[Patch 4.11] Maokai Rework General Discussion - Page 55

I actually followed the (really open) discussions about his rework, mostly led by Xelnath. He started the whole thing with a long post composed half of an in-depth analysis based on a survey given to some high-level Xerath NA players, and half of a summary of the general public opinions about the champion.

The general public had three criticisms about old Xerath : few lane interaction, inability to do much in terms of fighting without his ult being up, and a weak visual presence (in terms of spell effects mostly, iirc). Hilariously enough, new Xerath's Q and E visual are painfully bad (blue stick ftw), he is still mostly unable to kill people without ult, and the nerf range on Q/E change have made his laning hugely clunky.

The passive change, the removal of the ms boost and the face-palm inducing range mechanic on the stun make him even more vulnerable to gap closers, the now all-skillshot kit makes him a pain to play against any mobile champ, especially since they kept the 0.5 cast time on his spells. All the issues mentionned by the Xerath players, which Xelnath said he was representing, where either ignored or made worse.

Overall this rework started really well, and quickly became a train-wreck. It was painful to see the discourse gradually change from "let's make this champion funnier" to "free magic pen is toxic for the game". They removed its uniqueness and made him into a worse version of the already existing champion pool.

I believe they invested a lot of time into this rework, realized they were going nowhere, released what they had just to get rid of it, and decorated the whole thing with their usual enlightened speaches about game experience and design. I don't see what else could explain the decisions taken despite the repeated protests in the rework thread.