In my opinion iframes do not lead to good gameplay because it is a hidden immunity effect that removes outplay potential.
Take the iframe on dodge for example, no where in the game is it made clear that pressing that dodge key provides immunity. Because of this hidden effect you don’t actually have to dodge an incoming attack or spell, just press the button to become invulnerable. This means you can’t catch an opponent who is dodging, only hope you can close the distance and get some damage in before they are able to dodge again…
This leads to situations where you don’t have to play around an opponent abilities and leads to understandable frustration for anyone not aware of what iframes are and when they occur. It reduces the game to a state where the highest mobility and longest stuns/roots win every time.
Example: two players are fighting and one of them realises they need need to create some distance to survive. The other person, who knows nothing about iframes, is anticipating the dodge and presses Reap at exactly the right time to catch the runner mid dodge, knowing that a full dodge roll would put the opponent out of range. Nothing happens… Even though the Reap timing and aim appeared good, the opponent isn’t pulled in and took no damage. The fight turns into a kite and chase with the occasional clash when an occasional root or stun lands successfully.
Example 2: A major clash is taking place and a big melee is taking place to contest a control point. One of the bruisers gets low and dodges twice in a row to get out of the fight, is healed back to full and runs back in. The opposing ranged damage attempted to prevent the retreating player from reaching safety but for some reason none of their attacks managed to connect.
A bunch of melee pull out their GA and WH to chain roots and stuns in the hopes their teammates can kill the enemy while they are unable to move.
What do you think about iframes?