Leona vs Thresh
This post will be of little interest to those who don't play League of Legends (and if you do and I don't know, let me know=D) but it's longer than 140 to tweet and wanted to get it out.
Recently, I got enough IP to purchase Leona. Yesterday I playtested her masteries, which because of the cap of mastery pages, I decided to share with another champ and see how it went. It went well (albeit vs beginner bots and wife's awesome carry) however this morning on reflection, I realized that maybe a reason no-one plays her in pro anymore is because really she is a weaker Thresh.
Bear with me...
Leona's W gives her (not others) armor and does damage both are selfish for a support. Thresh's W on the other hand, gives shield (mathmatically maybe better than armor, # reduction rather than addon %) to ally as well as lets them move large distances. Clearly better.
Thresh's Q is a pull you do not have to follow up on (I was comparing initially Leona to Blitzcrank where you don't have the choice if you pull) whereas Leona's E you do have to follow. Her E does root however and also goes through minions. This is the weakest of the skill compare arguements IMO, tho it can no doubt put her in comperable if not more danger (situational I guess).
Leona's Q hits one opponent and is based on her basic attack whereas Thresh's E can hit multiple (in a line). Stun is equiv to knockup IMO without looking at durations.
Thresh's R is a box stun centered on him. Leona's R has a timed delay (Thresh's does not; giving time to dodge) and slows those not in the middle. You can argue that Thresh's R does nothing to those in the middle so this might be situational but I'm unconvinced. Leona's R is ranged however, which can be good (or terrible) considering the time delay (can be used to screen etc).
Thresh is also a ranged champ and his passive is build over time, maybe one of the best in the game.
Thresh is also somewhat out of meta right now, tho a fallback champ ("tier 2") so you do see him occasionally.
Interestingly, I find Thresh MUCH more challenging to play, so even if my analysis is right, perhaps Leona is just an easier version of Thresh. What is somewhat sad is that Leona still costs 4k IP (Thresh is 6k) so they're not THAT far apart. If that is right and Thresh is a more difficult version of Leona it seems someone made that realization and came out with the char pretty fast.
Another thought is that maybe Thresh/Lucien story was developed at the same time and they just had to put a champ to a story=)
That's the best thought yet. Go story=)
Til next time=)
Joe
Recently, I got enough IP to purchase Leona. Yesterday I playtested her masteries, which because of the cap of mastery pages, I decided to share with another champ and see how it went. It went well (albeit vs beginner bots and wife's awesome carry) however this morning on reflection, I realized that maybe a reason no-one plays her in pro anymore is because really she is a weaker Thresh.
Bear with me...
Leona's W gives her (not others) armor and does damage both are selfish for a support. Thresh's W on the other hand, gives shield (mathmatically maybe better than armor, # reduction rather than addon %) to ally as well as lets them move large distances. Clearly better.
Thresh's Q is a pull you do not have to follow up on (I was comparing initially Leona to Blitzcrank where you don't have the choice if you pull) whereas Leona's E you do have to follow. Her E does root however and also goes through minions. This is the weakest of the skill compare arguements IMO, tho it can no doubt put her in comperable if not more danger (situational I guess).
Leona's Q hits one opponent and is based on her basic attack whereas Thresh's E can hit multiple (in a line). Stun is equiv to knockup IMO without looking at durations.
Thresh's R is a box stun centered on him. Leona's R has a timed delay (Thresh's does not; giving time to dodge) and slows those not in the middle. You can argue that Thresh's R does nothing to those in the middle so this might be situational but I'm unconvinced. Leona's R is ranged however, which can be good (or terrible) considering the time delay (can be used to screen etc).
Thresh is also a ranged champ and his passive is build over time, maybe one of the best in the game.
Thresh is also somewhat out of meta right now, tho a fallback champ ("tier 2") so you do see him occasionally.
Interestingly, I find Thresh MUCH more challenging to play, so even if my analysis is right, perhaps Leona is just an easier version of Thresh. What is somewhat sad is that Leona still costs 4k IP (Thresh is 6k) so they're not THAT far apart. If that is right and Thresh is a more difficult version of Leona it seems someone made that realization and came out with the char pretty fast.
Another thought is that maybe Thresh/Lucien story was developed at the same time and they just had to put a champ to a story=)
That's the best thought yet. Go story=)
Til next time=)
Joe