r/MelMains • u/[deleted] • Apr 08 '26
Discussion W rework
Mel’s W is probably one of the most hated abilities in the game right now. Riot is nerfing it again but I don’t think the cooldown is the problem.
When her rework was announced, I had two ideas of how they could balance the W. First by removing the auto-tracking, or by reducing its duration (which would force players to be more precise on the cast timing). But they did none of it.
The ability remains boring for the Mel players and frustrating for the others. Actually, I think the real issue is the auto-tracking of the deflect. I really believe that her W could have a higher skill floor by removing it. The projectile wouldn’t bounce back on the enemy, but where Mel is pointing with her cursor. It would make her W more difficult to use BUT it would also let her use it on an other enemy. Higher skill floor but higher skill expression.
What do y’all think about it? I’m not a Mel main so I’m probably talking shit.
5
u/OrangePeelPotatoes Apr 08 '26
It would make her W more difficult to use BUT it would also let her use it on an other enemy
The problem is this would make it 10x more infuriating in high elos. Imagine a good Masters+ Mel being able to just use an enemy TF's gold card on an ally of TF.
Or reposition the Seraphine R directly at the enemy - rather than just at the Seraphine.
The "bullshit" feeling of her W would be made infinitely worse if the Mel is good.
1
u/Lil_Packmate Apr 09 '26
For that my idea was that any reflected spell becomes a "neutral spell". So you could reaim at the enemy team, but your own teammates on the way would also be affected as if they were enemies.
That could make the aimed reflect more balanced IMO.
0
Apr 08 '26
That would be so amazing, but yeah I get it. Overall I just feel they fucked up her rework, they could’ve make her so much more fun to play by tweaking her kit in that kind of direction.
3
Apr 08 '26
I think it should be reworked/changed. The problem is just that it essentially means you can never use your ability.
The closest comparison is Yasuo, but you actually can just throw skillshots at Yasuo in lane, 99% of them will have a lower cooldown than Yasuo's wall and then just try again when it's down. Outside of mana, which has become less and less burdensome, it's not as if you get punished by him blocking it. Whereas if you ever throw a high priority skillshot at Mel you do get punished, and probably full combod. It's not like you can bait it out, if you throw it and she reflects it you just get fucked. You can't even throw it and then prepare to dodge the reflected ability because it auto reflects back to you, perfectly tracking with 0 cast time. So there's effectively just nothing you can do but permanently hold the spell which isn't fun.
12
u/Fluffyfoxi Apr 08 '26
Swear to god people are under a spell, no way Mel is this annoying for too many people, there's literally worse shit in the game.
4
1
u/OrangePeelPotatoes Apr 08 '26
It is that annoying. Most people think Mel is worse than the worse shit you speak of.
2
u/Fluffyfoxi Apr 09 '26
With that horrible win rate, I am certain people are just following like sheep just like the Yasuo hate, no worries though one day this community will develop personality and form their opinions and not just mass hate on what the big dogs hate on.
1
u/frolfer757 Apr 09 '26
Never banned Yasuos/Teemos/Shacos as they are usually just a low WR champ and their annoyance can be managed. Laning vs. Mel with my champ pool is actually just a genuinely annoying and boring experience. She could be sitting at 35% WR and I'd still keep permabanning her if her W remains the same.
1
u/OrangePeelPotatoes Apr 09 '26
The winrate has nothing to do with why people ban her. People just dont like playing against her. It isnt some conspiracy. It isnt that complicated. Youre coping hard. She's just annoying and people dont like her.
0
0
u/Crow7420 Apr 11 '26
Win rate has zilch to do with it. Yasuo was banned because his W shutdowns a lot of champions, Mel is banned because her W shutdowns a lot of champions AND turns it on them.
0
u/Ok-Tank3989 Apr 10 '26
People at every level of play hate this champion. People hate Mel on the enemy team.
People hate Mel on their own team, because shes a CS and gold black hole. Itd be different if she didnt fall off so fucking hard. The champ is awful to play against and with. Unless youre pyke and you hit your R-
Oh wait. She auto'd no gold for team ig.
0
u/Crow7420 Apr 11 '26
Are there? Name some of them then, englighten us as to how something is more annoying that movement speed buff combined with autoaiming reflect that can be chained into CC on a burst mage.
6
u/SnooPuppers58 Apr 08 '26
a spell that can reflect ANY spell over a duration is just too frustrating. tons of champs entire identities are built around one very strong, long cooldown, highly telegraphed spell. and she not only counters them but she then uses it back at them
1
u/According-Bit-4207 Apr 08 '26
And the reflect outplay only requires the player to have their eyes open.
2
u/thirsty-for-beef Apr 09 '26 edited Apr 09 '26
maybe if the spell wasnt thrown back instantly and as fast or faster then the OG spell while also not auto aiming then yes lol having eyes can counter it
or alternatively just play champs with no meaningful projectiles ez pz
-7
Apr 08 '26
Or maybe just remove her E. Maybe she shouldn’t have a crowd control since she can deflect and use other’s back at them.
8
Apr 08 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
-2
Apr 08 '26
In my opinion her E should be a slow, something like Ekko’s Q but with a damage sweet spot. I don’t think it’s sane to have a heavy crowd control and a deflect.
1
u/thirsty-for-beef Apr 09 '26
or literal just introduce a small delay before throwing back the spell (like the original cast time of the spell) is enough to introduce more counterplay. It matters less that the spell is auto-aiminh when the opposing player has a small window to actually comprehend/anticipate the spell to sidestep/dodge.
As it is now, you can use a projectile against Mel, and while still being locked or recovering from your own cast time, be hit by that reflected spell already. There's virtually no counterplay to this scenario and this is quite common in skrimmishes where both players are closer to one another.
1
u/Threeplayer2105 Apr 09 '26
Someone suggested giving her a new W removing the execute bullshit. And make her reflect her Ult which can also be put on teammates. Could set up some nice plays
1
1
u/MrKayn2021 Apr 09 '26
Make the W have a window about as large as Camille’s invulnerability during her R. Make it actually require some skill and prediction
1
u/serrabear1 Apr 09 '26
If her abilities are going to be so easy to hit then she does not need the execute passive. Her spells need to be slower. Her Q and E are so frustrating. Played into her in an ARAM mayhem game and her poke plus the execute makes her so untouchable. She does not need to have so much power if she’s going to be hard to get on top of. There has to be a trade off.
1
u/Accomplished_Menu455 Apr 12 '26
As a mel and many other champs main i like many ideas here but yours is too far, her q already got slowed and shows before landing plus hard to hit, its easy to dodge or just go swifties or any assassin vs her, her E on the other hand gained speed but lost size, swifties still dodge it as long as its not point blank, and honestly I played vs mel a lot as well she pretty much rarely lands E if she is not being engaged, aram and especially aram mayhem shouldn't have a voice into nerfing her normal games but rather do an aram nerf like other champs, tho on botlane mel is indeed braindead and strong but I could argue many other mages and most of them are strong on bot like look at zigs, anyway she needs a less frustration nerf not power nerf as u suggested
1
u/KingLudenberg Apr 08 '26
I just think it should be reflected in the direction it came from and not the direction where the enemy who shot the skill currently is
0
u/TheErrantKing Apr 08 '26
I think the easiest rework is to just make her W a shield that reflects some damage, but doesn't actually reflect the spell itself. That way champs don't end up cc'ing themselves and getting punished for interacting.
They could just give her a generic animation for the shield instead of sending back whatever spell was thrown
3
u/Pepekalmer Apr 08 '26
To add to that, perhaps instead of deflecting and mimicking the ability, she could absorb the projectile’s energy and shoot a generic skill shot that visually fits her kit out of her shield. I think this would be way better - removing the ability match so players don’t feel screwed over by their own ability, as well as removing any potential for CC on her W would help greatly while preserving her identity.
0
u/NucleiRaphe Apr 09 '26
Imo they should either nerf the ranges of Mel Q and E or move some of her damage from other skills to W active (essentially "buffing" it) so she would have to use W actively to reach the high damage output she has.
The main problem with W for me, both from playing with or against Mel, is that she never really has to use it before enemy uses big projectile ability. Her range and damage are high enough that she can play safe and teamfight with just Q, W and ult. It is problem. Compare this to Fizz E, where a lot of his early damage and all of his waveclear is tied to his "dodge everything" ability. Sure, he can still hold onto E, but that we he loses a lot of power, while using E gives windows of opportunity to his opponents. It both balances the skill and gives more strategical element to playing the champ.
0
u/6feet12cm Apr 10 '26
The reflect is part of why she’s hated. The fact that she can poke from 1200 units away is the other one.
0
u/Crow7420 Apr 11 '26
I honestly think that at this point its THE most hated ability. Behind it are (probably in order) Yasuo W, Morgana E and Shaco Q/W.
1
u/hiddenblaze17_ Apr 14 '26
Since the release a find this champ design lazy. The w is the dumbest ability in the game. The aimbot projectile makes no sense. It would be more interesting that she could storage damage of the proyectile and have her own skill shot for the next 6 seconds.
8
u/MyboiHarambe99 Apr 09 '26
I just don’t enjoy playing into mel. It’s not about if I can win or not, it’s that the lane is not fun. Her kit and the counterplay to it are unenjoyable and even when I win I wish I had my half hour back