LoL players fear Smolder could be “god-tier” after changes to execute and scaling
Riot GamesLeague of Legends players have some mixed feelings about the new changes coming to Smolder, the latest champion added to the game.
Smolder’s had a strange effect on League ever since he joined the game. He was designed to be a return to standard ADC gameplay, with a simple-to-grasp kit and good late-game scaling, but as usual, no play survives first contact with the League player base.
Smoulder has been received more as a caster than a traditional ADC, with most players ignoring crit items and instead building Essence Reaver and Spear of Shojin to maximize ability output and cooldown reduction.
Like with any new release, Smolder will take a while to settle into his position in the meta. To aid this, Riot announced a new slate of changes for him, but some of the changes are giving players pause for thought.
Smolder to receive big changes to scaling and late-game execute
The big changes to Smolder will come to his stacks, which will now give more power to the burn on his Q and the shots on his flight (E). However, some players don’t think this will be the right kind of change for him.
One player on reddit said: “I’m reading the upcoming changes for Smolder and I do not think they address the main source of frustration with this champion, a champion that has close to a 40% banrate globally and over 50% in KR where they instantly ban anything over the top.”
“Having the execute being a point-and-click ability that you reach with relative ease and early into the game (I’ve seen Smolder reach this 225 cap in 18-19 minutes in GM lobbies) is bonkers, and I can’t really comprehend why they’re okay with how the champ turned out.”
Not everyone agreed, with the top comment pointing out that: “the recent changes also tie the damage on the number of stacks. Which means that he gets the execute but it’s weak anyway.”