A Closer Look at Moji's Rework
History
Moji has always been a design with a lot to love and a lot that conflicted with her purpose as a Flank. Moji players enjoy the feeling of a perfect Mark burst on a fleeing target, the rush of hitting a Barrier and reversing a deadly dive into outward damage, the ability to leap around after Scamper and blast their foes. Those tools that made her so enjoyable are also intrinsically linked with how unhealthy many others view her for the game.
The burst's frustrations, the lack of conveyance and counterplay, and the outstanding difficulties of her hitbox for most newcomers as well as foes made her require constant tuning, and eventually her balance was left in an underwhelming state to avoid wide player frustration. We discussed Moji balance internally ever since 2021, but those chats always turned back towards her design and how it needed to change in order to allow her to be more viable and less polarizing.
After Omen, we decided to revisit the idea of reworks as a focus point for the team, and Moji quickly returned as a Champion we wanted to take the identity of and bring forward into 2024 with more relevance as well as finally address the problem points that made her unable to be adjusted prior. We didn't immediately aim at one specific solution, but we did a lot of retrospective looks at community content and discussions over the years and decided to consider an idea players had asked about since Moji's release. What if she was a Support?
Kit Vision
When first picturing Moji as a Support, the first question we had to answer is the source of her healing. Spit, Spray, and Magic Barrier all feel like abilities that can be converted to a primary heal source, however Spit's range makes it a necessary poke tool for damage and Magic Barrier would be frustrating if it was her healing and lacked sufficient counterplay. That's what landed us on what is now Sparkle, a hybrid healing and damage option that makes Moji the most close-ranged Support yet while offering some unique facets to allow her to be aggressive with her team. Magic Marks would also move to allies, both for combat flow but also to allow Moji to have a style of lining up behind her allies and blasting through them to hit enemies.
Magic Barrier's shift to Magic Shield was still inspired by the idea of Barrier being an aura heal, however we felt that we could do something with more nuance than more healing output. Torvald has shown how powerful Shielding can be in a pocket scenario, but we wanted to offer it as a more widespread effect that allows Moji to lean a different direction and have more Utility in the face of certain team compositions and to counteract Anti-Healing late game.
Scamper, then, became a much more essential part of her kit as she needed to be able to always reach her allies and was too susceptible to counter dives if she couldn't escape often. It became an infinite run until stopped to allow Moji to focus on her routing and finally give her the fantasy her codename of Rider implied years ago. This vision is what we ended up showcasing in our initial reveal and letting players try on PTS.
Feedback & Changes
We took a lot of care into preserving aspects of Moji's identity: the look, the ability types, the fantasy players expect. However, some changes were made to those core designs to avoid those original problem points as well as make her fit the Support class better. We also didn't originally focus our preservation on unintentional aspects of her, even beloved ones. That is a choice that we recognize upset a lot of players who have come to love those quirks to our first Leipori. That's why we listened intently to PTS feedback and went to work to implement the following changes:
Spit
- Damage reduced from 500 ➡️ 450
- Firerate increased from .85s ➡️ .7s
- Projectile speed increased from 250 ➡️ 350
Zitat:
Moji's original fire rate served two purposes: allowing her to pressure targets with a fairly quick projectile as well as making it suboptimal to hold both buttons to pop Magic Mark at max efficiency. Both due to wanting to preserve existing Moji muscle memory as well as ask people to think better than holding both weapons down, we're shifting her weapon back to that speed. We’re also adjusting the projectile speed to be faster to keep some of her original intention of a strong-poke while still bringing it more in line with its new power level.
Sparkle
- Increased damage from 15 ➡️ 20
- Reduced healing from 85 ➡️ 75
Zitat:
Sparkle having a resource meter allows us more control of how potent and frequent it can pump out damage, so we felt comfortable shifting it a bit closer to her original amount of aggression
Scamper
- Bunny hop added back as an intended feature.
Zitat:
Due to changes to how Scamper functions, Bunny Hopping will be weaker at base than it was prior. In order to feel similar to how it did on Moji prior, you'll want high levels of both Boop and Morning Breath to allow those same flings across spaces.
Magic Shield
- Moji self-shielding increased from 500 ➡️ 1000 (100 ➡️ 600 instant)
- Applied Shields duration decreased from 5s ➡️ 4s
Zitat:
Moji's original Barrier is too strong to also shield allies, however we heard feedback that she was far too vulnerable both when dove as well as attempting to sustain how she used to. We're giving her significantly more self-shielding and slightly reducing the shield timers to keep this healthy but allow Moji more options with this.
Cards
Morning Breath
- Reworked to "Decrease self-slow of Sparkle by 20|20%"
Glimmer
- Decreased Cooldown reduction from .2|.2s ➡️ .1|.1s
Zitat:
With the below changes to Jubilation, we decided to move Morning Breath's slow focus from enemies to Moji herself, allowing players to opt into faster movement while utilizing Sparkle. We also saw Glimmer performing very well, but don't want to ICD it and punish the new Jubilation Talent so instead we are bringing down its strength by half.
Talents
Spit Shine
- Heal increased from 250 ➡️ 350
Jubilation
- Reworked to "Magic Marks are now instead applied to enemies. Detonating at least 7 stacks of Magic Mark deals bonus damage, up to a total of 800"
Zitat:
Spit Shine is receiving a minor bump to its healing capacity for those Moji hopefuls concerned about her ability to support allies at range. Meanwhile, Jubilation is now reworked to provide a close experience to current Moji, tuned down slightly to make up for her new utility and tools we've added. Moji mains should feel pretty familiar with this option, and we'll continue to watch how she performs and ensure we honor her past as we move her into a brighter future!
Let's Get Another Plush-1
We're excited to share that we're exploring options for our next Paladins Plushie! We've gathered a list of various contenders to join the physical Realm and want the communities' feedback on which to go forward with.
Feel free to fill out this form and help us decide!
This Week's Community Creations
Vora, the Maw Harbinger
Artist: リバイアさん@パラエペウォッチ
Over the Hill & Through the Woods
Artist: DanTheBros
Hero of Moonlight
Artist: Flora Lynn
Meditation Pyre
Artist: v0lker
Ofuda Offering
Artist: AstraMariam
Guardian Glance
Artist: Niacally
Pop Princess
Artist: GnP
Weekend LTM:Cards to the Max and 2x Champion and Event Pass XP
Everything moves faster as this weekend is your last chance to finish up the Flashback Beat Botz Event Pass! Cards to the Max returns in Siege to allow chaotic games to lead to faster levels & crazy loadouts can flourish ahead of the upcoming changes!
- EvilMojoKryptek
