@Fearless Sona Rework Idea (@Riot?)
Disclaimer: I don't have a PBE account and have not seen the Sona rework in action (hence why I'm posting here, though I'm not even sure this is the place for it). It may even be too late in the rework, but I just wanted to throw this out there.
I saw that Sona's basic abilities get strengthened by ranks in Crescendo. Instead of just having more "invisible" power, I thought it would be a lot cooler for her aura ranges to increase with ranks in Crescendo (could have it in addition to the more direct numerical increase--that's up to balance).
- Sure, it makes thematic sense for a crescendo to amplify the power of her auras, but I think it also makes sense (and physical sense, too) for her allies to be able to hear them from farther away.
- Some PBE posters claimed that the new aura zones caused a major (potentially undesirable) playstyle shift for Sona, causing her to have to be more up front in fights to tag her allies, rather than retaining her aura-based, backline-supporty gameplay. As fights grow larger and she concurrently ranks up Crescendo, this way she gets slightly more wiggle room to manage (danger + tagging allies) vs. (safety). That is, I think this change would keep Sona's potential effectiveness on par with the natural pace of the game.
- I'm certain these range increases would have to be very small, but small radius increases should still have a very visible effect, as it's the area of the zones that's most visible, and possibly what's most important (though I guess area vs. radius being important depends on the situation).
- Rather than thinking of it as simply making it easier for Sona to tag everyone as she ranks up ult, I would rather say this mechanic would give her a larger area of influence, which could affect team play in fights, etc., as Sona's allies try to interact with her zones. She of course shouldn't be allowed to sit way out of danger and tag everyone on her team, as if she had her old auras but instead with these more powerful tag effects--again, balance would decide this.
It might be tougher to balance than just having aura strength increases, but I think it's much more interesting and might alleviate some frustrations of her being too in danger to contribute in larger fights. At any rate, this idea isn't primarily to fix any balance problems--obviously, since this is still PBE, and since I don't even know myself if such problems currently exist--I just think it's a fun and natural idea.