The state of Johnson

choii

I've played Johnson when he came out, I was top 2 locally with the help of my duo partner. We liked johnson because he could quickly go from Top to Bottom from Bottom lane to Top or even Mid. If our teammates are losing a lane, we know what to do and could quickly help. But recently we reverted back to Tigreal since he's a tank support, somehow.
Johnson and his 2nd skill is a very good kite source and a weapon to somehow scare the enemy at early game. But soon after that, its practically useless because well hes's a tank. Its scaling is magic so building it to somehow damage a foe is useless. His passive barrier is useful when it comes to tanking. His first skill has a chance of stunning an enemy, but I don't know the chances because they nerfed this skill.

But what I don't like about him against Tigreal, Akai and Franco is he could barely save a teammate. Which might have been the reason why he's never in rank games for Legend, I barely saw him. I never made it to GL, so I don't know if they use it there. But for the current season, I'd rather tank Lapu-Lapu or Chou than Johnson. (Johnson used to be my favorite though.)


Why I said he could barely save a teammate is because: Tigreal could push an enemy hero away from your ADC/ADR. Then Akai could quickly jump in front to somehow change the target to him (since he's a tank) then Franco could pull, or also stun/hold the enemy. (Not including Mino or Lolita since I don't use them.)

For me Tanks don't just go to front, they support and protect squishy yet essential heroes as well. For Johnson, I don't see his current skill set to even save one.

His first skill, supposedly it stuns. His second, slows and locks on an enemy (pretty nicely) but again, both scale in AP/magic. Most tank items aren't built with AP, or maybe I don't know items for AP-tanks. His last skill, is useful when its on the early laning phase. I barely save a teammate from it especially in Solo (which I normally play recently) Maybe because they don't know if I'll stun or I'll carry them away. Its casting time is okay with me, I believe its on par with Tigreal and Lolita.


I mean man, I love this tank. I feel like his defense could battle Tigreal and Johnson, could towerdive and take hits from the Lord or Turrets no worries due to his passive.
But I don't see him anymore, and even I barely play him. People in the rank would even be mad at me sometimes if I use him, saying pick another tank.

Do you guys have thoughts on rebalancing? I doubt he would be though. Maybe we'll have better items for Magic-based tanks someday instead.

WtripleO

Hello Choii!

Johnson is still useful as when he was first released where he still has the same utility he offers although some heroes including him may need some buffs to catch along with the current meta, he is still viable to play.And to answer your question, yes it is possible that any heroes can get buffed or nerf or even a rework :)

I will just clarify some of his mechanics because he wasn't touched much in the previous patches:

1)His 1st skill, scales on armor and not magic and there are conditions to his stun where your target must be slowed before he is stunned with his 1st ability

2)Johnson excels in initating team fights and ganking wherein his ultimate offers a high risk high reward chance to those who can drive his ultimate from long distances, catching enemies by surprise along with another teammate him changing the tide of battle by sudden increase of enemy presence in lane(from a 2v2 fight to a possibe 3/4v2 fight) And the ultimate also offers a decent stun and damage to enemies.

3)Johnson's 2nd skill is a great poking(despite it scaling on magic) skill early to mid game where you can constantly chip or zone out enemies from farming because if they get slowed and are close to you, you can follow it up with your 1st skill resulting to a stun.

페이커

It has always been a problem for AP Tanks in any game in general. It's either you do burst or you do tank. There is no real in between. Yes, you can do hybrid builds, but it is mostly ineffective since you will end up lacking both game-wise.
Now, let us talk a bit about Johnson's phases in-game.

Early game, Johnson shines as a lane bully. You need to be in a duo lane to be most efficient. His Missle Tackle is an amazing poke, harass, and CC. Mid game, he is monster in long distance roaming. With his ult, Rapid Touchdown, he can immediately go anywhere with a teammate, which can stun an enemy at hit. Maximising this lets your team roam, gank, get objectives, and repeat. Late game, he is an absolute tank CC monster. Since you are in the frontline, you can do your stun-slow-stun combo easily. That is at least a 1.84 seconds of CC. It is enough time for your team to burst down one of the enemies.

If you want to dish out DPS, Cursed Helmet is a good choice. Its passive lets you deal 2% of your max HP as AP DPS. It also gives you 920 HP and 50 MR. It is pretty good. Blade Armor is a pretty good DPS tank item, too. It gives you 90 armor, and with its passive, Counterstrike, you deal 25% of the enemies' basic attack damage back to the damage dealers. If you want to be different, you can also use items like Bloodlust Axe, Thunderbelt, and Corrosion Scythe.

Hope that helps.

4evernoob

the thing about johnson is you play him differently than other tanks, his missiles are to be abuse in early game so that enemy team on that lane have hard time farming, creating snowball opportunity for your team. he saves his teammates by slowing multiple enemy and stun the nearest or the most dangerous ones. he can move quickly to engagement sites while bringing team mate, dealing damage and stun in the process.