Spikewood Abomination Damage: 9, Speed: 6, Range 1-2, Defense 3, Health 53 (53 Nora for stats based on pre-patch Oakthumper adjusted for basic attack cost increase) Attack Physical (+2) Camouflage (+2) Reflection 5 (+10) Damage Shield Physical 3 (+3) Upgrade #1: Spike Nova 3 (+6), Tail Sweep (+8) Upgrade #2: Damage Aura 3 (+6), Rend 3 (+9) Total Cost 82-87 Goal: Adjust Spikewood to become a viable and unique physical beater within the theme without dropping him into the same mid-70 nora price range as the other options. Role: Indirect damage champ. Spikewood deals 6 damage to any attacker at any range. It benefits in this respect from having 3 Defense, Camouflage, and access to things like Defender, Shroud, and Nature’s Blessing. His upgrades offer further options for indirect damage output. Well worth his cost with the tree theme’s phalanx enabling abilities. Note: Absence of Take Root is intentional. Edit: He might a little cost more because the body I used was 2x2, but even so this can be a pretty nasty champ with proper support
Idea #2 Spikewood Abomination Damage: 6, Speed: 6, Range 1-2, Defense 1, Health 44 (38 Nora for Spikewood's current stats) Attack Physical (+2) Take Root (+2) Domain Vegetation (+6) Damage Shield Physical (+3) Upgrade #1: Nature’s Connections (+4), Defensive Turtle (+4), Spike Nova (+6) Upgrade #2: Tail Sweep (+8), Entangling Attack (+10), Equip: Seed (+25) Total Cost: 63 to 82 Goal: Adjust Spikewood to become viable while leaving Equip Seed available to those who feel it's worthwhile. Role: Inexpensive grunt (unless you take Equip Seed) with flexible upgrades. In a different price range than the other melee trees. This build isn't really a departure from his current form, it just shuffles his existing kit around to offer better combinations.
The issue with him is his poor stats and the Seed of Potential Sandbagging him. Seed of Potential @ 40 nora is completely unplayable as an equipment. Since most Equip: X abilities are costed at 50% of the equipement's cost this means that Spikewood is paying 20 nora for his equipment. (It just got a nora reduction from 25 to 20 nora). The recent cost change to Equip: Seed of Potential was not a "buff" it was a recosting to bring the ability in line with Solokov's costing formula. Seed of Potential as an Equipment needs a cost change. Previously Regen costed more, so the value of giving Regen 3 was higher. Regen 3 is worth 7 nora, trail veg is worth 5. Basically we are paying 20 nora for 12 nora in actual stats. Super silly. Equip: Frostcall Quiver costs 5 nora (grants Chill 1 (3 nora) and a sort of Attack: Frost (2 nora), the Equipment costs 20...and the Equp: Ability (5 nora) cost 25% of the Equipment's cost (20 nora). I'd like to see Seed of Potential changed to the following: 30 nora. Champion has Plant Regeneration 3, Nature's Connections and Trail: Vegetation. This equipment can be dropped as a relic that has Font Defender. Plant Regen is worth 6, Nature's Connections is worth 4, and Trail is worth 5. This grants 15 nora in abilities for 30 nora. Then the equip cost could be dropped to 15. Assuming this is too strong, i think simply dropping the equipment cost by 10 and the Equip: Seed of Potential ability by 5 would be a step in the right direction. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ As for the actual champion changes, I like the first suggestion more than the 2nd one, but I feel his identity is linked to his Seed of Potential equipment. Spikewood Abomination Damage: 9, Speed: 6, Range 1-2, Defense 3, Health 53 (51 Nora for stats based on pre-patch Oakthumper) Attack Physical (+2) Damage Shield Physical 3 (+3) Reflection 5 (+6) Take Root (+2) / Camouflage (+2) Upgrade #1: Rend 1 (+3), Rend 2(+6), Rend 3 (+9) Upgrade #2: Spike Nova 3 (+6), Tail Sweep (+8), Equip: Seed (+15) Cost: 73 - 88 I be happy running it at 73, 75 or 82. In most cases i'd run Rend 1, but recent champ design paths has shown a trend towards fewer different upgrade choices, so a path of Rend 1, 2, 3 makes sense.
