Category: Reviews (Page 13 of 24)

      Stop crying about the Xin nerf

      April 13, 2011 /

      xenzhao_splash_1

      I’m usually not this aggressive when it comes to post patch impressions, but the Xin Zhao threads on the forums are downright dumb. Xin was long overdue for a nerf. Sorry folks (sorry specifically Aaron – I promise this isn’t targeted at you <3), but he needed it, and frankly I don't think it's all that bad. There's only one concession I'll make to all the Xin players out there - the nerf messed up his feel. The Battle Cry nerf is awkward. The skill now feels almost like a DPS loss if you use it too early, but I don't think it has totally broken him. Xin's problem prior to the nerf was that he had too many inherent abilities, much like Nocturne. I used to roll with a flat out armor pen rune page on Xin, which is utterly ridiculous for how durable he was. He has a limited duration damage buff on Q, a DPS steroid on W (both active and passive), a nuke/slow, and a massive AoE nuke that also includes a damage resistance buff. The funniest part about all the crying right now is that he still has all of those things, just one of them isn’t crazy OP (Battle Cry).

      Battle Cry was an absolutely ridiculous skill. A huge attack speed buff that also reduced cooldowns? Oh, it was also usable often enough that his ult would be up any time he wanted it. Unfortunately, the change makes it feel extremely awkward, which is probably why so many people are crying. On the whole, though, I think the nerf is a good thing. I’ve played a couple games with him since the nerf and the only real change I noticed is that I have to think more. It’s no longer Charge, Ult, 3 Talon, Battle Cry, at least not one after another. I still Charge first, but try to use 3 Talon as close to Battle Cry as possible so I can get another knockup. Sure, he’s not in the middle of the fight wrecking face quite like he used to, but he’s still strong, especially if you change up your build.

      This is another problem with a lot of the complaints. They seem to be focused on the fact that Xin can’t play like he used to. Simple solution: adapt. No, you can’t just build damage anymore. No you can’t just roll your face on your keys anymore. You have to think, and that’s exactly how it should be with the durable melee DPS characters.

      Reviews

      Mojang sets Minecraft launch date for 11/11/2011

      April 8, 2011 /

      Minecraft World.

      I spend so much time in Minecraft it’s hard to believe that the game isn’t done. It is so far beyond any game experience I have had in recent memory, largely due to the huge development community that backs the game. It is a fantastic experience, one I can hardly overstate and something that every self-respecting gamer should spend time on (I play on a server called DarkTide under the name “TheWuggler” if anyone would like to join). Mojang, the game’s developer, has set an official release date for Minecraft, which is still in beta. The target: 11/11/2011.

      You probably know that date well. A lot of other games are targeting the golden date for release, not the least of which is Bethesda’s Elder Scrolls: Skyrim. As Notch mentioned on his blog announcing the release, Minecraft won’t have a proper release date like many other games. There are already millions of registered players, and Mojang continues to update the game on a regular basis.

      From Notch’s blog:

      It’s a bit tricky to really do a release for Minecraft as we keep updating it all the time. For one, the version we deem as the “full version” won’t be very different at all from what the game was like a week ago, and we’ll keep adding features after the release as well, so it’s really more of a milestone when we finally get rid of the Beta label, and some kind of goal for us to work towards. The plan is to be open with this and try to get people to cheer us on as much as possible, but to be open with the fact that the game won’t change much at the actual release day. (It’s more a progress up until that point).

      Progress is right – the game just released an update that added wild wolves to the mix of creatures. The wolves can be tamed and used as player pets, aiding in the hunt for delicious porkchops or, my favorite game, other players.

      How many more times can I say in one post that I love Minecraft…I LOVE MINECRAFT. Seriously, check it out.

      Reviews

      Brand ability list arrives early

      April 8, 2011 /
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      The official Brand ability list showed up pretty early this week – sometime yesterday evening if I saw correctly. It’s nice to see a champ in the mix that isn’t tanky DPS, though I do wonder if his ult won’t be a little strong. Let’s take a look at the skills.

      Sear: Brand launches a ball of fire forward that deals magic damage. If the target is ablaze, the target will be stunned.

      Pillar of Flame: After a short delay, Brand creates a pillar of flame at a target area, dealing magic damage to enemy units within the area. Units that are ablaze take additional damage.

      Conflagration: Brand conjures a powerful blast at his target, dealing magic damage to them. If the target is ablaze, the conflagration spreads to nearby enemies.

      Pyroclasm (Ultimate): Brand unleashes a devastating torrent of fire, dealing damage each time it bounces. If a target is ablaze, Pyroclasm’s missile speed increases.

      Blaze (Passive): Brand’s basic abilities light his targets ablaze, dealing a percentage of their maximum Health in magic damage per second.

      I really like the synergy of his passive with his other skills. The overall strength of the passive will of course be determined by just how much of a percentage of the target’s health it deals. It’s interesting to see Riot trying to address the Tanky DPS issue directly through character design. I think it’s important to remember that the characters this passive plays best against are characters that already tend to stack a decent amount of magic resistance. My guess is that, even with the passive, Brand won’t stand a chance against a fairly tanky team. Magic resistance will negate a large portion of the damage, just as it does with characters like Kog’Maw and items like Bloodrazor/Deathfire Grasp.

      I’m also interested in Brand’s ultimate design. Are we seeing a return to the AoE metagame? Be sure to check back on Tuesday for my impressions.

      Reviews

      Lee Sin catches a hotfix buff

      April 6, 2011 /

      blindmonk_splash_1

      Lee Sin might be real, *sunglasses*, real mediocre. Okay, I don’t think that’s how that joke works but who can resist a little wordplay. In all seriousness, Lee Sin was one underwhelming dude, to the point that Riot saw fit to hotfix buff him. I haven’t really been a fan of this method in the past, and after seeing the numbers, I’m not a fan of it now.

      Check it:

      Sonic Wave/Resonating Strike AD ratio increase to 1.0 from 0.8
      Tempest/Cripple AD ratio increased to 1.0 from 0.6
      Dragon’s Rage AD ratio increased to 2.0 from 1.5
      Flurry’s Energy restoration increased to 15 from 10.

      Those are serious buffs. Imagine another character in the game picking up those kind of number boosts. I still don’t think it will address all of his problems. Lee Sin suffers from a lack of real crowd control, even if he is fairly mobile.

      It’s also hard for me to see this buff and not think, gee, Nocturne hasn’t been changed, and he has one of the absolute strongest kits in the game. How does a buff like this get pushed through when adjustments to a character like Nocturne aren’t even made the patch after his release? I’m confused, but thankfully Lee Sin isn’t the kind of character that can take these buffs and just murder an entire team. In the right hands, though, I think he’ll be very deadly.

      Reviews

      Lee Sin Impressions

      April 4, 2011 /

      blindmonk_splash_2

      I’m still reeling a bit from the fact that Lee Sin is real, but that hasn’t stopped me from playing a few games with him. On the whole, I think he’s a much more balanced release than Nocturne, and that makes him feel a little lackluster.

      For the most part, I like Lee Sin’s kit. He has a lot of mobility and his W and E are both strong enough skills that he has some build flexibility. If you’re in a heavy harass lane, level the shield before the slow, and vice versa. I do tend to get one rank of each before level six, just for the utility. Dashing to a minion with his shield has saved my ass more than once. In almost all cases, though, it seems best to rank Sonic Wave first.

      One of my biggest problems with Lee Sin is his ultimate. The damage scales really well, but with all of the dashes in the game it can be nearly impossible to send the target where you want. One wrong step and suddenly they’re flying out of range. It’s often best used as a finisher, which kind of negates the kick functionality. I would love to see this get some kind of redesign, even if it was just to make a dead player fly through enemies just as a live player would. That would make the kick slightly more tactical.

      The energy system is also a source of frustration for Lee Sin, if only because his cooldowns feel pretty short. I never feel like I’m waiting on abilities, just on the energy to use them. Granted, his passive is supposed to help with that, and it does to an extent. Still, it’s frustrating to look down and see 2 abilities grayed out and just wait for more energy.

      I will say, I’ve seen a lot of people who feel the opposite about the character. Some players are in love with him, so my malaise could be related to flavor more than balance. As I write that, it feels more true than the balance issue – I do think there are some changes that would make him more fun/interesting, but at the end of the day I think I’ve seen one too many dashy melee characters. More. Flavor. Please.

      Reviews

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