Azir, the Emperor of the Sands
Overview:
My previous redesign aimed to give Azir more clear weaknesses while granting him strengths and a playstyle appropriate for a ruler of an empire lost beneath the sands, as he bypassed many of the flaws inherent to his archetype at the cost of...feeling a little underwhelming as far as being the Emperor of the Sands went.
While this new Azir was capable of returning his empire to its former glory throughout the match, the ways in which he did so were both more complex than they needed to be, and not as engaging as you'd want a modern League champion to be.
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These new changes aren't tremendous, but should hopefully open up Azir to greater levels of in-fight skill expression (rather than simply strategic structure placement) while shaving off some of his needless complexity.
The way in which he commands his Sand Soldiers is now moderately more limited but more intuitive, his Sun Discs are less overwhelming but still powerful if ignored, and the active nature of his Q and E's basic casts allow him to have at least a little bit of agency when not within his arid domain.
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Azir may no longer be the safe, mobile, dangerous, have-it-all siege/assassin/initiator/peeler/etc. he once was, but with these new changes, I've brought back some key elements that make current Azir distinct among Mages. Of course, he still controls a legion of Sand Soldiers to cut down those who stand against him, but now keeping them in the fight requires a bit more hands-on involvement from the big bird himself.
Also, as a delayed sweet-spot beam-from-the-sky skill has lost its representation in the game along with Xerath's and Leona's redesigns, I've found an appropriate home for it with Azir.
All values in blue are meant to give a general idea of the ability's properties, and are subject to change.
Class: Specialist
Recommended Positions: Solo Midlane, Solo Sidelane
Complexity: High
Innate: Will of the Emperor
All units and structures under Azir's control are empowered by his presence (1100 range). Additionally, Azir hovers while on Conquering Sands, gaining 40 bonus movement speed and becoming ghosted.
Q: Arise!
PASSIVE: Every 25/22/19/16/13 seconds, all active Shuriman Temples summon a Sand Soldier, up to 1/1/2/2/3 per Temple. Sand Soldiers will stand guard and pursue enemy champions trespassing on Conquering Sands, attacking them every second and losing 10% health with each attack. Soldiers under the effects of Will of the Emperor instead recover 5% health with each attack.
ACTIVE: Azir fires a burst of sunlight from his staff, dealing 50/80/110/140/170 + (60% AP) magic damage to the first enemy in its path and marking them for 4 seconds (refreshed by damage from Azir or his Sun Discs). Nearby Sand Soldiers will pursue marked enemies and gain 225 bonus attack range against them.
Sand Soldiers have 200 + (12/14/16/18/20% total HP) health and deal 50/80/110/140/170 + (60% AP) magic damage with each attack. If multiple Soldiers are attacking the same target, each Soldier after the first deals 25% damage.
Range: 750 (beam range), 225 (soldier attack range)
Targeting Type: Skill Shot - Line
Cooldown: 10/9/8/7/6
Cost: 70 mana
W: Conquering Sands
Azir causes the ruins of a Shuriman Temple to rise from the ground at the target location. Temples spread Conquering Sands in an area around them that last until the Temple is destroyed. Temples cannot be placed within 600 range of one another.
Shuriman Temples under the effects of Will of the Emperor return to their full glory, summoning Sand Soldiers 200% as quickly and taking 50% reduced damage.
Shuriman Temples have 100 + (6/7/8/9/10% total HP) health when created, increasing to
400 + (24/28/32/36/40% total HP) health over 30 seconds. The cooldown of Conquering Sands is increased by 25% for every Temple Azir has created in the past 60 seconds.
Range: 450 (target range), 200 (initial Sands radius), 1200 (final Sands radius)
Targeting Type: Skill Shot - Placement
Cooldown: 19/18/17/16/15
Cost: 80/90/100/110/120 mana
E: Disc of the Sun
PASSIVE: Azir can right-click on a Shuriman Temple to channel for 1.5 seconds, creating a
Sun Disc atop it that calls down a ray of sunlight near a random enemy champion trespassing on Conquering Sands every 10 seconds, dealing 30/45/60/75/90 + (30% AP) magic damage after a 0.5 second delay. Enemies in the center of the blast are slowed by 25% for 2.5 seconds.
ACTIVE: Azir calls down a ray of sunlight at the target location that deals
60/90/120/150/180 + (60% AP) magic damage after a 0.5 second delay, slowing enemies in the center of the blast by 25% for 2.5 seconds. Sun Discs under the effect of Will of the Emperor will call down an additional ray near the target location one after the other, dealing 50% reduced damage.
Range: 1200 (target range), 210 (effect radius), 105 (sweet spot radius)
Targeting Type: Skill Shot - Circle
Cooldown: 14/13/12/11/10
Cost: 70/80/90/100/110 mana
R: Desert Ascension
Azir channels for 3 seconds, rising higher into the air over the duration, before soaring to the target Shuriman Temple over up to a maximum of 6/5/4 seconds.
Once Azir lands, he becomes empowered for 8 seconds, whipping up a sandstorm around himself while on Conquering Sands. While protected by the sandstorm, Azir reduces all incoming damage by 25/30/35% + (4.5% per 100 AP) (doubled against projectiles) and his basic abilities cool down 100% more quickly.
Range: 5500
Targeting Type: Targeted
Cooldown: 100/90/80
Cost: 150 mana