yar

I want to jump in this thread to clear up a few misconceptions around this issue. A lack of communication on our end and a few misleading comments have caused a bulk of misinformation around the Xerath ult changes so I want to clarify what exactly happened and how we’re moving forward.

I’ll start by outlining how Arcane Barrage functioned previously, how it functions on live, and how it will function next patch.

Quick definitions
CastTime – This is the amount of time the champion is locked in place while casting a spell. An animation plays and you’ll see a bar fill up at the bottom of the screen.

FallTime – Not really a technical term but what I am deeming the time delay between the visual effect starting to appear (the green expanding ring) and the actual damage being applied (the exploding lightning bits)

TotalDelay – The ultimate delay between the button is pressed and when the damage is applied

TotalBarrageTime – The total time it takes to cast and land all 3 ultimates assuming no human or lag delay.

How Arcane Barrage functioned pre-change
CastTime = .25 seconds
FallTime = .25 seconds
TotalDelay = .5 seconds
TotalBarrageTime = 1 second

How Arcane Barrage functions currently on Live
CastTime =.25 seconds
FallTime =.625 seconds
TotalDelay = .875 seconds
TotalBarrageTime = 1.375 seconds

How Arcane Barrage will function on Live
CastTime =.25 seconds
FallTime = .5 seconds (This now starts at the same time as the CastTime)
TotalDelay = .5 seconds
TotalBarrageTime = 1 second

What has changed – There are two changes being made next patch.
1- The Falltime is being reduced to .5 seconds from .638 seconds.
2- The Falltime will start at the beginning of the cast bar instead of the end of the cast bar. This effectively shaves an additional .25 seconds from the time of button to the time on impact from the Live version.

Why did the changes in the Draven patch make the ultimate so difficult to land?
In short there was almost half a second delay added between when the opponent could see the ring and when it would impact. This would lead to opponents, especially those with upgraded boots or other movement speed increases to be able to walk out of the ultimate unless the placement was close to perfect. The goal with the initial change was to allow opponents the opportunity to react to the visual effect before getting damaged. Syncing up the visuals and the gameplay was a good change but we admit we went about it the wrong way and it caused unfair damage and frustration for Xerath players which is why we are making changes next patch.

What will this change ultimately (ha ha!) do for Xerath
- The timing for the Xerath player will behave identically to how it was pre-change.
o This will allow Xerath players who were used to the old timings to aim with the same feel and precision that they had previously learned.
o Xerath will be able to once again use his stun to combo with his ult as a reliable damage source
- And the visuals will now match the gameplay.
o The big problem with the pre-change effect is how the damage was applied to the enemy before the explosion occurred.
o Opponents should be able to react with appropriate instant cast counters such as spellshields or flash (or react quickly against poorly aimed Barrages). This is critical to counterplay and a healthy game experience as a whole.


I also want to formally apologize for our lack of clear information on this issue. Hopefully this cleared some things up. This will obviously not rule out the possibility for any future Xerath changes and the Live Team will continue to access his status post-changes. As the person working directly on the ultimate changes for next patch I can also answer additional questions on this issue.

TL : DR
- Xerath’s ultimate changes are coming next patch
- The time delay between Xerath hitting the button to the effect hitting will be changed to pre-change. This will allow Xerath to combo his abilities together like pre-Draven patch.
- The visual effect will continue to match when the damage is applied
- The only effective difference now to pre-Draven patch is a small visual window for the opponents to react with appropriate instant cast counters (such as Flash, spellshields etc)
- We will not be reverting the Xerath buffs from last patch
- Our apologies for the confusion and frustration that these changes have caused Xerath players

Thanks for clearing things up FeralPony!

Thank you for your answer. This is all we were asking for.

I think I have myself a new favorite Rioter.

Well articulated post, and it has pretty much covered all the questions and concerns that I have at the moment. Looking forward to playing Xerath next patch. If the fix is as good for him as it sounds, then I'll be sporting myself a fancy S.E.X. skin too

Awesome!

<3

I'm surprised that the numbers we were working with were so far off - the wiki said the old delay was 0.35 seconds, but after reviewing some videos the 0.5s does sound a bit better. I don't know what it is, but the change seemed a lot more significant than than 0.3 ish seconds, idk why that is (Well, 0.3 seconds is a 60% increase over the former 0.5). Maybe I had just played too much Xerath.

Ah well, very glad to hear that I'll be able to play Xerath again, and show off the new skin.

Thanks again for the reply!

Now THIS is the Riot post we've been looking for, complete with a gracious apology.

I can start using the letter "r" in this thread again. Thank you very much, FeralPony!

You are my hero!

Glad to see that's been resolved, still waiting for that lovely S.E.X. skin He has waited eons for this, and so have I.

Ok, I'm a bit overwhelmed by good guy Riot this week.

- Zyra Sneak Peak by Morello
- Eve Remake
- Twitch Remake
- Xin Remake
- Jayce Lore Change
- Xerath Ult Fix

Seriously, you are either becoming super open, super efficient, super nice and super good or you are plotting something really REALLY evil.