
 * (Q)
 * Damage rebalanced.
 * (W)
 * Damage rebalanced.
 * Targets now take bonus damage equal to 50% of their current Blaze.
 * (E)
 * Damage rebalanced.
 * Secondary target selection now uses instead of.
 * Secondary targets now receive bonus Blaze based on 50% of the target's current Blaze.
 * (R)
 * Pyroclasm can no longer strike the same target more than once, but now continues to bounce so long as there are valid targets in range.
 * Targets hit by Pyroclasm gain 150 / 250 / 350 Blaze.

@: In order to achieve the "less burst and more persistent threat", something has to be done about the fact his only persistent threat is potentially applied up to six times in quick rapid succession - but doesn't stack! Thus, now stacks. Simplest of solutions. However, such a buff to his early game would require suitable tuning from his abilities. For reference: 8% of 3000 health is 240 versus 200 damage at level 18, that stacks. Obviously there is a substantial difference between a per-level curve and an enemy-gold curve - but I'm actually inclined to say the new passive is too strong compared to live.

@: I'm exploring alternate Blaze effects, including tweaks to the primary ability to enable more interesting effects. For example - Pillar of Flame is now more similar to, where it's a column of fire that expands over a duration. This very literally plays up his persistent threat - although the damage would need very carefully tuning considering his new mechanic. For every target with Blaze within the pillar - it could grow faster, or perhaps even chase Blazed targets?

@: I'm currently exploring solutions to make the ability more reliable without just outright being guaranteed. I'm seriously considering giving Brand - that is to say, he jumps between targets personally and a cackling ball of fire. This further plays up his possessive fire elemental theme (as well as contributing toward a general lack of spells where the champion becomes the spell, like ). This ability could be enhanced to require Brand to input his targets - maybe a series of skill shots? If the potential for the ability to be used as a mobility spell, then make the dashes reliant on hitting a target - however, Blade Waltz in its own right is not a mobility spell. It's just a prolonged untargetability spell with a fancy animation.

Goals=
 * Problems
 * feels unnatural to use.
 * should be more about harming/debuffing her enemies, rather than empowering Cassiopeia.
 * is currently holds too much utility over her other abilities, making it the dominant play style.
 * and targeting types are to similar/are used identically.
 * isn't interesting. (I disagree, but oh well.)

My Solution= Thought Process= Disclaimer: I failed to address the concern that poisons serve more to buff Cassiopeia than harm her enemies. In fact, I arguably made them more beneficial to Cassiopeia... (although that's not to say I haven't made them less painful for the enemy).
 * Desired Outcomes
 * is not going to become a Poison Mage.
 * She will remain a medium-short range mage.
 * She will remain a champion that requires a heavy amount of input (actions per minute).
 * to feel less like slave.
 * Add more gameplay for her opponents than "don't get poisoned".
 * Poisons will feel less like generic DoTs.
 * (Q)
 * Reapplication now carries over any remaining damage, splitting it over the next 3 seconds.
 * Cassiopeia blasts the target area, which hits after a second delay, applying   stacks of  to surrounding enemies. A fraction of the target's current Poison is consumed every half second, dealing as much in magic damage.
 * 1/6, 1/5, 1/4, 1/3, 1/2 and 1/1, refreshing on reapplication.
 * (W)
 * Renamed Miasmic Ward.
 * Cassiopeia places up an ornate trap on the target wall that arms after a brief delay, becoming stealthed. Traps last for 2 minutes and Cassiopeia can store up to 2 in reserve. When an enemy walks across the trap's gaze (550-length line) it will begin spewing a cloud of miasma for the next 7 seconds, with the area expanding over the first 3 seconds (600, -30). Enemies within the area are slowed by % for  seconds and gain   stacks of  every second.
 * While inactive, the trap is revealed while an enemy is within units, has 3 health and takes  from champion attacks. Once triggered, the trap becomes untargetable and indestructible.
 * (E)
 * Mana cost flattened to 50 from.
 * Mana refund adjusted to 75 from.
 * Champion and large unit takedowns within seconds of Twin Fang will restore additional mana equal the.
 * Damage amplifier.

@: I think part of the issue with Cassiopeia's poison-orientated gameplay is that all of her poisons are short duration, refreshable debuffs. This leads to poor synergy with the extreme amounts of Cooldown Reduction she is now guaranteed to get and effectively caps her damage output. Due to the base cooldown on the ability of 4 seconds, this below change will not impact her early game - but, then again, the early game of Noxious Blast wasn't touched in the previous rework (it was only 35% AP ratio that her Q lost).

@: For a champion that is highly dependant on her enemy's positioning, Miasma is currently a staple to Cassiopeia's gameplay - a basic zoning tool that allows Cassiopeia to force her enemies movement. To change the casting paradigm to be distinct from without affecting its own use-cases would be most easily solved by changing when Cassiopeia casts the ability. A trap, for example. Whiling bundling her existing into a standard floor trap would be the cleanest implementation - this would be too similar to  and would still be prone to being used in-fight. So, I decided to play up her Tomb Raider theme (which is present in her lore and artwork, any way)...

@: As mentioned above, the fall of Noxious Blast Cassiopeia didn't happen because it was nerfed - it happened because Twin Fang was buffed. Players want Noxious Blast to be a strong way to play Cassiopeia, but it currently under-performs when compared to Twin Fang. However, since Noxious Blast wasn't nerfed (and is presumably as good as it was in "the good old days"), the issue is more down to its relationship with Twin Fang. However, I have no interest in removing the inter-ability interactions outright - Cassiopeia's design is actually very strong in that each of her abilities has incentives to be maxed-first and be a one-point-wonder. When people speak of the "good old days of never using her Twin Fang" - that sounds like really bad champion design, to be honest. So I'm opting to improve the one-point-wonder incentive of Twin Fang for people who want to play Poison Mage, but without removing Twin Fang's ability to function as the maxed ability. This change also recognizes that the loss of may have affected Noxious Blast Cassiopeia, even though the new mana refund mechanic is undeniably stronger.


 * For example
 * Whenever Cassiopeia scores a kill or a takedown on a large unit/champion, she restores equal to her  (halved versus lesser minions and monsters).
 * Whenever Cassiopeia scores a kill or a takedown on a large unit/champion, she restores equal to her  (halved versus lesser minions and monsters).

@: I'm still exploring solutions here. In lieu of mana refund change, I'm actually tempted to restore Deadly Cadence as Cassiopeia's innate - i.e. "Cassiopeia restores mana whenever she scores a kill equal to the remaining poison on her target." and then convert Aspect of the Serpent into a passive on Petrifying Gaze, given levels 6, 11 and 16 follows a very similar curve to 100, 250 and 500 stacks.

I'm almost tempted to rip-off and give her choices to "adapt", and have her curse debilitate her while the curse "augments" her further. This always helps alleviate the rather odd nuance of "landing poison generates stacks but the empowerment buffs her Twin Fang", which probably contributes to the whole "Riot wants people to use Twin Fang" complaints.


 * For example
 * Renamed Serpent's Curse.
 * Revised stack bonuses:
 * 100 Stacks: 1 Affliction Point
 * 250 Stacks: +25% cooldown reduction and 1 Affliction Point
 * 500 Stacks: +30% ability power and 1 Affliction Point
 * Affliction points can be spent to augment one of Cassiopeia's basic abilities. Affliction has an animation that immobilizes Cassiopeia, similar to 's evolutions.
 * Cassiopeia is now also when Noxious Blast strikes a champion.
 * Now expands to 180 degrees over the duration. Far-out idea.
 * Twin Fang will restore  health.
 * Twin Fang will restore  health.

Goals= My Solution= Thought Process= Malzahar was very difficult to tackle. The goals want to keep Malzahar's iconic features and gameplay in tact... but while also removing the only reason those abilities are iconic. So, I decided to really play-up the "AP Malzahar players will care about voidlings" goal, as well as playing up his existing sieging niche to the point that he is now the mage you pick if your team lacks pushing/sieging capabilities - something the mage class overall lacks. Consequently, Malzahar's visual theme will shift from a somewhat generic "purple spell effect mage" to void harbinger - so while the overall shapes and casting paradigms of his abilities should feel the same, the visuals will now be a bit more organic.
 * Happy About
 * His anti-mobility/anti-assassin niche via Nether Grasp.
 * Fun/unique farming patterns via Malefic Visions.
 * Unhappy About
 * Little opportunity to act outside of not getting into his range.
 * Inherently low agency.
 * Voidlings aren't utilized in AP Mazlahar's kit.
 * Goals
 * Feel familiar to Malzahar players; he has a lot of cool spells/visuals, and we don't want to change that.
 * Feel less like a burst caster to everyone.
 * Continue to be low range and low mobility, but he will feel less vulnerable.
 * AP Malzahar players will care about using their Voidlings correctly.
 * AD Malzahar will still be a decent option.
 * Malzahar's kit will have clearer signals for how he could have played better and/or how opponents could have played better against it.
 * Playing Malzahar still won't be a mechanically intense/exhausting experience.
 * (Innate)
 * Malzahar corrupts the ground beneath enemy units that die within 3 seconds of being damaged by him, which rapidly spreads to cover a -radius area over 3 seconds. Malzahar's attacks deal as bonus magic damage while standing on Malefic Ground, with his voidlings dealing 40% as much.
 * (Q)
 * Razorfin.png Malzahar summons a Infested Razorfin to attack the target, dealing up to  magic damage to the target over 4 seconds. If Ordained Assault's target is slain, Malzahar restores mana cost  and half the cooldown is refunded.
 * (W)
 * Ironback.png Malzahar opens a wide portal to the void at the target location. After a second delay, an Abhorrent Ironback erupts from the ground dealing   magic damage to surrounding enemies. The Ironback's attacks deal 25 (+5level) physical damage in a large, off-centred oval and  non-champions hit based on proximity. The Abhorrent Ironback behaves like a minion and will prioritize objectives, only assisting champions based on the Call For Help mechanic.
 * (E)
 * Baron Nashor VU.jpg Malzahar opens two portals on parallel pieces of terrain up to 1200 units apart, perpendicular to the way he is facing. Worm Hole will not cast unless a valid target is selected. After a second delay, a Juvenile Nasher hurtles between the portals dealing   magic damage to and  enemies within the area. The worm takes 3 seconds to pass by, blocking the area. While impassible, the Juvenile Nasher is classified as a unit and not terrain.
 * (R)
 * Unknown.

@New Innate - Perhaps the biggest shift in playstyle from his original kit. The name now refers to Malzahar's prophetic vision of Runeterra, rather than plaguing his enemy with visions. While "space AIDS" is highly iconic among the community, I felt like a creep-growth mechanic really complements a champion that you want to encourage pushing on. The fact the area buffs Malzahar rather than debuffs his target forces Malzahar to constantly push - or, rather, only rewards him for moving forward.

@Ordained Assault - An ode to Malzahar's existing I+E combo, although I admit it's not overall interesting. It almost boils down to that you can attack to stop it hurting you, rather than having a leash range.

@Call of the Void - Malzahar's siege unit.

@Worm Hole - Now you're thinking with portals. The intent of this ability was to preserve Malzahar's perpendicular ability but play-up its usefulness for a champion that wants to siege - WALLS! It also contributes toward his anti-assassin/anti-mobility gimmick that Riot likes. The ability would utilize a casting mechanic similar to, where the ability's width is calculated intelligently and will not cast unless a valid selection is made.

I'm considering to implement some reward for destroying structures, similar to. Continuing with the corrupted brawler theme, I'm thinking of having a creature burrow into the husk of destroy towers and breaking off useful parts to form a "living turret", of sorts. A corrupted, turret-Ocklepods would create mobile watchtowers that function to provide sight; while a corrupted plundercrab could utilize the turret's weapon for offensive purposes. Would this actually be an interesting addition? Would Malzahar's pushing be too snowbally?
 * Exploration

I'm currently considering to turn his Ordained Assault into an ammunition system, where Malzahar will continually spawn voidlings and activating Q commands one/all of them to attack his target. Stored voidlings would either be untargetable drones (following him around more for visceral reasons than gameplay reasons - i.e. so you feel like an overlord), or would join the nearest wave like - the latter of which I'm more interested in. I'm even tempted to revert Ordained Assault entirely to Malefic Visions-esque gameplay.


 * Malzahar periodically spawns voidlings that join the nearest minion wave, pressing forward.
 * Malzahar marks the target enemy, commanding all nearby voidlings to attack the target. The mark will transfer to a nearby target on-kill.

@Nether Grasp - I'm not sure what to do here. It could be as simple as : Malzahar ordains an area of immobility, but I feel like Nether Grasp's stare-down is part of what makes Malzahar iconic - but how do you keep this while increasing the champion's agency (i.e. interaction with his enemy beyond "don't come in range")?

Goals= My Solution= Thought Process=
 * Things we especially like
 * Geometry and poke/kite pattern (Q+W), with powerful combo casting/all in (+R)
 * Deconstruction through abilities and Research/Understanding you opponent thematic (Passive)
 * Poorer target selection compared to other Artillery - Vel'koz works harder than most to hit the back line, and when he does it should feel amazing
 * Things we want to improve
 * Research thematic is not explored very well
 * Mid lane laning pattern involves mindlessly wave-clearing with W
 * Generalist damage output without meaningful utility means he must be balanced around simply doing more damage than anyone else
 * Overall goals
 * Establish strategic identity and purpose separate from competing champions (Artillery Casters & Damage Heavy Supports)
 * Up play research and geometry thematics
 * Maintain or improve damage fantasy, tied in better with his thematics
 * Keep existing combat pattern of poking + kitting, as well as all-in combo
 * Disintegration. A lot of Disintegration. With Lasers.
 * Damage versus champions reduced to 25 from 35-205.
 * Each time Vel'Koz triggers Organic Deconstruction against an enemy champion, he permanently increases the damage dealt by versus that champion. The rate reverts to 2.5 per application upon reaching 300 damage. This debuff cannot be removed.
 * Each time Vel'Koz triggers Organic Deconstruction against an enemy champion, he permanently increases the damage dealt by versus that champion. The rate reverts to 2.5 per application upon reaching 300 damage. This debuff cannot be removed.

Goals=
 * Coming soon.

Goals=
 * Coming soon.