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In light of the upcoming Dark Harvest nerfs, Riot really needs to reevaluate Kha'Zix...

We can all agree these upcoming Dark Harvest changes have completely undermined the idea of what Kha'Zix's role as a unique assassin should be. With that understood we have to question where Riot will be taking him next..

I've come to the conclusion that these nerfs, not only are they completely crippling to our favorite bug, but they're too crippling and that's the thing.. These nerfs are so large that it leads us to believe they're working on an upcoming REWORK, yeah you heard that right, rework. Not only will they aim to rebalance Kha'Zix as a champion but add back his unique identity as an assassin, so without further ado let's get into the proposed balance changes.

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Passive

• Unseen Threat - (Buff) Kha'Zix gains Unseen Threat when the enemy team loses sight of him, causing his next basic attack OR ability against an enemy champion to deal 28 - 300 (based on level) (+ 80% bonus AD) (+ 80-130 based on IQ) bonus physical damage and slow them by 50% for 2 seconds.

This might come across like too large of a buff at first but when you consider the state Kha'Zix will be left in after these Dark Harvest nerfs you'll be wishing Riot added back the 50% Damage reduction back to his Evolved R to compensate. Tuning the damage numbers up slightly while applying the passive proc to his abilities will add back in a much needed punch to his lacking early game power. Lastly let's look at the scaling IQ damage, not only will this reward players who are more intelligent but it'll also give something that less intellectually gifted players can strive for as well.

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Q

• Taste Their Fear - (New) Kha'Zix slashes the target enemy's self esteem, dealing physical AND emotional damage, increased by 150% against targets who are socially isolated or suffer from symptoms of depression.

• Evolved Taste Their Fear - Kha'Zix gains 50 range on his basic attacks and all of his abilities. If the target is isolated, apply the debuff "Crippling Depression", which will slow the target by 100% for the duration of the game.

Now this change might catch people off-guard a bit but trust me it'll make more sense once I explain it fully. Kha'Zix's Q has been fundamentally flawed since the rework done in early 2017, and we can all agree it's a vast downgrade compared to the old Q (BONUS DAMAGE WITH Q EVO ANYONE?). Replacing the very brainless cooldown refund with a debuff now adds a whole new layer to the champions kit. Not only will you be able to identify and target vulnerable champions, but you'll also be able to punish them for having a weak mentality as well. With this change you will truly be able to solo carry like season 6 again.

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W

• Void Spike - (New) Kha'Zix fires a cluster of spikes in a line that detonates and installs a bitcoin miner directly onto the target's computer, slowing it by 80%. Kha'Zix gains 100 bonus gold (stacking up to 500) for each PC affected.

• Evolved Void Spike - Void Spike now fires in the shape of a Flash Drive and instantly crashes the PC of the enemy hit (Note: on EUW this will also cause their PC to explode). Isolated targets hit by Evolved Void Spike also have their accounts deleted entirely.

This is one of the more ambitious changes as it introduces some gameplay mechanics that could be labeled as "unfair", but with champions like Akali, Zoe, Irelia, Aatrox, Kai'Sa, and Yasuo in the game, these changes might not be as extreme as you might think. The addition of a bitcoin miner being applied onto a champions ability might seem too far but when you look at Kha'Zix's kit as a whole, you'll be quick to notice that his kit is lacking in terms of utility. Nothing brings more utility to a team composition than being able to make every fight a 5v4 or a 5v3, need I say more?

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E

• Leap - (Buff) Kha'Zix leaps to the target location, dealing physical damage to nearby enemies upon landing and executes enemies below 50% health.

• Evolved Leap - Leap becomes a global ability and its cooldown is reset on enemy champion or minion takedowns.

Leap has always been Kha'Zix's bread and butter ability and has survived untouched throughout each iteration of Kha'Zix throughout the years so we'll be keeping this one relatively the same with a few minor tweaks to keep him inline with some of the newer champion's kits.

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R

• Void Assault - Passive - (Unchanged) Each rank in Void Assault allows Kha'Zix to evolve one of his abilities, granting it additional effects.

• Void Assault - Active - (Unchanged) Kha'Zix enters invisibility for 1.5 seconds, acquiring Unseen Threat, gaining 40% bonus movement speed, and ghosting while stealthed. After 2 seconds of leaving stealth, and for the next 10 seconds, Void Assault can be cast a second time at no additional cost.

• Evolved Void Assault - (New Effect) [Warning] Kha'Zix gains Void Assault for 3 seconds in brush, which lingers for 1.5 seconds after exiting the brush. This can only be triggered while out of combat and there is a 10-second per-brush cooldown.

Out of all of the proposed changes this one seems the most unlikely as it could easily be seen as overpowered in today's metagame. Not much needs to be said about this one as the inherent brokenness of the ability speaks for itself.

In conclusion, while Kha’Zix’s evolution mechanic promises the ability to tailor your decisions to the game at hand, the balance of power between options has made that promise a difficult one to keep. For pre-season, it would be a great idea to retool KZ’s evolutions by playing up his other unique mechanic: Isolation. While you’re welcome to still just evolve wings first (because it’s sweet), we’re pushing more of Kha’Zix’s power into stalking Isolated targets rather than overwhelming them. This focuses his decisions less on which give Kha’Zix the most damage potential and instead on which will help him hunt his prey game to game. Thanks for reading everyone!

TL;DR Kha'Zix will be extremely underpowered after upcoming Dark Harvest nerfs and needs major buffs to compensate

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