I’ve been playing Brand this week for my Champ of the Week, a champion with incredible harass and bursting power capable of easy kills as early as level three. It’s been a lot of fun, but I can’t help but think that he’s a little OP, a problem that gets exacerbated by the use of Ignite. I run Flash/Ignite on Brand as I do on just about every AP carry in the game. It adds a little extra burst to his rotation and gives me the power necessary to get through healers, lifestealers, and spell vampers (vampires?). As with any “must-have” skill, I can’t help but wonder if Ignite isn’t a little bit broken, at least from a damage perspective, so I bring the question to you. Does Ignite need a damage nerf?
One of the big problems with Ignite is that it scales with level and is typically carried by characters in solo lanes. As a result, characters with a level advantage further the gap above duo lanes and junglers with that increased damage. I was playing a game the other day as Lee Sin in which a Cho’Gath, who had 3 levels on me, hit a Rupture, Ignite, and Feast for 100% of my HP. Ignite accounted for nearly 300 damage. I think I was level 10. Doesn’t that seem a bit excessive? He already has a huge advantage in level, so why give him additional free damage? I think one possible solution would be to tone down the damage-gain-per-level a bit and make Ignite deal damage based on the target’s level, not the level of the caster.
I don’t think we can get rid of Ignite altogether. Characters like Mordekaiser, Akali, Udyr, Lee Sin, and Nasus all justify the existence of the skill, to say nothing of healers. Ignite is also incredibly useful for getting through the Tanky DPS in the game. Unfortunately, Ignite is almost necessary to bring down the tankier characters, but that necessity makes the skill too effective against characters without a 3000+ health pool. Take Talon – he’s a melee assassin that has no way to escape a fight without Flash. Once he ults, he’s done, and being that his ult is his best offensive skill, it doesn’t make sense to burn it for escape. He’s already more susceptible to the kinds of AoE damage we see from Annie, Brand, Malzahar, and their kind. Ignite unnecessarily amplifies his vulnerability, making him an easy kill in most situations.
Now that you have the case against Ignite, at least in its current form, what do you think? Does Ignite damage need a rework or is it just fine where it is?
