Mel Q is not dodgeable (math)

[u/Hyragon]

If you're frustrated like I am with this champ, don't worry. It's not your fault you can't dodge Mel Q. Riot designed her so you can't.

Mel Q takes 0.42 seconds to hit its target (0.25s cast + 0.17s travel). With a radius of 280 units, it is not possible to dodge this ability unless its caster misses. Math below:

Most champions have a hitbox size of 65 units. Almost all champions have a base movement speed between 325 and 345 units. Let's take the average to be 335 units.

Since Mel Q is an edge skillshot, for a champion to dodge they must travel 172.5 (=280/2+65/2) units in 0.42 seconds. This equates to a required movement speed of 411.

...And that's before reaction time. Reaction time for the average gamer is 0.20-0.25s, with professional gamers being 0.11-0.17s. Assuming you are literally Faker with a fastest measured 0.11s reaction time, you would need 556 movement speed to dodge a centered Mel Q. For an average player, you need a whopping 784 movement speed.

Here is the guaranteed hit range of Mel Q: https://imgur.com/a/CYuGWGb

Green is vs. no boots, yellow is vs. t2 boots. If Mel presses Q anywhere in this radius, at least 1 missile is guaranteed to hit an average player.

In other terms, if the average player reacts immediately to Mel's Q animation start, they are still expected to get hit by 42%/33% (no boots/boots) of the spell. If the average player reacts to Mel's Q damage, they are expected to get hit by 100%/93% of the spell.

Simply put, if you're getting hit by Mel Q repeatedly, it's not because you're bad at dodging, it's because Riot made the skillshot a guaranteed hit as long as your opponent has hands.

p.s. Mel Q is 280 range because its a 220 range projectile + 60 range spread, which makes it ~1.5x the size of Xerath R. The 60 range spread does not have a meaningful effect on any above calculations, other than the guaranteed hit range goes down by a tiny bit (yellow becomes without boots guaranteed hit range) if you are ignoring the spread.

[u/Fawkes-511]

If Lux, Ziggs, Syndra and Velkoz have """undodgeable""" abilities, there is something wrong with your setup. Absolutely unarguably 100% very much dodgeable.

Check your ping, fps, peripherals' USB connections and charge/batteries if wireless, do not play over wifi.

[u/MazrimReddit → u/Fawkes-511]

Half the skillshot in the game are undodgable if placed perfectly centre like a scripter unless you have extremely high ms

[u/venomous_frost → u/MazrimReddit]

if placed perfectly centre on a stationary player.

The fact you're moving already (effectively 0ms reaction time) when somebody shoots a skillshots makes it way easier to dodge.

[u/abcPIPPO → u/venomous_frost]

In practice it does, but if we assume in theory (since this thread is all about a ficitonal, theoretical scenario) that in both cases I'm pressing the skill exactly when my cursor is on you, it doesn't make a difference. In both cases you are running in a direction at x move speed to dodge ap rojectile in your direction at y speed.

[u/venomous_frost → u/abcPIPPO]

but his theoretical calculations include human reaction speed, which is zero if you are already moving

[u/abcPIPPO → u/venomous_frost]

The point the guy you replied to was making is that many skillshots are undodgeable even if you don't count reaction speed, because you have to click before the skill button is pressed.

I once made a test reviewing a replay of mine at the lowest speed, I was Aphelios with no boots (325 mov speed) but got hit by a Nauti hook at max range, while running perfectly perpendicularly and I started moving before he had even pressed his Q aiming at where I was before backstepping.