League of Legends Patch 3.5 Analysis

The latest patch 3.5 (not 3.05) includes massive updates as it’s updated from patch 3.04 to 3.5 directly. In fact, I played the game after the update, there’re huge updates in every aspect, including remake of Karma, substantial change of Udyr and matchmaking. Now I will analyze the update in detail.

Please click here to view the patch notes.

The first change I am interested in is the remake of Karma. The remake changed the place of Karma in players’ heart. Though Karma is still a support currently, she can now solo top lane and mid lane well. After the remake, Karma is more playable with a slow down skill and a freeze skill. Though Karma can only heal herself now and can only cast shield to her allies, she is pretty strong.

I will bring you some Karma videos after the remake. Please wait.

About Akali: over all, I think it’s a nerf. Previously, Akali revealed 1 second after she left the Shroud Zone. It’s enough for her to escape by casting Flash. And now she is immediately revealed upon leaving the Shroud zone. That nerfs Akali’s survivability indirectly. I think the number of players who play Akali will decrease.

About Ashe: Now displays the Critical Strike chance bonus on the buff bar. Though it’s a small change, you can now know when to cast Critical Strike more visually. It is a small buff.

About Draven: Axe drop location will no longer be placed partially inside walls / terrain and now leads Draven more accurately when he is benefiting from Movement Speed increases. It’s a bug fix.

About Rumble: Increase damage and ability power bonus of Q. It’s not a small buff. Rumble will be strong for a while in this patch. It seems that Riot is ready to buff some old champions.

About Udyr’s substantial change: Udyr seems to be nerfed in this patch while actually he’s buffed a lot. The most obvious one is mana cost of all stances is decreased a lot. In the last patch, Udyr’s jungle speed was fast. Mana cost reduction makes him no longer rely on blue buff so that he can give the blue buff to other heroes. Thus the whole team can get benefit.

I will also bring you the videos of Udyr later. Please wait.

Next are changes of some items and champions. One important change in my mind is Warwick. The change makes allies know which one is Warwick’s target and which one is chased by Warwick.

And here are two important changes: one is the change of matchmaking. I think this change is of special meaning. In the matchmaking of last patch, we were often terminated from the game and could do nothing about it. In this patch, the matchmaking mechanism is changed. A player who fails to select a champion is given a queue dodge penalty. The dodge penalty functions exactly the same as if the player closed their PVP.net client. Custom games still assign a random champion if one is not selected.

Another one is the change of turrets: damage that turrets deal to champions is increased. Siege Minions and Super Minions now take 70% damage from Turrets, increased from 50% damage. Siege Minions now deal more damage to turrets. Riot is increasing the tempo advancing to the late game and reducing the time of each round of the game. In all, those who need time to develop are affected only, such as Nasus.

Finally, hope you will enjoy the new patch of the game!

Gameguyz. All rights reserved. Benson owns copyright. Please give reference if reprint.

League of Legends Karma Rework in PBE

The new Karma finally comes out after the rework. Her appearance is beautified and her skills are also changed. What will be her future as the once least popular champion?

Karma's New Skillset
Associate Live Designer Scarizard：
So without further ado… here’s Karma’s new kit:



Passive: Gathering Fire
Damage from Karma’s spells and basic attacks lower Mantra’s cooldown.



R: Mantra
Empowers Karma’s abilities, adding an extra effect to the next ability cast.

 

Q: Inner Flame
Skillshot that deals magic damage and slows enemies.
Empowered by Mantra: Soulflare – Increases damage and leaves behind a zone that slows and, after a brief delay, explodes for AoE damage.

 
W: Focused Resolve
Enemy-targeted tether that deals damage over time. If the tether is unbroken after a short duration, the tethered target is rooted in place.
Empowered by Mantra: Renewal – Deals bonus damage and heals Karma for the duration of the tether.

 
E: Inspire
Shields an ally and grants them a short speed boost.
Empowered by Mantra: Defiance – Enemies near the shielded ally are damaged while nearby allies are shielded and granted a short speed boost.


Old Karma had issues. What were they?

Karma’s kit was in a weird place, but her ultimate was especially problematic. Her base abilities didn’t feel impactful and only felt effective when supercharged by Mantra. On top of that, when Karma had two charges of Mantra, we had to make both of them weaker to compensate for players double casting empowered spells. 

The changes we made to Karma’s kit focused on making each decision fun and meaningful while giving her abilities the focus they needed to perform her intended role. We kept the “empowering”-type gameplay of Mantra, but instead of waiting around for it to recharge, Karma’s basic attacks and abilities now lower Mantra’s cooldown. This rewards aggressive play so you can “buyback” her ultimate. Also, we gave Mantra a single charge to pump extra power into each cast. We also made sure Mantra empowers Karma’s abilities in drastically different ways, leading to more impactful decision-making and a better feeling of accomplishment when you pull off the right move at the right time.

Why was she hard to place in team comps?

Karma had the offensive tools to support her team in small skirmishes but not the powerful defensive abilities she needed to protect a team. Also, her all-purpose abilities are so broad they never felt like the right choice in any situation. All in all, Karma lacked direction.

Why isn’t Karma fun?

The effectiveness of Karma’s abilities relied too heavily on your teammates knowing all their nuances. No matter how hard you were carrying with Karma, your teammates had to be just as good with her for you to be super effective. When an ally’s confused about whether or not he should run from or pass through your Spirit Bond, we probably made a mistake.

What did we like about Karma?

Despite all the Mantra hate we’ve got going on, we actually think the concept is pretty kickass. It’s unique and character-defining to old Karma, and augmenting her abilities with an immense surge of Ionian will is visually and thematically fun. We also liked how Karma could turn the tables on her opponents with abilities that provided defensive bonuses and had hidden offensive power. Finally, Spirit Bond’s “clothesline” gameplay is really cool, but it’d work better on a tank champion that has an easier time jumping into the fray. 

Karma’s new role

Originally envisioned as a support, Karma’s fringe successes actually came from players using her in the top or mid lanes as an AP burst mage with support abilities, much like Zilean or Morgana. We like this direction and want to encourage you to boost both her offensive and support abilities by building AP. We also want to make sure she can hold her own as a solo or with a lane partner. 

Finally, we’ve updated her skills so allies are reliant on Karma, but Karma’s not reliant on them. She’s got enough power at her fingertips to feel strong as a mage or as a support without teammates having to work in perfect concert for you to be effective.