The Gangplank Champ of the Week was definitely the most contested to this point, but that really didn’t surprise me. Gangplank is one of those champions that gets out of control in a way that is extremely frustrating to play against, but he’s also difficult to use to maximum effect. I think a lot of players feel like Gangplank is usually terrible to play against and terrible to have as a teammate. While I think Gangplank can be a strong toon, I think his big problem is the fact that his skills rely on random procs to be effective.

I’ve covered most of the problems with his design in earlier posts, so I thought it would be good to wrap up the discussion about Gangplank with what I think would be a good design direction for the champion. He needs more than just one simple change, for sure – he needs a few of them to really be a reasonable presence in the League.

I think the idea of a ranged physical nuke is fine for a melee character like Gangplank. Several other melee DPS share that trait – Jarvan, Pantheon, Mundo, Lee Sin, Nocturne all have one – but none of theirs have the ability to crit. The crit function needs to go away, plain and simple. I think an armor penetration debuff would be perfect for the skill. It would allow him to rely more heavily on a Trinity Force build, which gives him improved survivability, something he desperately needs. It would also give him a little extra teamfight utility, which, with the removal of his crit potential, would be pretty much necessary.

His ultimate also needs to become the kind of skill that deals reliable damage. Part of what makes a champion competitive quality is that the damage and utility they provide is predictable. That’s important for both sides of battlefield. If my teammates can’t reliably expect a slow or a stun when its needed, I probably need to pick a different champion. Similarly, opponents need to be able to predict incoming damage and slows. Obviously, Gangplank is problem in both cases. His ultimate and his Parley deal unreliable damage and his ultimate isn’t always a reliable slow. That has to change, either by making his ultimate slow anyone in its range and deal predictable damage over time – think Crowstorm – or by completely redesigning the skill.

The long and short of the Gangplank issue is that he needs to be a predictable force on the field. Until that happens, he will continue to frustrate players by underperforming and overperforming depending on how the dice fall.