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.
So…the April Fool’s patch seems to be a way for Riot to buy some extra time on a sizeable content patch. I thought the patch would just be a Lee Sin release, but it seems there’s much more coming tomorrow.
At 11:30 p.m. PST on Thursday, March 31st, we will be bringing all game servers offline for the highly anticipated April 1st update! During this time, you’ll still be able to visit our website and forums. Downtime should take no longer than four hours making our current ETA for service restoration at 4:00 a.m. PST, on Friday, April 1st. Comprehensive patch notes are coming soon, featuring sweeping changes to many Champions of the League. Get ready to celebrate Urf Day and see what — or who — is coming to League of Legends!
I definitely didn’t expect this. I just figured Tuesday was light on content, we’d get Lee Sin tomorrow and then have a sizable patch next week. It seems that content is actually coming in tomorrow. Could it possibly include the Alistar remake?
I am. I’m pumped that Lee Sin is indeed real, though I don’t understand making us wait a few extra days. It’s also weird that Riot called the Lee Sin spotlight from March 29th the “April Fool’s Spotlight,” when the actual April Fool’s spotlight is the real deal. It’s just a strange situation, one I don’t really get.
I actually think Phreak might not have been lying when he said they weren’t sure about Lee Sin’s power level, even if he was making a joke about the hazy effect on the first spotlight. Honestly, I kind of hope it’s the truth, otherwise the wait makes no sense.
I almost hesitated to post this because, as I keep saying over and over, I’m still a little worried about what’s going down with Lee Sin. Still, this spotlight is funny, even if the blur will make your eyes go a little crazy. My personal favorite part was Baron Nashor killing himself.
As the patch notes have it, Lee Sin won’t be out until Friday.
It’s looking more and more like Lee Sin might be the real deal, not just an April Fool’s Joke. Riot has announced his official skill list, which includes in game screenshots. It would be an awful lot of work, not to mention a PR nightmare that Riot doesn’t need, to put all of this together just to strip it from under our feet.
Let’s take a look at that ability list.
Sonic Wave / Resonating Strike: Sonic Wave: Lee Sin projects a discordant wave of sound to locate his enemies, dealing physical damage to the first enemy it encounters. If Sonic Wave hits, Lee Sin can cast Resonating Strike for the next 3 seconds.
Resonating Strike: Lee Sin dashes to the enemy hit by Sonic Wave, dealing physical damage plus 10% of their missing health.
Safeguard / Iron Will Safeguard: Lee Sin rushes towards a target ally, shielding them both from damage. If a shield is broken, half the energy cost is returned. After using Safeguard, Lee Sin can cast Iron Will for the next 3 seconds.
Iron Will: Lee Sin’s intense training allows him to thrive in battle. For 5 seconds, Lee Sin gains lifesteal, spell vamp, and armor.
Tempest / Cripple Tempest: Lee Sin smashes the ground sending out a shockwave that deals magic damage and reveals enemy units hit. If Tempest hits an enemy, Lee Sin can cast cripple for the next 3 seconds.
Cripple: Lee Sin cripples nearby enemies revealed by Tempest, reducing their Movement and Attack Speed for 4 seconds. Movement and Attack Speed recover gradually over the duration.
Dragon’s Rage (Ultimate) Lee Sin performs a powerful roundhouse kick launching his target back, dealing physical damage to the target and any enemies they collide with. Enemies the target collides with are knocked into the air for a short duration.
Flurry (Passive) After Lee Sin uses an ability, his next 2 basic attacks gain 50% Attack Speed and return 10 energy each.
I haven’t had a ton of time to think through his skillset, but I will say I don’t usually like skills getting complicated with bonus effects, especially if the secondary use requires some action first. I know it’s designed to work as a skill ceiling, but the way Lee Sin’s passive works, any miss will multiply the feeling of penalty.
I’ll wait to say more until I’ve seen the skills in action. For now, I’m just happy the Blind Monk is real.
