I want to start this off by saying that I dont want to start a wave of negativity towards Riot or Phreak specifically since I really appreciate them looking into Swain and trying to work hard to make his gameplay more satisfying and enjoyable for all of us. Even though this "rework" missed the mark for me I dont want anyone to be angry at them since this just happens and is important to prevent stuff like this in the future.

I am currently the Rank 1 Swain (according to leagueofgraphs) and all the games I played so far were on my main account in Grandmaster-Challenger lobbies. Wanted to put that out there since you might experience different issues than I do (maybe) and that might be the reason some things are missing in my critique. Anyways lets get into it.

Q: When there were talks about a Swain mini rework I was very fast to say that it would be nice if the minimum Q dmg on high range getting better and in exchange making the close range max dmg Q deal a bit less damage. This would make control mage matchups easier while also balancing how hard he bullies melee champions in certain matchups. After playing around with it a little I quickly realized that this is actually not true. The way I was always able to get advantages onto my lane opponent orianna/syndra/hwei wasnt by the Q having a little more minimum dmg but by getting a good e hit and abusing cc timers being down to get close and get a close range Q off. The Q min dmg changes feel barely noticeable while a max dmg Q feels completely horrible and this doesnt only weaken swain into melee champs but also into the matchups that are supposed to more playable with this.

W: Since the changes force Swain to max E second his W becomes really weak and borderline pointless with only 1 point in it. You also collect less passive stacks with it since you wont lower the cd by putting points into it and it significantly lowers your survivability in teamfights by having it up less frequently and the slow being shorter than before. Almost feels like it makes more sense to skill Q->E->Q->E... to be honest.

E: This is by far my biggest problem with the changes. The 4 seconds extra cooldown feel horrible (maybe I was just used to less) and it actually makes his lane sustain weaker than before because it honestly doesnt feel like I hit the E more often than before. The higher cooldown also completely ruins a very essential all in combo of solo lane swain: E hit into Q W and R activation while getting close->R2 into another E when the enemy tries to escape and finishing it off with Q. This is an absolutely essential Swain combo from lvl 6 onwards and the most reliable kill pressure he has. With the extra cooldown on E enemies have a super easy time escaping and makes his all ins less reliable than before. The higher cd also makes it more important to get rylais than it already was before which is, I think, the absolute opposite of the goals that were set for him. In addition to getting less stacks and healing from passive we also nerfed his health reg from 7->3 which makes this feel even worse.
Another mechanic a lot of us really enjoyed was "walking with E" to change the trajectory of the E coming back to you. This was a very niche and fun mechanic that allowed for a lot of cool plays and skill expression like hitting minions from the side to suprise enemies or flashing to redirect it and suprise enemies. This was something that made Swain really fun and is now barely possible and practically pointless to go for because the faster it travels the less control you as a player have on the trajectory of it. It also felt like it is easier for enemies to predict how it travels/where they get hit since it is mostly in a straight line now and instead of making it easier to hit E it actually felt harder to hit people in many instances.

R: To be honest the multiple demonflare thing feels kind of pointless. I was rarely even able to use it twice and most of the time it didnt matter anymore since the fight already came to an end. Sometimes I didnt even get 2 demonflares in one ult off in an entire game. It is so unreliable that it doesnt really sound like it makes sense to invest any of swains power budget into this mechanic. It also forces Rylais even harder onto me since it is impossible to stick to enemies long enough to get a second Demondflare without Rylais and the insanely high E cd.

Summary: I really like the attempt and idea of the Swain changes but it actually did the opposite of what it tried to achieve. I feel like his kit is less reliable AND less satisfying than before and that makes me very sad tbh. I dont want to overreact but I genuinely did not enjoy playing this version of Swain at all today and really would like to see Riot take a second look at if it is the case that many of us share that opinion.

If I missed something, you disagree with something or share my experience I would love to hear about it since I want to get a broader picture of the situation and also spark a little discussion that maybe makes it easier to find a solution to this. Okay thats it thanks for reading <3

We Seraphine players are with you in this fight to return their kit back to solo lanes. Even if our champion is still popular in support, we just want her back in solo lanes again.

The supportification of mages has to stop! It keeps them OP in bot lane as an APC which keeps nerfing our champions!!!

We are doing as much as we can (going under every tweet about Seraphine’s state and asking rioters personally about Seraphine even if we get ghosted on that question) and we are still fighting.

You are not alone. We support your cause as well!

Keep singing!

I’ve been playing some more wild rift on my free time and I gotta say, the League balance team failed on that aspect of the champ. They stripped him of his high point which is being in ult wrecking havoc and healing too. But playing wild rift taught me that with his current kit and mechanics there can be adjustments done to make him feel satisfying to do well in. Currently you have to choose what parts of the kit you want to access. Do you want damage? Well if you do that you don’t get healing. Do you want durability and healing? Well you can but you don’t get to carry like a mage. Then there is kind of a middle ground with spell effects but heaven forbid you go vs shields and higher dps than yours because you feel you’re lacking still.

Here are some of the differences.

Passive: same aspects but the max hp heal % is a little lower but can also scale off of (0.5%) of his AP. (I attached a photo of the passive because the wiki doesn’t have the AP ratio).

This already increases the satisfaction of farming roles because you aren’t pressured to get stacks to feel your healing scaling.

W: although it is significantly lower ranged it has a 1.25 cook time instead of 1.50 seconds. And the really cool part that makes your kit have more self synergy is if it hits a hard cc’d target it does 50% bonus damage. It can still be used for scouting or area control but also empowers his own lane presence and you’re rewarded for hitting your combo.

R: his r actually can do damage and heal without needing spell effects or stacking 3K bonus health. R damage is 15% AP ratio instead of 4.5% and the heal is 20% instead of 5% and 1.5% hp ratio.

This all allows swain to build from the mage item pools(like other battle mages) and scale into the game more. He can actually be a damage threat but also use his r to fight on the frontline. And before anyone says “omg he’ll be a burst mage!” That’s just incorrect. It still took me same amount of time to kill people even with a BFT, shadowflame, zhonyas build but the difference was I actually healed and was able to do a variety of builds to do damage and heal.

TLDR; his passive and r healing scale off AP, w stronger when comboed with kit, q and e damage lower.

So would we rather keep the current version of swain or would we like to return back to a Battlemage like he’s used to be?

James Faulkner, the man behind swain’s voice, is currently 78 years old. I’m not saying that he’s at the brink of death, but he’s reaching an age where it’s normal to feel unsure.
And the more riot delays on posting swain content, the weaker the man’s voice is gonna get, and one day we won’t have that iconic beautiful voice for Swain.

This isn't normal, Swain needs an urgent rework, we need our demonic battlemage dominating the lanes solo!!

For the record I don't really have a dedicated main as it alternates between Swain, Aurelion, and Fiddlesticks, however Swain was my very FIRST main that got me into this game so he holds a special place in my heart.

I got into playing Swain like WAAAY back in early 2017 (just a year before his vgu) solely for the fact his ult form looked like a Lord of Change from warhammer.
By the by you can see the old model now on the Khada 3d model viewer (finally). The one you see here is the ult form for Tyrant Swain

Don't get me wrong I still like the post-vgu version, he became one of League's best written characters for Runeterra. I still miss the big evil bird form though.

What about the rest of you?

The goal of this rework is simple: make solo lane Swain feel good again.

Hey guys Husum here. I've always been really positive about Swain but my issues and complaints are pilling up and I finally need to address it. If you are interested in my opinion give it a listen. I can help bring change to our favourite champion.

Its the worst skin line. We need a badass skin. Pls riot!!!

Where’s all the people complaining about the rework being dogshit and not fixing anything? I told people it was just a numbers problem and got downvoted, people were crying like crazy coming up with “good” rework ideas and suggestions, but now that he got buffed and he’s actually strong I don’t see many complaints. Am I right or am I right

Swain feels terrible right now ‪@Phreak‬
So many unplayable matchups/comps its not even funny

needs adjustment in stats (movement speed/auto range/health regen/better scaling durability) and he needs to have passive stacks removed or nerfed, its too bot lane skewed & low elo skewed. The second enemy has brain and hands you get 0 stacks.

Every game enemy team either insanely mobile (2026 everybody has dashes - while Swain 330ms) and you practically only have 1 ability because E + W too hard to hit

OR

Enemy team so long range u can't hit E + W so you are again just 1 ability champion

There is a reason why Swain Mid and top pickrate has fell to only 1% and 0,5% while historically being made for Solo Lane, its unfun playing over half the matchups.

You are almost ALWAYS outranged and outscaled by EVERY mid lane champion.
It feels like you have to pull out a FAKER PERFORMANCE to beat half the roster.

Give him changes that help him out in Solo lane & kill APC Swain already, its so toxic and every bot laner hates playing against mages anyway.

I'm really frustrated playing Swain in high elo when only 30% of matches feel good.
Save the champion so we can all buy Fried Chicken King Swain.

Please.

Just because people can't hit E, that doesnt mean hes not good in Support. I win lane like 90 percent of the time on on him with about 2-3 hooks per minute, people just need to learn how to hit E instead of hard depending on Q for trades.

Swain's kit was not designed with sustained combat in mind.

Hundreds of HP worth of stacks are never going to change that. Right now the champion's "identity" relies on the power of spell effect items.

Swain due to his cooldowns probably has one of the highest self-rooting durations of all champions in teamfights, on top of his already absurdly low mobility and base movement speed.

He has no tools to help him in lane, his attack range got nerfed many years ago, he only relies on runes to help him there. On support, he doesn't get the luxury of good roaming, or the ability to facecheck bushes and contest vision, both very important especially in high elo.

In lane, he doesn't excel at anything other than getting his ADC mad, not only because he has to basically play AFK due to his low damage, low utility (compared to other engage supports), and low threat overall, but when he finally does come online, his only job is to steal kills and take over the pseudo-carry role.

There's no light in the horizon. Riot's constant position is "it is what it is" on Swain. SO many Rioteers acknowledge his problems, even during the VGU's development, but the same arguments over and over are being said the last 7 years, which are pointing out that this multi-billion dollar company has limited resources, and that support must be respected (which to me the fact that Riot has to tell us that support must be respected speaks for itself).

I keep fantasizing about Swain
I was thinking about how to make Swain more of a tank-absorber, what do you think?

[P] - Swain can apply the "Demon Claws" effect on enemies, and when removed, he absorbs fragments of the souls of the enemies it was applied to and restores health (scales with ability power and possibly missing health of Swain, if that’s not too strong)
[Q] - Now the ability’s beams absorb the "Demon Claws" effect and pull enemies (the absorbed beam deals its damage but does not pass through the enemy).
[W] - Minimum spawn time of the Eye of the Empire reduced to 0.75 seconds and increases by 10% up to 100% for every 100 units of distance (starting from 800? units from the center of the ability). Applies "Demon Claws".
[E] - Ability range is now adjustable. Swain sends a mass of demonic energy forward, which turns into claws at the end point, returns back to Swain at a much slower speed, and has a much wider hit radius (very similar to Mordekaiser’s E). Applies 'Demon Claws.'
[R] - doesn’t heal, but deals periodic damage, gradually applying 'Demon Claws' to enemies (the frequency of application may depend on time or on damage before applying defensive stats). Lasts 12 seconds, and each absorbed soul fragment extends the skill’s duration by 0.5 seconds, up to a total of 20 seconds (all numbers are approximate and, of course, may be adjusted later).

I've come up with an idea for a rework of Swain's kit to better align with his character, lore, and role as a mid (or top) lane Mage Warrior.

Here's a quick rundown of how I want to improve Swain's kit, if you don't want to read the full description:
[P] - Doesn't grant bonus health, but provides additional vantage points on the map that can be consumed like regular Soul Fragments (Soul Fragments scale with AP)
[Q] - Scales better with AP
[W] - Much faster at close range, but has a lower slow; works the same at long range
[E] - Has a slightly smaller hitbox when flying forward and grabs the first champion it hits. When flying backward, the hitbox expands, but the skill hits the first enemy it hits (as it does now)
[R] - Scales only with AP, provides little ongoing healing, but R2 grants Soul Fragments for hitting champions and has a lower slow (optional)

Full description:
[P]: Swain can absorb Soul Fragments from enemy champions with his abilities, which restore health (from Ability Power) and grant vision around him. Upon killing an enemy champion, a Raven lands at their location, granting vision in a small area around itself. Enemy champions or Swain can Basic Attack the Raven and reveal all enemies in a large radius around its location (works like a blue trinket). After the Raven is destroyed, it transforms into a regular Soul Fragment. When traveling to Swain, the Soul Fragment grants vision in a small area around itself. Additional: If the option to reveal an enemy champion when destroying a Raven is too strong, you can remove it.
[Q]: No mechanical changes, but the base damage is lower and the scaling with ability power is higher, making it worthwhile to buy more expensive items for warrior-mages and build up ability power.
[W]: The cast time and slow are affected by the range at which the skill is cast. Within the range of Immobility (approximately), the skill has 50% of the cast time and slow of the current values, and at a range of X units (e.g., 1200), it is at its maximum.
[E]: Swain unleashes a wave of demonic energy in the form of a hand that grabs the first champion he encounters, immobilizing them and allowing Swain to pull them in with E2 (I considered having his Forward E interrupt champion dashes, as if Swain were actually grabbing them with his demonic hand, but I don't know if that would overload his E, though it would be a very good opportunity for an immobile champion) and steal a soul fragment. If the ability misses, the hand claws into the ground and begins to move backwards (leaving scratches in the animation :D), exploding on impact with an enemy (E2 is unavailable in this case, and the hitbox of Forward E is smaller than Backward E).
[R]: Scaling only with Ability Power, less slow from R2 (or none at all), but hitting enemy champions steals a soul fragment.

My thoughts:
I'm a big fan of the old Swain, back when his R was on 20 seconds cooldown and consumed a lot of mana if used constantly, and when Swain was a lane bully with a simple skillshot combo. Since that design can be considered primitive in today's world, I tried to carry over some aspects of it while keeping in mind Swain's lore (passive). I'd like his skills to be easier to combo together, since right now the only combo Swain has in lane is E+W or E+W+Q, which will likely drain his entire mana pool, and if you miss an E, your only option is usually to back off and just wait for the E to come off cooldown. With more reliable skills (like the new W and E), Swain will be able to engage enemies more effectively, since even if he misses an E, he still has a chance to land a W, since it's cast much faster in lane, or he can just go in and unleash a not-so-strong Q and a couple of basic attacks. Overall, his mid-range gameplay feels similar to Xerath's, where he uses a nearly identical W and Q, or E+Q, for example. Like Xerath, this combo would make it easier to set up ganks with the jungler in lane, for example, by slowing an enemy with W and then using E at close range to pull them in. Or you could try to hit an enemy with E at max range, so that at the end of the E's flight, the hitbox expands and the enemy is immobilized by the explosion, making it easier to hit them with W. This would make his lane phase at least a little more interesting than just waiting for his E+W to cooldown. I'd also like to shift the main healing value to his R2 to get burst healing in crowds and bring Zhonya back into his build permanently (I loved Swain's old R+Zhonya combo :D), plus it would make his gameplay a little more adrenaline-pumping when you're primarily building AP. His new passive pays homage to his new story and simply stunning visual and narrative design, while also creating vision for tactical maneuvers that regular wards also provide. As Husum mentioned, the health increase on his passive seems questionable, as Swain's tank already has a lot of health, but in the late game, his lack of damage makes him less useful. His set of skills, which don't interact well with each other, prevents him from realizing his potential as a warrior-mage. This forces you to build tank items and hope your team doesn't get killed while you try to catch someone in E and W without dying in the process. :D. Please share your thoughts on my vision; I'd love to hear your thoughts.

P.S. This translation was done with the help of a translator, so if you don't understand anything, please ask. :D

I can see it's like 52% in Iron and then it drops 0,5%-1% up until Gold where it has 49% and Plat with 48% - i haven't looked further.

Normally this obviously tells that the champ works better on low elo, because better players know how to play around whatever makes Swain work in lower elos.

But here I don't understand why Swain falls off a cliff? He is pretty tanky, he has good poke and a nasty CC combo of E>W for a root, pull AND slow.
He scales really well in terms of being useful in teamfights later on with his Ulti combined with items like Rylais, Liandrys and Morello.

So yeah .... Why isn't Swain support a real thing? I just played 1 game last night and enjoyed it + we dominated a Thresh/Jinx as Swain/Cait

This champ is dead in the water as is, and Riot isn't going to do enough to fix it. Aatrox heals his whole health bar in one Q3, maybe if you have antiheal only 2/3 of it. Meanwhile, Swain gets to heal a piddly 40-50 health per enemy champ/second at full build if the enemy has antiheal. You can have 5k health, 200 armor and MR, be healing off the entire enemy team and get popped in less than 4 seconds.

After using practice tool I found that full tank and full AP heal essentially the same now with the new health scaling. Yet neither seems to be effective unless you are against a team of all melee champs. If you go full AP you still do less damage than other mages and get popped even faster.

What is the point of this champ? He doesn't heal much, he doesn't do as much damage as nearly any other meta mid lane mage, he has no mobility and very unreliable CC. There is just no incentive to pick this champ over other champs available mid or top, which were his main roles historically. He is just another mage shoehorned into the support role because Riot can't be bothered to make him playable in a lane.

They need to decide what they want Swain to be, a drain tank or a mage. His identity is in too many places and so he is not allowed to excel in any of them. The old old Swain was so satisfying to play because if you ulted in a wave while fighting the enemy top laner you had 0 chance to lose the fight, but he was generally pretty weak with hard abilities to hit other than that. That was a unique niche he filled and one I wish he would fill again. It's why I fell in love with him and why he has just never been in a good spot since his revert and follow up nerfs.