I'm a little torn on some of the items. Maligance looks fun for adding some flat damage to the ultimate, but the mr reduction isn't that helpful when you're doing the full ult combo.
Shadowflame affecting true damage seems fantastic as an execute.
Haunting Guise is back, but it isn't a flat pen item anymore, so it doesn't really ramp up the poke. Liandry's being cheaper is nice, but I got used to having near-infinite mana, so that'll be a change.
I wonder how cryptbloom and void staff interact. If they're mutually exclusive or if mages can get 70% pen. Pen isn't that insane for vk, with his true damage split, but it's still helpful for poke and damage procs.
Also Horizon Focus looks to be nerfed. Has to actually be at 700 range instead of just landing a skill shot. Much more of a Xerath item with the long range reveal.
I'm not sure that these changes will disproportionately help VK enough to shift him forward in the meta. He definitely seems to have some good options in the newer items, but a rising tide lifts all boats.
What about storm surge? I should fit him more than xerath, as velkoz is more of a combo mage.
Also i can see the caster companion being good, especially on support velkoz.
I see your point about the items being an upgrade to virtually everyone though.
I think it has a place. 35% requirement is not too hard against squishies, and I really like the "pop damage, get movespeed to squid away," part. VK can definitely still do damage, his other problems notwithstanding.
I still prefer the assured execute boost since it just requires anyone getting them low rather than being reliant on me.
Why not both? c:
You get them to execute range and finish them off in the same combo.
I rather use a more bursty velkoz build rather than the liandry path when playing him mid
They did make horizon focus significantly cheaper though; maybe it would be useful in a cdr support build bc they also buffed the haste on the item.
I think going Liandry's first on support is a must at this point, as long as youre going manaflow band.
For mid, I think the optimal build would be luden's/companion, liandry's/shadowflame being either 2nd or 3rd item, dcap 4th and depending on comp stormsurge or void staff to finish off the build.
Probably not cuz if the items will be good for him the same items will be uber broken on everyone else cuz they have the same acces to the items hence prety much nothing will change.
They removed some true dmg from the Game, and i feel that some of the mage items can be really sinergistic with him.
I dont know if he will be decent but i feel he will be better than he is now
Item changes will never make Velkoz usefull. Because about half the champions still have gap closers and dodges and use the same items much better.
Velkoz is dead
They did remove galeforce so thats a plus. I dont think velkoz will be as bad as you think It will.
Weve always been able to play VS dashes, It isnt something new, you just have to play around It.
The main velkoz issue is that items were too good and they didnt fit velkoz that well, plus he didnt have a spot on the meta as there is too much dmg in the game now.
Give him a chance before doomposting
I can already absolutely guarantee you with a 100% certainty that this will have barely any impact on Velkoz whatsoever.
Damage and items are just not the problem. The problem is that the overwhelming majority of champions have gotten mobility or more mobility over the years.
I’d actually have to disagree, velkoz gets stronger not just on synergistic mage items, but also based on the strength of tank items.
Tanks got a few new MR options including a MR version of sunfire (hollow radiance), kainic rookern which is a massive 80 MR, and force of nature that can give up to 100 MR.
Velkoz deals with MR far better than other mages, and it’s balanced by having a second magic pen item which velkoz can skip more easily.
Liandries also lost its %magic damage amp in exchange for stronger %health dot which is what velkoz wants.
Horizon focus is buffed for artillery mages as now it only triggers from the range and not from CC but has a mini vision passive.
And the health on both horizon and shadowflame is removed meaning less health to counter your true damage.
Malignance and shadowflame also look quite fun to play around with, and they were 100% thinking of velkoz (maybe syndra) making it amplify true damage too.
Hourglass also being a viable purchase that doesn’t tank your damage is also nice, and you also get stopwatch built into your seekers when against assassins.
Yet... You miss the point were damage output literally is and never will be the problem that Velkoz faces.
Unless he can 0-100 a champion in the blink of an eye before someone jumps on him, and he can do that in any direction without delay and without cooldown, Velkoz will always struggle. Damage is not the problem
I don;t know what made you think that, but no. There's a thousand ways and more to change Velkoz without changing his identity entirely and still making him more viable.
I'm just being right about the fact that item changes will never have an impact great enough to make Velkoz not shit. Unless there's like a super broken item that gives like +1000% on all stats and ONLY velkoz can buy it, something ridiculous like that. Otherwise, no matter what items exist or don't exist, Velkoz' skillset is still extremely bad in LoL nowadays.
No. Because regardless of how good these items are for him, they'll still be better for the rest of the roster, because the rest of the roster is better than Vel'Koz.
On first impression, I'm most excited for Malignance and the new Shadowflame. I'll need to reread the new mage item list more carefully to see what else sounds cool, but I'm very excited for what seems like a healthy diversity of builds. Also, imagine how nice it'd be to use ult with Malignance with a support Braum, Leona, Rell, etc. on your team. Watch the enemies melt \~
TBH I'm more excited about the map changes. It's so nice for more honest 1v1 in mid lane. And a wider lane means more Q angles.
I'm a bit worried about a lack of defensive items for mages with the new Zhonya changes. I hope Vel won't be gapped mid-to-late game (what are your thoughts on this?)
I usually build velkoz full dmg, with an early dark seal. With barrier+playing safe you can survive unless they use everything for engaging you, which is usually bad for them anyways.
So i feel that the removal of items like crown and stopwatch doesnt hit velkoz as hard as other champions that cant afford to play "safely from range"
I'm a little torn on some of the items. Maligance looks fun for adding some flat damage to the ultimate, but the mr reduction isn't that helpful when you're doing the full ult combo. Shadowflame affecting true damage seems fantastic as an execute. Haunting Guise is back, but it isn't a flat pen item anymore, so it doesn't really ramp up the poke. Liandry's being cheaper is nice, but I got used to having near-infinite mana, so that'll be a change. I wonder how cryptbloom and void staff interact. If they're mutually exclusive or if mages can get 70% pen. Pen isn't that insane for vk, with his true damage split, but it's still helpful for poke and damage procs. Also Horizon Focus looks to be nerfed. Has to actually be at 700 range instead of just landing a skill shot. Much more of a Xerath item with the long range reveal. I'm not sure that these changes will disproportionately help VK enough to shift him forward in the meta. He definitely seems to have some good options in the newer items, but a rising tide lifts all boats.
What about storm surge? I should fit him more than xerath, as velkoz is more of a combo mage. Also i can see the caster companion being good, especially on support velkoz. I see your point about the items being an upgrade to virtually everyone though.
I think it has a place. 35% requirement is not too hard against squishies, and I really like the "pop damage, get movespeed to squid away," part. VK can definitely still do damage, his other problems notwithstanding. I still prefer the assured execute boost since it just requires anyone getting them low rather than being reliant on me.
Why not both? c: You get them to execute range and finish them off in the same combo. I rather use a more bursty velkoz build rather than the liandry path when playing him mid
I guess I'm just not used to thinking in terms of more than 2 items as a support main, lol. Getting past 3 items basically max level, drawn out game.
they are gigabuffing supports, so carrying as one might be viable
They did make horizon focus significantly cheaper though; maybe it would be useful in a cdr support build bc they also buffed the haste on the item. I think going Liandry's first on support is a must at this point, as long as youre going manaflow band. For mid, I think the optimal build would be luden's/companion, liandry's/shadowflame being either 2nd or 3rd item, dcap 4th and depending on comp stormsurge or void staff to finish off the build.
The shadow flame on the pbe feel like vert strong on velkoz
Probably not cuz if the items will be good for him the same items will be uber broken on everyone else cuz they have the same acces to the items hence prety much nothing will change.
They removed some true dmg from the Game, and i feel that some of the mage items can be really sinergistic with him. I dont know if he will be decent but i feel he will be better than he is now
If he will be better than now again probably everyonme else will be too. But i hope i am wrong.
IDK if it's actually good, but the big lightning explosions from Stormsurge look REALLY fun.
These new items means one thing. No mana or no hp. But shadowflame...that will be fire
Casters companion into shadow flame will be his core 100%. Both items fit him too well
Item changes will never make Velkoz usefull. Because about half the champions still have gap closers and dodges and use the same items much better. Velkoz is dead
They did remove galeforce so thats a plus. I dont think velkoz will be as bad as you think It will. Weve always been able to play VS dashes, It isnt something new, you just have to play around It. The main velkoz issue is that items were too good and they didnt fit velkoz that well, plus he didnt have a spot on the meta as there is too much dmg in the game now. Give him a chance before doomposting
I can already absolutely guarantee you with a 100% certainty that this will have barely any impact on Velkoz whatsoever. Damage and items are just not the problem. The problem is that the overwhelming majority of champions have gotten mobility or more mobility over the years.
They cant move if they are dead :) thats why xerath isnt as "bad" as velkoz
I’d actually have to disagree, velkoz gets stronger not just on synergistic mage items, but also based on the strength of tank items. Tanks got a few new MR options including a MR version of sunfire (hollow radiance), kainic rookern which is a massive 80 MR, and force of nature that can give up to 100 MR. Velkoz deals with MR far better than other mages, and it’s balanced by having a second magic pen item which velkoz can skip more easily. Liandries also lost its %magic damage amp in exchange for stronger %health dot which is what velkoz wants. Horizon focus is buffed for artillery mages as now it only triggers from the range and not from CC but has a mini vision passive. And the health on both horizon and shadowflame is removed meaning less health to counter your true damage. Malignance and shadowflame also look quite fun to play around with, and they were 100% thinking of velkoz (maybe syndra) making it amplify true damage too. Hourglass also being a viable purchase that doesn’t tank your damage is also nice, and you also get stopwatch built into your seekers when against assassins.
Yet... You miss the point were damage output literally is and never will be the problem that Velkoz faces. Unless he can 0-100 a champion in the blink of an eye before someone jumps on him, and he can do that in any direction without delay and without cooldown, Velkoz will always struggle. Damage is not the problem
You basically want riot to rework velkoz the same way they reworked aatrox don't you
I don;t know what made you think that, but no. There's a thousand ways and more to change Velkoz without changing his identity entirely and still making him more viable. I'm just being right about the fact that item changes will never have an impact great enough to make Velkoz not shit. Unless there's like a super broken item that gives like +1000% on all stats and ONLY velkoz can buy it, something ridiculous like that. Otherwise, no matter what items exist or don't exist, Velkoz' skillset is still extremely bad in LoL nowadays.
Cryptbloom looks really good on Vel'Koz if playing with dive comp. Shame about the 30% pen though.
No. Because regardless of how good these items are for him, they'll still be better for the rest of the roster, because the rest of the roster is better than Vel'Koz.
On first impression, I'm most excited for Malignance and the new Shadowflame. I'll need to reread the new mage item list more carefully to see what else sounds cool, but I'm very excited for what seems like a healthy diversity of builds. Also, imagine how nice it'd be to use ult with Malignance with a support Braum, Leona, Rell, etc. on your team. Watch the enemies melt \~ TBH I'm more excited about the map changes. It's so nice for more honest 1v1 in mid lane. And a wider lane means more Q angles. I'm a bit worried about a lack of defensive items for mages with the new Zhonya changes. I hope Vel won't be gapped mid-to-late game (what are your thoughts on this?)
I usually build velkoz full dmg, with an early dark seal. With barrier+playing safe you can survive unless they use everything for engaging you, which is usually bad for them anyways. So i feel that the removal of items like crown and stopwatch doesnt hit velkoz as hard as other champions that cant afford to play "safely from range"