What Makes A Well Designed Champion? | League of Legends

[@kulovicz3152]

I ask this question every day on toplane.

[@petrolejovic358]

Same

[@VarsVerum]

Fellow top main here... can relate ;~; stupid ranged top laners.

[@kulovicz3152]

@@VarsVerum Yeah. At this point toplane is not tank/fighter lane, but ARAM lane.

[@Edvinno99]

@@VarsVerum When is Camille getting deleted from the game :). She is the most unfair top laner in the game in my eyes.

[@artje90]

@@Edvinno99 Akali excists. not sure what champ you play but Camile isnt that bad to lane against for me. akali feels way worse with her no counterplay available. camile's passive can be quite strong but her kit at least has counterplay (although maybe her ult not really but if you play ranged top you deserve it

[@imperatorcaesar754]

"Setting bounds for designers to not cross" _Shows Akali_

[@VarsVerum]

A lil bit of intentional irony :3

[@NotKitcatAtAll]

:)

[@blazingtimeblazer9004]

Me a Nasus main: Ah, yes everyone may have a dash, but once I bonk them they will be no more.

[@Azazreal]

Ok fellow Nasus main, let me ask you a question that nobody else seems to get. Do you ever have ''Gentleman Lanes'' i.e. you both kinda just ignore each other and just farm. The enemy might get a little aggressive but you just bonk once and they go back to casually farming.

[@blazingtimeblazer9004]

@@Azazreal I do sometimes. It’s a rare thing to happen, but when it does happen I am very thankful. I’m a very passive laner due to playing Nasus.

[@Databat123]

Upcoming fiora player here, I felt bad hardstomping Nasus' for 20 mins xd

[@blazingtimeblazer9004]

@@Databat123 lol, I don’t mind facing Fiora actually.

[@eraimattei]

Well that's the thing. Stopping Nasus from last hitting IS countering him because of his Q.

[@sandortojzan5409]

I'm not sure if it's just me, but I would be really interested in seeing a tier list made by Vars about how well designed each and every champion is. It would obviously take a lot longer than these discussion videos, especially if you would like to explain the reasons behind the placements in detail. Maybe it could be a 50K/100K subscriber special? I don't know.

[@VarsVerum]

It would be a VERY long video...

[@liamsal9968]

@@VarsVerum maybe you can split it up in multiple videos each video focusing on one class

[@Supa_TTV]

@@VarsVerum but worth it!

[@wutangclanfan]

@@VarsVerum I'd really want to see that

[@lucassoubelet4781]

T B Skyen did that same thing in a livestream and it took 9 hours. It was super fun tho

[@flytelp]

8:28 “They have a tough time closing in on targets” *-Udyr*

[@lucasrfma]

Pretty easy to run away from garen with dead mans plate, stridebreaker, his Q, his W, 99.9% tenacity and slow resist, aaaand force of nature. Dont forget mid to late game aatrox with a dash every 4seconds and his chain. Or nasus with 90% slow for 5 seconds. Or shyvana that becomes a dragon dashing a whole screen away, and runs like hell with her W.

[@BlackPenzo]

I think one thing riot should focus on is giving every champion a clear weakness to play around and clear strengths to push. I feel like most champs nowadays are only designed with strengths in mind and are getting weaknesses simply by making them hard to master, etc.

[@peteomarjebdollosa9170]

That's why Sett is such a well designed champion, because even after all his flashy 1v9 mechanics he's still a juggernaut at heart. He dies when kited, he dies when your team isn't positioned in a single file line in a teamfight, and he dies when his backline dies.

[@AlryFireBlade]

yeah most champs are fun to play... but feel horrible to play against. Yasuo for example. He may not be OP, but it feels horrible as Projectile Champ to play against him and try to play around his passiv Shield+Windwall.

[@ElNahu111]

@@AlryFireBlade Maybe because all yasuo's kit is arround that idea?

[@AlryFireBlade]

@@ElNahu111 The Idea was a samurei that dashes often... not a Anti Projectile Champion.

[@sandortojzan5409]

@@AlryFireBlade Yeah, cus those are the champs that weren't designed to have clear weaknesses in mind. Yasuo is a perfect example of that, as there is no real weakness in his kit. He is pretty hard to kite, he is decently hard to kill, he has ok range (for a melee skirmisher), he can burst squishies, he can shred tanks with his armor pen, he can aoe CC people, and he can peel/protect his team with the knockups and the walls, while he also has great wombo combo potential for teamfights. I'm not saying that he is overpowered or anything, but he doesn't really get many downsides for all these upsides. His only real weakness that I could think of is the fact that he can't really disengage himself, as his dash only works on enemy units and his knockup requires him to Q something twice (which puts him decently close to his enemies). But that one weakness is not really enough to make him healthy, especially since this weakness becomes completely irrelevant if he gets ahead and starts to snowball. To Riot's credit, a lot of their most recent releases were not like Yasuo at all, and their kits actually offer some pretty big weaknesses to balance out the big strengths. Viego, Seraphine, Rell, Sett, Lillia and Fiddlesticks all feel that way to me (even Samira to a certain extent, although she WAS a balancing nightmare so y know, I can't really say much about that). Yeah, there are still things like Yone, Pyke and Kai'Sa, but I guess you win some, you loose some.

[@erykjopek207]

"Zoe is about bubbles" - No, Zoe is about death, humiliation and physical pain.

[@blenderr4619]

Magical pain*

[@Azadsqr]

“Every type in pokemon is super effective against another” Me: looks at the normal type.

[@ericschwegler7514]

You gotta do a best designed worst designed tier list! Like the other comment was saying

[@letsrank9349]

Strongly Agreed!

[@gyroinquisitor8618]

I swear Vars you keep updating constantly it is insane I wish you quick growth on KZbin cause the great majority has to see this.

[@VarsVerum]

I just genuinely enjoyed making videos! And now that a lot of people watch them I want to make them even more xD

[@123hattan]

I wholeheartly support breaking the norms to make a champion go beyond his designated roles, but what I never will support is overloading a champion with tons of free stats and passives.

[@alex2005z]

Having 1 ability that does it is fine, but you cant have invisibility and a hookshot that resets on top of tha gimmick

[@123hattan]

@@alex2005z agreed

[@Greapes]

Theoretically, if a person were to drink a certain amount of water continuously per second while simultaneously peeing a certain amount of pew continuously, could they be in an infinite cycle of drinking and peeing like a fountain? So human fountains can be a thing? We just have to leave someone at the same spot with an infinite supply of water and fluids to keep him healthy and wellfed while he does his thing.

[@pooplord2865]

Why

[@VarsVerum]

Not quite. Constantly urinating and drinking water can quickly deprive someone of electrolytes which can be fatal for body function if they aren’t replaced. That’s what water poisoning is, when you drink too much water but don’t replace the minerals and electrolytes that you pee/sweat out.

[@Zancibar]

@@VarsVerum Don't encourage him.

[@nannobot1280]

@@Zancibar why science is after all about experimentation

[@Ri-my8fv]

THIS IS SO RANDOM

[@walkerred8220]

At this point, I think the game designers are more beholden to the cooperate overlords than common sense. Everyone knows Riot plays favorites, and I think that's what's hurting the game more than anything else. Flashy is fun, flashy is cool, but when it starts getting to the point where the only weakness some champs seem to have is the player playing them, it just ruins the time for half the people in the match

[@magisteriumemporium1411]

To be honest, the new mechanics on the champions are not that bad. Yes, they are frustrating. However, they can be dealt with. The problem that I have when it comes to modern LoL is with the INCREASE of DAMAGE and snowballing. It's like what the fuck? Isn't this supposed to be a team game? Or is it ANIME main character inducer syndrome?

[@quincy7258]

Spot on. Fights last for 2 seconds nowadays because the damage is insane. Its not about making the right choices anymore; damage rules everything

[@liocdeparmesan3885]

@@quincy7258 i have the feeling that tankiness is no more. I played Poppy a few games and i got OS by everybody while building full tank... (Not EVERYBODY, Janna wasn't so "damagy")

[@quincy7258]

@@liocdeparmesan3885 yeah you are better off using bruiser builds on tanky champs but then you might as well just play a bruiser or juggernaut to get the job done easier

[@oneringtorulethemagicarp7199]

@@liocdeparmesan3885 people will always complain no matter what the ballance is. litterally 2 weeks ago everyone was complaining about how damage items were useless and tanks were op. then they got nerfed and suddenly tanks are removed from the game and no longer realevent. I agree damage is rediculous rn but still

[@HighLanderPonyYT]

You want a buncha random strangers to magically work together as a team for 20-40 mins? Yeah, 99.9% of the time, it won't happen. I guess this is their bandaid solution to that: Making sure that people are less reliant on teammates. I don't agree with them, just trying to figure out their thought process.

[@iforgot8376]

"Bruisers struggle with gap closing as their necessary weakness" Riot: "STRIDEBREAKER"

[@cinema_roll6296]

200 collective years of game design is the answer.

[@tibimihail8614]

This is an incredibly well put together video essay, even by your standards. Hats off to you Vars!

[@VarsVerum]

Thank you! I was worried it came out poorly haha

[@shironeko3095]

How does this guy haven’t reached 1M or 1B sub already? He just pushing out high content educational video at warp speed

[@mannyvalerio6822]

What's important in defying classifications to make a champion is that one of two conditions are met: the alien mechanic exclusively serves the class's strengths, or the champion gives a strength up in exchange. Twitch is a marksman who has an assassin tool in his stealth, but the stealth exclusively serves a marksman purpose: positioning. It doesn't DO anything else aside from that, and the rest of his kit is still firmly "steady DPS at range". Verdict: good. Jhin is a marksman with an assassin tool in his burst, but trades away consistent DPS to do it. He has particular trouble against dedicated tanks - the natural prey of marksmen - because of this tradeoff, but works well against most squishier classes. Verdict: literal best champ in game. Samira is a marksman with assassin tools in resetting dashes/ults, skirmisher tools in dmg denial/conditional dmg steroids/passive MS/general stat-stick-ness, and mage tools in cc/AoE. And she trades away...a slightly shorter AA range. Verdict: Samira. Yuumi is an enchanter with assassin tools in theoretically permanent untargetability that eliminates the single biggest weakness of the enchanter class, and trades away A LITTLE of what is already enchanter-level dmg for it. Verdict: unbalanceable.

[@annbraun84]

underrated comment

[@wraith6233]

Me looking at how top and mid laners aren’t really countered by seemingly anything, Bot lane being seemingly weak to both

[@Soft__lemons]

Mid laners have counters but aren’t as oppressed by them while top lane is countered by legitimately everything. Adc’s shit on them, they usually don’t have enough health to kill an assassin early on, they can get camped super hard and set behind, etc. top lane is the most frustrating role to play because of the coin flip but also the most fun because of the absolute randomness and nonsense that happens up there. You either win hard or lose hard and become irrelevant. Adcs can make their way back tho through farming.

[@tristanmattwig8541]

Mid laners r countered by jungles. If u have a bad jungle and or they have a great jungle then your lane is fucked. You can't get prior because of ganks, you can't take advantage of your lead against the enemy mid laner etc. Yes this applies to other lanes as well but more so in mid lane because it is so ez for jungles to get there

[@Soft__lemons]

@@tristanmattwig8541 there’s way more potential for outplay as a mid laner getting camped than a top laner because of how short the lane is.

[@tristanmattwig8541]

@@Soft__lemons you make a fair point!

[@iUseDemFrapz]

Bot laners r so weak to toplaners that’s why Lucian and vayne top are things right. But for some reason I don’t see any garen or jax in the botlane how strange.

[@RumbleRish]

What the. I didn’t even know this reminder or premier alert thing existed. Either way, I’m hyped!

[@aknightwithme]

In my eyes Ormn and Jhin are one of if not the best designed champs of their class. Ormn fits the tank archetype to a tee providing cc and okay damage while not feeling to useless in terms of damage. And lore wise he fits perfectly. I wonder if anyone noticed this but him and volibear kits revolve around their w’s. They both have some cc with their q with their e allowing for them to safely chain their w. This in my opinion is genius design as it reflects how in the lore voli and Ormn are brothers. Jhin has the best execution of his design as unlike some champs (kog’maw) he isn’t held down by his theme but instead made even better because of it. Also he is a blast to play as or against his kit isn’t to oppressive to play against. Both champs make you fell like you’re a blacksmith who just wants to be left alone in ormn’s case or a mad yet intelligent serial killer who wants to put a on a show. I hope riot starts to make the champion first then gameplay as that would solve the grievances I have with newer champs

[@BartixShieldsmen]

Okay one, This is a very good objective view of what a well designed champion should be, that they have their own archetypes which can sometimes dip into a second (minus the occasional 200 years) , but second and more importantly, I recognise that music anywhere, greetings from a fellow Ori/ Gareth Coker fan

[@VarsVerum]

Ori is CRIMINALLY underrated Q_Q

[@ronthehuman3618]

You talking about champion classes made me think about skirmishers. They are a subclass of assassins so they're supposed to have burst damage and low survivability, but instead they are strongest in long fights and have a stupid amount of lifesteal and other defences. A lot of infamous champions are in that category - yas, yone, trynd, and master yi. I genuinely can't think of any concrete counterplay they have as a class, they are basically assassins without the weaknesses of assasins. Anyhow, I think it could be an interesting subject for a video!

[@deejayf69]

I like champs who have a collective of 200 years of collective game design experience behind their back

[@drunkengibberish1143]

Vars on juggernauts: "They are also all melee champions." Urgot: *ANGRY PAPER SHREDDER NOISES*

[@fredstercooney5497]

Great video. I gave my own critique on the last one along this line, however this one was well spoken and said and I really agree with most if not all statements said. Great video vars nice job!

[@VarsVerum]

Appreciate the feedback :D

[@Io-ik4yv]

am glad that this part of the video 14:43 clarify that sett is not that broken, like most people think. his just slightly overtuned. but overall his balanced. thx Vars

[@dapes-]

10:25 I get what you mean, but the analogy is very bad. Not having more than 2 types doesn't have anything to do with one type covering the other's weaknesses (in fact, that already happens and is completely fine, like Steel/Bug only being weak to Fire or Ice/Ground being so good offensively). It's more about the type chart becoming way too convoluted with 3 or more types to take into account at the same time when attacking.

[@jardas4164]

That Ori music is the best

[@deejayf69]

"they're also all melee champions" *laughs in Urgot*

[@evepsyche]

"very rarely who's really aggressive or brash picks janna or soraka who's really passive" me, an aggressive person: janna main LISTEN! people think janna is passive but she's meant to be played aggressively, annoying poke on her W, annoying spammable shield on her E, then there's the 5 second cooldown on a KNOCKUP skill.

[@dawgyv72]

3:50 Absolutely debatable. There were problems back then but there are even MORE now. The power creep in League is no joke

[@kerusan7352]

Vars, I just wanna say man, I just found your channel and your content is top tier. Always lovin these league talks, they're so interesting and well written. keep up the good work!

[@VarsVerum]

Thanks so much Keru! Make yourself comfortable :3

[@Rbum4]

Vars: talking Me: enjoying the Ori OST :)

[@zoisantonopoulos7999]

Starting playing at late season 2 and learning the game in season 3 and 4 was a blast. Nostalgia really hits hard. I still remember myself crying when someone stole my first would-be pentakill. It was 13/2/20013 and i was playing kassadin . Then i mained yasuo for 2 season straight but then i felt the game started to change around season 6 and i stopped playing. I started playing for fun after all these years last August and damn the game has changed. I can't tell what half of the new champions do.

[@nicklee3769]

2:55 he mentioned it!!!!!

[@ZephyrKit]

10:28 Forest's Curse and Trick-or-Treat said hi

[@raulansbach5238]

Although I can kind of agree with your point that older champions had unbalanced kits at the start (like draven bleed). League developers went and made an effort to balance their kits as the game went on, but today it seems they keep overloading champions kits and make no effort whatsoever to fix that issue, and thats the exact reason I stopped playing

[@cringelord6903]

Very good content, please continue this format it is very nice to watch and to listen to

[@VarsVerum]

I'll do my best! Although these videos are definitely way more exhausting to make than my other ones so it may not happen too often X.X

[@TheGreenManGames]

I appreciate your content and objective insights. It is nice to have your videos and the positivity they bring to an often hostile or livewire scene like gaming

[@quietchase]

My favorite champion designs are Pyke, Sylas and Rengar. Everythig fits together so well and the gameplay is super satisfying.

[@raffyk7541]

I strongly disagree with you on Sett being a well designed character. Ignoring being overtuned in release, he's also been a pro play balance nightmare. Ever since his release he's been blind pick able into nearly four roles. This stems from the fact that his W makes him a champion that's strong agaisnt burst, but the sustain from his passive makes him strong agaisnt kiting or being poked down, while also having two forms of reliable cc in his kit. He's not as bad as Samira or Aphelios, but he was also quite the problem having to be nerfed several times in a row and needing to have parts of his kit partially rebalanced.

[@iUseDemFrapz]

But that’s not a good train of logic. Pro play is nearly a completely different game ofc u can’t realistically balance between the two. He was overturned on release but that doesn’t mean he’s poorly designed. He’s just hard to balance because riot is attempting to balance one champion for two games. Doesn’t mean he’s poorly designed in terms of normal league.

[@raffyk7541]

@@iUseDemFrapz He is hard to balance because his kit is not well designed. He has no real clear weaknesses, and thus has to be undertuned numbers wise permanently, which on a champion like him makes him not function really. The very definition of a kit that's hard to balance. It's not just because of pro. He was consistently performing well in solo in four plus lanes, just like in pro. He is poorly designed for normal league. He is a juggernaut who is not weak to kiting, who is not weak to poke, who is not weak to dive, etc. He's good into any matchup or team comp. Until the minirework, he also doesn't need damage items to do damage or function. Sett is cool and fun to play, but he simply doesn't have enough counterplay built into his kit. If he heals from poke, ah just dive him. Except he has a giant shield to help negate dive, that also gives him aoe true damage, as well as a kit that wants you to be in close range of him, as well as ways to force you to get in close range of him. If you mention just cc him or build serpents or just dodge the W, that's silly. Most top laners can't build serpents, and it didn't exist as it is until very recently. Not every top laner or comp can dodge the W, which also can be forced to hit with his E or R slow, since many top laners don't have enough mobility to dodge it.

[@Io-ik4yv]

people who complain sett is broken are the kinda people who believes that the earth is flat and vaccine cause autism. the only reason why i said this, is because i went up against sett as garen in top, and still the won lane 2/0/0-4/0/0 cause i counterplay using bramble vest and tabi early game and plz dont use the arguement maybe the sett player is bad cuz i met a few good sett players that manage to outplay me when i was wining the lane and the argument that you state (Not every top laner or comp can dodge the W, which also can be forced to hit with his E or R slow, since many top laners don't have enough mobility to dodge it.) like come on if you fighting someone with a knife and you are unarmed, obviously you dont fight it on head. you. you find a way and sett E and R hitboxes are quite short and unforgiving. and other argument you state(He is a juggernaut who is not weak to kiting, who is not weak to poke, who is not weak to dive,) is because some champs in lol like vayne with her tumble and quinn with her E which are ranged champions with the mobility to disengage any juggernauts that get close to them,which actually encourage careless play and still get away with it with low risk and can kite the shit out of juggernauts with their strong mobility which obviously not "BroKEn" is the reason why champs like sett exist so juggernauts can actually stand on a equal ground against ranged mobile champs and actually forced the ranged champs to actually play skillfully rather than some mindless kiting which anyone with an average IQ can execute it and lets not get into akshan who can dive into tower with his ridiculous E and kill low hp targets and gets away with W before a trade can even happen with almost to minimal or zero risk, while sett requires almost 3/4 of his resources to dive someone at tower with a 50/50 risk and this (If he heals from poke, ah just dive him. Except he has a giant shield to help negate dive, that also gives him aoe true damage, as well as a kit that wants you to be in close range of him, as well as ways to force you to get in close range of him.) like why would you want to dive him? when you already know his strengths? like wtf?

[@masonjohnson5724]

This is why the new Mythics hurt the game in my opinion because now bruisers DO have a gap closer and marksman DO have an escape and there are hardly any defined roles anymore because every single champion can cover their weaknesses with a single item

[@fanaria2469]

In a way you're correct, however, I do want to see how this new season will develop over the months, especially the unexpected rising of dead champs like Udyr and Skarner.

[@fanaria2469]

@@hotlinekrapfen Well, I'm correct in a way because they unexpectedly rose from the dead, even if they're going to heavily nerf them.

[@meriammcharek965]

I love this channel so much it deserves more popularity Keep it up 💕

[@vicious3526]

Seriously though, the first pokemon game set was broken as F. Tying speed to crit, auto 1% crit, Normals being unironically the strogest (non-legendary) type, dragons having no real weakness. It's really crazy and 5 year old you didn't notice, I recommend reading up on it.

[@ratspew932]

also you can automatically win if you have more speed than ur opponent and use wrap, basically it immobilizes and damages you every turn. the first gen was great for its time, but it's nowhere near as the newer pokemon games, like come on even gen 3 is objectively better mechanics wise and doesn't feel that outdated

[@hollow4159]

the ori soundtrack oml i'm in love

[@battledroidmk129]

"when you hear of ollai you think about tentacles" *heavy breathing*

[@gamegaloo]

Corki Q being an aoe blind actually sounds legit because his Q bomb does look like some kinds of phosphorus bomb that is very bright

[@binarywolfcia85]

11:07 What about Fiora, she is bruiser, and her Q is a decent range dash that by mid game is on like a 7 second cd that is reduced to like 2 if any enemy champ/minion/tower/monster is within a large circle of her end point. And it deals dmg.

[@VarsVerum]

She's not a bruiser she's a skirmisher.

[@binarywolfcia85]

@@VarsVerum I have seen the two terms generally used interchangeably but it makes sense that there would be a difference. What exactly is a bruiser? I got the impression it was a fairly high dmg, not low mobilty, champ with enough tankyness to survive a little while in a fight or sustain with skilled useage, but not even close to a juggernaut. Basically skirmishers and divers.

[@Raoul9753]

I wholeheartedly disagree with 3:06 because YGO is a game that was completely destroyed by the powercreep, so it doenst really fit in here. If you had made an Example with MTG; you would have been right, because alot of old cards can still hold their ground and games are not decided turn 1, but for YGO, these days games are just "who has the better starting hand".

[@blazingtimeblazer9004]

One of my favorite designs is Nasus. (Not just because I main him) He honestly feels balanced to me. His kit is also easy to use.

[@iintro5417]

Nasus matchup is based on punish him for all the laning phase: if you dont know how to destroy him in early or making him lose minions, he is OP. In every other case, he will scale slowly, and he will be very weak. So, yup, pretty balanced.

[@gravelor78]

Also orianna. No mobility but excels in poke and cc for ult.

[@nurs3826]

@@gravelor78 She and other mages would be balanced if zhonyas wouldnt make them full tank with 1 item.

[@manolgeorgiev9664]

3:34 6- sunfire cape Evelin microwaving you while in perma invisibility

[@manolismarinakis8444]

Generally speaking, on the broad points you set as good design, I think, you are right, but I totally disagree with your conclusion... In my opinion, Riot's main way of making the game accessible is by making the newer champions have less weaknesses and be less punishing if you make a mistake, meaning they remove counterplay (also they make you feel like you are doing something difficult, when you are not but that's besides the point). Even if you correctly say, that most champions have an aesthetic theme, like tunnels, stealing ults, stealing kits ets, almost none of the newer champions has a clear singular gameplay identity and fantasy because in the process of "removing weaknesses", "giving them more ways to achieve their goals" and "making them a little safer" just to be sure, they can do many many things. I am convinced that right now, Riot is unable to produce a fair new champion(only some of the reworks are good, because they build on old fair ideas).

[@littypug]

loved seeing all these season 9 footage (its pre alcove so it was obvious)

[@VarsVerum]

Honestly I keep forgetting alcove exists even today...

[@rabbitfactory6940]

i like the ori and the blind forest music in the back..feels calm

[@VarsVerum]

Underrated game

[@rabbitfactory6940]

true true

[@tatethompson9986]

The nostalgia part speaks volumes to how the gen 4 games for Pokémon spiked in price after Covid, due to many now 20 something year olds felt nostalgic and wanted to play the games.

[@porpoiseful253]

2:49 I don't have rose tinted glasses because I didn't play any of those games but I can tell that what they say is true

[@manie.8241]

Honestly one of my biggest frustrations in league is champions that are designed to lose lane but win game. People talk about how newer mechanics have been souring the pool of league ever since s6 or s7 but honestly, champions whose entire gimmick nowadays can just be "don't worry I'll scale" can totally screw off too, I don't know if it's bad design but it's certainly crushing for characters that can just do the song and dance consistently (looking at you, Diana and Katarina)

[@oskarkielnar9665]

Meanwhile kayn mains: haha blueiser does brrrr e every 4 seconds and ridiculous dmg with healing from goredrinker, sterak's and black cleaver good job riot

[@Zancibar]

Yeah, a bit of a nitpick. Sett would be well designed. . . If it wasn't for his passive. You can argue that it's a numbers issue but autoattacking twice and being essencially inmune to non-FullCombo poke is not a well designed passive. Especially on a champion with so much burst damage on his R-E-W combo. Sett can theoretically be kited, but it's especially hard because of his E and R being ranged CC and his passive giving him rather absurd regen for a 1v1 scenario. And he should theoretically be good either at burst trades (like Illaoi for example) or at extended trades (like Darius) or be just decent, on juggernaut standards, on both. Sett is great on both having the tools to do burst damage with his passive double hit and Q, W and R if he wants to use them or just extend the trade with E or even R and double strike his way into winning to save his burst to finish off.

[@Io-ik4yv]

his W,E and R hitboxes are quite short in range and quite unforgiving and the E stun only works if his able to grab at least one enemy on each side etc minions which requiree some decent skillful positioning and the slow is only 0.5 secs and the 1v1 regen is not even that strong and i can back this up cuz i fought sett a couple times on top lane as garen , and the first thing i did when i know sett is in top lane. i bought bramble vest the moment i got 800 gold coins and proceed to crush him with 2/0/0 - 4/0/0 depending if the sett player can accept the fact his losing the lane. so idk which part of sett is broken. and plz dont counter argue with me that garen has regen like sett cuz it only works if garen is out of combat at 6 or 5 secs if i remember correctly, or the sett player is just bad so thats why i won lane, cuz i met a few good sett players too that outplay me. so overall sett is indeed a well designed champion, only slightly overtuned when he first came out, not broken.

[@lordmango6060]

Dang, but I love Aphelios 🥺 I love having a huge array of different weapons and being able to mix and match them. He truly feels like a gunslinger

[@SacredMagic13679]

I'm old enough to remember Mordekaiser being next to unkillable.

[@xCorvus7x]

I think one's champion choice doesn't have to be an extension of one's identity. Rather, games are tools for escapism which allow you to try out something new, that you are actually not (perhaps even changing you in the process).

[@fyre8650]

As a vi main the best way to counter an assassin is point and click your ult and let them try to run (very fun)

[@zzxxccvvkk5]

when i design a champ i use what is already in game. such as an all invisible/ ring wall making/ untargetable/ nearsighting/ invulnerable/ shield making/ structure kill champs , from the abilities of champs already in the game.

[@jarrettmarrapese9661]

I'd like to see what Vars thoughts on the new items and champion balance entails; especially after the discussion of champion weaknesses and champion strengths. Personally, the new items seem to break the core fundamentals of the game as many reduce or nullify the champions weakness - Sunfire Aegis being a perfect example, as one of a tanks strongest weaknesses is a lack of damage... It'd be really interesting nonetheless.

[@meepmeep1526]

my favorite design for a champion was syndra back when she could throw multiple balls her abilities all fit into one another so well

[@NodokenStar-k917]

What I really found irritating about Riot’s design philosophy is the willingness to release the champion with a lot of annoying gimmicks, WITHOUT any second thoughts involved. If they are going to make the champion unique, then they have to make sacrifices along the way, not keep them they way they function after they’re finished, while also staying true to their archetype. That’s why we have a lot of balance nightmares like Kalista’s oppressive mobility, release reworked Akali with obscurity stealth, Yuumi who can’t be focused down, 200+ years Aphelios and 400+ Samira. And a lot of the newer releases are more independent, which breaks the fundamentals of a MOBA game like League turning it into 1v9 game instead of a 5v5 game which we were supposed to see. Riot did it intentionally just to make the esports more entertaining, but at a cost making the game a living hell for players to play against, with or even as the champion because of their bullshit gimmicks that breaks the rock, paper, scissor formula. However this does not mean that they should be less adventurous and make newer champions less fun, but respect of how much they can do, and most importantly make sacrifices along the way. Sure they may not have that amazing but bullshit ability in the game, but at least are we glad we got this balanced champion instead of that 200+ years Aphelios created by one of the worst short sighted designer of all time. Seriously, fuck that designer’s philosophy.

[@fallenangel7364]

Can you do a why we hate series

[@fallenangel7364]

@Streety why we hate : champion

[@NovaGN]

What the fuck is the beginning bgm at 0:45 ? I know that I've heard it before but I can't remember where

[@Lordblow1]

I appreciate the music from Ori and the Will of the Wisps. It is nice

[@VarsVerum]

Actually it’s blind forest xD

[@Lordblow1]

@@VarsVerum oof, I listen to both soundtracks way too often. I mix them up sometimes XD. I legit wasn't sure so i just guessed the one with the soundtrack that was twice as large.

[@shadowstar2194]

I've been around since season 3 I think? Maybe early season 4. Nostalgia is a big factor for a lot of people. For me, those seasons were so fun because I was new to the game, I didn't understand what made good game balance for a MOBA (League was my first) so I thought all this ridiculous stuff was great. Years and years later, here I am, and though I don't have as much fun as I used to, this season is still super enjoyable for me while being mostly balanced. (mostly cause my main, Ahri, isn't just a Glacial Augment GLP spam bot anymore and can actually kill people). Preseason did mess A LOT up, but it's been getting better as the season goes on imo. Healing is the big problem now. Compare that to back when I first started. Jinx was THE hyper carry and the moment she got a kill, the rest of your team would probably soon follow, Vladimir had Will of the Ancients (as did all AP champs, but come on, it's Vlad), assassins were the meta, I remember Leblanc specifically, as much as we miss it, DFG was around and amplified this burst, Nidalee was one of the most mobile/frustrating champions in the game, champions like pre-rework Akali even if like 0/7 could 1 v 1 almost ANYONE once they reached level 6 with ease, etc... Most constant problems nowadays stem from one thing, healing, the Irelia constantly dashing around and healing while doing so, ADC or bruiser champions refusing to die due to Immortal Shieldbow lifesteal or Goredrinker + Ravenous Hunter, Healing and Shield Power increase no longer being a unique passive for supports, Grevious Wounds simply being too weak, etc... Of course I did cherry pick certain problems out of many, but this is like the major one everyone is talking about. Nowadays, League usually has one or two major problems that Riot takes forever to fix in fear of overnerfing it compared to earlier seasons where there were uncountable amounts of small problems.

[@arioalbertozulini381]

Sharing some S1 nightmares: Twitch ap mid, dealing AoE dmg with R and penta easy Evelyinn full sunfire cape (they stacked), stealth at the time was toggle on, and it was distance unrelated (so you died for no reason? It's eve stealth walking around you with 5 sunfires and shotting you) Rammus adc - like Eve, stacking sunfire, but rammus also got ad from armor Oh, rababoon and zonya were only one item (zonya's ring) You are welcome

[@milicabojic9434]

4:40 thanks for reminding me that tiemat is gone forever

[@mateopetit1745]

i think not giving every tool to a champion is the real key of balancing, i've recently try to play and main sett, he's like viktor who was at the start of the season 11 really powerful but with some tiny nerf make the champion not too good or bad to play, and sett is good not too much, now he has some real skills to escapes 1v2 toplane and can carry a teamfight even if he's behind in score with a really good e and ultimate and not just damage.

[@carlosdumbratzen6332]

I wouldnt call Rell a good designed champion. I think well designed are champs which overall kit did not change significantly over the runtime, like Ahri, Ori, Ashe or Malph. Also for me the problem with newer champs is that they do not really allow for the versatillity in playstyles that older champs allowed. To be able to play Taric in a different lane, without duoing with the jungler is something great and to let the player allow to figure out how to play the game and not tell them is good design imo. And that is something riot is doing less and less, designing the game so that you have to play a certain kind of build (like for example finish a mythic item). They limit choice more and more and that is quite annoying.

[@PlatinumHntr]

I'm learning a lot from you Vars thank you. TBH, I feel less likely to say a champion is terribly designed when they kill me.

[@alexsere3061]

5:39 Kaisa: has over 50% playrate AND winrate Riot: PREPARE YOUR ASSHOLE YORICK

[@KiyeHid]

oooh ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

[@khonsenwright4986]

8:40 however carelessness can neutralize them rather quickly *laughs in Diana bruiser build who tanks and oneshots* :D

[@DoOmIsMyNamePWI]

For me Shen, who I main as support has a perfectly balanced kit, easy to execute skills, effective and can carry even as a support. And from a design perspective is pretty solid too.

[@VarsVerum]

I LOVE how they reworked Shen! One of the most enjoyable tanks to play without feeling cheese :D

[@DoOmIsMyNamePWI]

@@VarsVerum Right, playing him feel so rewarding, and his global ultimate makes him such a team player champ.

[@anotherguy7539]

-So, Irelia is a melee champion, so you can poke her and send her to base -No, she has sustain, good farming and gap closers -But if she use it, she is exposed -No, she hast resets -But if she miss her e she can't -No, her r is almost unevoidable and don't let you escape (and she disarmes before) -But she is squishy, so you can burst her or stun her -No, her w makes her tanky and you can't cancel it -Does she have burst damage or sustain damage? -Yes

[@sorafowler4497]

Vars you should do "Best abilites to get out of fountain"

[@Aldebarean]

The problem becomes when the few new bad designs are so overloaded that the many good/fun balanced onces become obsolete to play

[@KindOldRaven]

Honestly, after not having played League for years and years and yeaaaaaars... I'm kinda happy to see it's still going strong and its playerbase is still as toxic, yet passionate as always ;p No matter how you feel about this game and RITO - that's a huge accomplishment.

[@rokojaz921]

2:48 that sett ult hurt my ocd

[@RotiPattaya]

samira had an aoe windwall and moving katarina ult, it took almost 3 months to riot finally nerf her appropriately

[@filipkotlaja8697]

(somewhat) unpopular opinion: the pre- mini rework Ryze was a pretty good example of good champion design at its core. Yes, you had a choice of almost all the tools imaginable (shields, aoe, single target, hard cc, mobility) but it was a *choice*. Do you go for the e-q-w and create some distance? do you just pop the q reset every time to nuke a priority target? do you wait for the e spread to mop the floor during a teamfight? while in practice it turned out a bit different, i honestly believe that, with tuning, it would have been a wonderful addition to the game. Thoughts?

[@elmostachojuanoh]

A big reason why reworks are far more sucessful than new releases are that they embody a full existant character, with a strong idea of what the champion is, what is he/she able to do or what the design team wants them to become is very clear from a character design viewpoint. Far different from when you decide to take an ability, and then design an identity that fits around said ability. A.K.A. League of Steals

[@makothetako]

I'd like to see your take on champions that can fit a variety of roles. Most champions can be picked in more than one role, but some are especially versatile without having to do a different build, such as Swain, Heimerdinger, Gragas, Pantheon, Sett, etc. They can be played in 3+ different roles and it tends to work out alright. They may have periods of being broken in one lane, but overall their win rates remain stable. Does this sort of versatility make them better designed champions than champions that are more confined in what role they play? Why or why not?

[@makothetako]

I think LoL needs a bit of both - champions that are like a swiss army knife and ones that are good at 1-2 roles only. But again, just thought it'd be interesting to hear your take on it.

[@soulsemblance3163]

Hey vars between the why no one plays and why everyone plays what will happen to the medium champions that have similarities in their strengths and weaknesses to other champions and dont exactly stand out. Example would be swain(slightly based because he is my new main) or let's say something like the default autofill picks nasus malphite lux ashe dr mundo etc

[@elderlich7562]

I feel like the problem is that when these champions are designed, riot's designers don't take a step back to see what parts should be removed. A lot of characters are annoying to play against, but if they proactively changed part of their kit, they would be more well received. For example, Bel'veth. She can dash 3 times in one direction and can reduce damage from enemies by 70%. If they removed these aspects of the champ and took a different approach, they would probably be able to create a less frustrating champion that was still fun to play.

[@vo8183]

I think about Sona everytime I see seraphine

[@milannovak1813]

I could honestly listen to you talk about league for hours on end. I mean I already do but still

[@VarsVerum]

I'm flattered

[@Supa_TTV]

I would love to see a why no one plays/ everyone plays ft. Yone or Irelia!

[@brockb1594]

Ori music never gets old 👌😩

[@fezthedracky8468]

"it's not often you see someone aggressive and brash pick Janna or Soraka" Ap0 rolling in his grave rn

[@samuelchang916]

The BGM sounds like something from Ori and the Blind Forest.

[@VarsVerum]

That's because it is!

[@TheDeltaMC]

A video that congratulates experimentation in design is, by itself, experimental with regards to the types of videos produced. Coincidence? Probably xd

[@flankana]

7:50 ap0calypse would like to speak with you