134 replies to this topic

[Suzaku910]

 Nhan-Fiction, on 25 July 2012 - 06:46 PM, said:

My friend played some Zyra games last night with me, and I got to say, Zyra is quite "straightforward" despite all the hype of "dynamic" gameplay. The fact is, "strategic" seeds are just unnecessary in most cases. You just need to plant two seeds at people's feet, drop a Q on the seeds to make them grow and then follow it up with an E and then finally an ultimate. I will have to play more games with Zyra, both against and as her, to get a true gauge of her qualities, but I make it a habit to not hold my breath for a new champ Riot releases until the dust settles.

I was skeptical when I read stuff like this about Zyra: http://na.leagueofle...-designing-zyra.
Morello: Zyra appeals to people who want to play a little more of a chess game. The fantasy of Zyra is that you’re ready to outthink and outsmart the other champions in your lane. Sure, she’s got some good burst and interesting abilities, but she truly shines when you take a step back for a second and think about the best course of action.

My friend said he just plays Zyra like Annie and just aims his nukes toward a group of enemies until they die (considering Zyra's ratios and damage output are definitely on the overpowered side, this is the easiest course of action). Of course, I expect a lot of players to overthink Zyra because she is under the guise of a new champ. They will become too fixated with "proper" seed placement that they will overlook the fact that simple tactics are ultimately more satisfying and efficient than trying to be complex.

For now, I am not sure how to grade Zyra.

Boring. It's best to throw an E at someone, place a seed next to the enemy while it's still traveling (that way they get snared + slowed with little time to react) so that they stay in range of your other Q plant for a long time, and then another seed + Q. As soon as you get a Rylais, though, the E plant feels useless compared to the Q plants since you get the slow on the Q plants + the range damage.

However it seems like her plants are useless against heavy AoE teams (Graves, Twisted Fate, Annie, Garen, Gragas, etc.) since AoE spells instantly kill plants (wonder if Sunfire Cloak does, too?)

Edited by Suzaku910, 25 July 2012 - 07:58 PM.

[Animality42]

 Nhan-Fiction, on 25 July 2012 - 10:58 PM, said:

My current impression of Zyra = the plants are more of an afterthought in the grand scheme of things. Like I said, it seems more effective just to nuke your opponents outright with the seeds underneath their feet rather than trying to "outsmart" your opponents with plant placement. It becomes a Wx2 ---> Q ---> E ---> R sequence. Not much strategy, honestly.

is really fun though :3

[Suzaku910]

 Nhan-Fiction, on 25 July 2012 - 10:58 PM, said:

My current impression of Zyra = the plants are more of an afterthought in the grand scheme of things. Like I said, it seems more effective just to nuke your opponents outright with the seeds underneath their feet rather than trying to "outsmart" your opponents with plant placement. It becomes a Wx2 ---> Q ---> E ---> R sequence. Not much strategy, honestly.

Yeah. Pretty much no strategy required to play her.

[Basilisk1991]

 Suzaku910, on 26 July 2012 - 12:18 AM, said:

Yeah. Pretty much no strategy required to play her.

Well strategy not being necessary doesn't mean it doesn't exist, although she is basically just a nuker with stationary pets, you can use the seeds (Well the pets) to block off exits and such, but I will admit the majority of my play time was "Double Tap W, press Q +E + R"

Edited by Basilisk1991, 26 July 2012 - 02:13 AM.

[Basilisk1991]

 Nhan-Fiction, on 26 July 2012 - 05:14 AM, said:

Oh, there is definitely strategy with a lot of champs. I do no deny this fact at all. I just think too many players just make characters seem more complicated than they really are.

I have to agree with you on that one, this isn't DotA2 or HoN, the mechanics here aren't Invoker levels of complexity, but you can get away with the odd build/playstyle, that being said most champions most champions can get by just pressing QWER whenever they're off CD.

[SolidFake]

It got better. While I personally find Jayce boring, I can understand why people enjoy him. Zyra is okay, unique enough at least. Draven was awesome and I really anticipate the Diana release.

[Suzaku910]

 SolidFake, on 28 July 2012 - 01:33 PM, said:

It got better. While I personally find Jayce boring, I can understand why people enjoy him. Zyra is okay, unique enough at least. Draven was awesome and I really anticipate the Diana release.

I'd like her Q more if there was a better reason for it to curve than unique/"Moon lol." I mean it goes through everything it hits anyways without damage reduction, so it's not like she needs to avoid people directly in front of her or anything. It's just....weird to make it a curved skillshot without it actually needing to be to avoid minions.

EDIT: Also building her so far is kinda weird. Melee AP with so-so AP ratios and a passive that scales off ASPD and no escape mechanism makes her really hard to itemize properly.

Edited by Suzaku910, 28 July 2012 - 02:09 PM.

[Daeron]

Agreed, it's more of a flashy skillshot than something that fundamentally changes your thought process. And that what I would expect from the first curved skillshot.

Edited by Daeron, 28 July 2012 - 02:08 PM.

[SolidFake]

 Suzaku910, on 28 July 2012 - 02:00 PM, said:

I'd like her Q more if there was a better reason for it to curve than unique/"Moon lol." I mean it goes through everything it hits anyways without damage reduction, so it's not like she needs to avoid people directly in front of her or anything. It's just....weird to make it a curved skillshot without it actually needing to be to avoid minions.

well, it is still better than if they made just another standard skillshot

[Suzaku910]

 SolidFake, on 28 July 2012 - 06:58 PM, said:

well, it is still better than if they made just another standard skillshot

Personal opinion, because I really don't think so since there's no reason at all to justify it being a crescent instead of a normal skillshot, other than "look how unique that is" or "dude, crescent, moon? Duh."

[SolidFake]

 Suzaku910, on 28 July 2012 - 10:54 PM, said:

Personal opinion, because I really don't think so since there's no reason at all to justify it being a crescent instead of a normal skillshot, other than "look how unique that is" or "dude, crescent, moon? Duh."

for sure it's personal opinion
It depends if you care more for the practical stuff or the visual/unique.

[ToTALKOZ]

This has been an issue for me ever since I started playing LoL. Before League, I played DotA a lot and for a long time. DotA never released heroes not nearly as often as League does, but I understand that this is a part of Riot's business model. However, I feel lhat this system of pumping out new champions every other week or so (that's what it seems like) really affects the balance of the game.

Now, I don't know what process Riot goes through when it comes to balancing champions, but I'll give them the benefit of the doubt and say that it's okay. However, I think by them releasing so many champions like this, it often affects the balance and uniqueness of skills. Many skills feel like they're just a rehash of many other skills.

I guess the real difference is how the game was made. Riot started League as a business, but DotA was pretty much raised and driven by a core community. Many (if not, all) of the DotA heroes are submitted by the community, which is then voted by the community. People would share ideas, give their input on balances, and ultimately vote for which heroes were suited to be reviewed by the DotA developers (ie. IceFrog). It's a lengthy process, but this may be why DotA heroes (to me) have a more balanced feel to them, which made All-Random mode pretty fun, IMO. I rarely see people randoming in LoL unless they just wanna troll.

But then again, DotA doesn't have a magic scaling system like LoL. That's a whole different ballgame. I love both games, they provide there own unique gameplay and style, but Riot needs to chill with releasing champs so often and start releasing more skins or more maps perhaps. It's disheartening whenever new champion week comes around, and the majority of the community complains about it being unbalanced (and more often than not, they're right).

[Rapid99]

 ToTALKOZ, on 13 August 2012 - 11:23 PM, said:

I feel lhat this system of pumping out new champions every other week or so (that's what it seems like) really affects the balance of the game.

Welcome to League of Legends.

[ZergDragoon]

Gotta say though, Rengar. Yush. I'd switch it to an B+ right now if could. Lots of cool little mechanics that don't hinder a lesser learned player, but lots of things that can become a strong player's dream. Wall jumping with ult, or from bush to secure kills from flashes a la Akali Style. Trinity Force for tons of damage, jungling boss mode for Phreak lolz. Ajani look-a-like for magic the gathering lolz. DREADLOCKS. Cool model. New system for enhancing champ's damage, similar to rage but it isn't otay. And a new item similar to viktor, that actually helps a lot through out the game and you don't have to buy it if you don't want to.

I like him a lot.

[Tolang]

 ZergDragoon, on 14 August 2012 - 06:48 AM, said:

Gotta say though, Rengar. Yush. I'd switch it to an B+ right now if could. Lots of cool little mechanics that don't hinder a lesser learned player, but lots of things that can become a strong player's dream. Wall jumping with ult, or from bush to secure kills from flashes a la Akali Style. Trinity Force for tons of damage, jungling boss mode for Phreak lolz. Ajani look-a-like for magic the gathering lolz. DREADLOCKS. Cool model. New system for enhancing champ's damage, similar to rage but it isn't otay. And a new item similar to viktor, that actually helps a lot through out the game and you don't have to buy it if you don't want to.

I like him a lot.

This. He is really cool. It was odd playing him at first, but once i got use to it, he was really fun. Also, I didn't even make the Ajani connection and I play MTG a lot. XD