Shaco Rework Concept
Shaco Rework: The Demon Jester
Shaco is a character that's kind of unique in his niche as a tricky, mind game based assassin. He's a fun character and I think his kit could be modernized to be slicker and more fun. I wanted to retain his hybrid scalings and playstyle, allowing him to be easy to pick up, but keeping his mechanics nuanced so that experienced Shaco's can shine and outplay opponents. I also wanted to increase the counterplay options for his enemies without making him feel bad to play. All of his abilities were changed somewhat, but the spirit of the old kit should still be there, just in a hopefully better way.
Passive: The Last Laugh When Shaco Dies, he spawns a Super Jack In The Box that winds up over 1.25 seconds, slowing nearby enemies by 25% before dealing a large amount of magic damage to nearby enemies in a larger area, fearing them for 1.75s. Magic Damage: 200/300/400/500 (+125% AP)
On-Death passives aren't the best, but they can be fun. In this case, I felt it would be very fitting of Shaco to have a sort of trickstery passive like this.
Q: Deceive, Dash Range:400, Cost:60, Cooldown:12 Dash in the target direction and then disappear in a poof of smoke, becoming invisible for 3.5 seconds. Shaco's next attack within 2s of exiting invisibility deals bonus adaptive damage. If a champion dies within 2 seconds of Shaco dealing damage to them, Decieve's cooldown resets. Casting Double The a Fun does not remove Shaco from invisibility. Placing a Jack In a The Box while Invisible causes him to shimmer. Damage: 60/80/100/120/140 (+50% Bonus AD) (+40% AP)
Instead of a blink, Shaco now dashes, this means enemies have a greater chance of seeing him when he comes to gank. To make up for this, the ability will be up more often in the early game and does more damage. The dash can also be used to trick enemies by dashing in a direction and then sneaking in the other direction. This added functionality will hopefully make Deceive more deceptive and fun. It's damage is also adaptive, allowing it to be effective no matter AP or AD, lethality or magic pen.
W: Jack In The Box, Range:400, Cost:75, Cooldown:12 Set a trap that stealths and arms after a brief delay. When triggered, it starts winding up over 1.5s, slowing nearby enemies by 25% before detonating, dealing magic damage to nearby enemies and fearing them for 0.75. Monsters are feared for 3 seconds. Enemies feared by Jack In The Boxes flee from the box. Magic Damage: 80/120/160/200/240 (+75% AP)
Shaco's boxes are iconic. They're what allows him to mess with his enemies and I didn't want to change them too much, however, instant fear and damage from a stealthed trap can be frustrating. I redesigned them while saving their purpose and hopefully allowing them to remain strong overall despite the added counterplay.
E: Punchline, Range:125, Cost:60, Cooldown:10 Deliver a strike that deals adaptive damage and slows enemies by 90% for 0.25s. This damage is increased if the unit is feared by Jack In The Box or when striking from behind the target. Damage: 80/110/140/170/200 (+60% Bonus AD) (+60% AP) Increased Damage: 120/165/210/255/300 (+75% Bonus AD) (+75% AP)
This is Shaco's big burst move. He no longer has a ranged damage ability. In this rework he trades that safety for increased burst potential. The damage is adaptive for the same reasons as his Q. I thought the backstabbing idea was unique and didn't want to remove it entirely from his kit, so I moved it here. This solidifies Shaco's playstyle as someone who strikes while you're vulnerable (boxes) or uses his Q or R to trick and outmaneuver opponents and then strike from behind.
R: Double The Fun, Cost:100, Cooldown:100/90/80 Shaco becomes untargetable and briefly invisible, creating a Double of himself that he can control for up to 15 seconds. The Double can auto attack enemies. When the Double is destroyed, it spawn a Super Jack In The Box that winds up over 1.5s, slowing nearby enemies by 50% before dealing a large amount of magic damage to enemies in a larger area and fearing them for 1.75s. When Shaco uses Deceive, his Double also goes invisible. Magic Damage: 300/400/500 (+125% AP)
His ulti should be about the same to use, however you can now use Decieve to stealth your Double and perform even more mind games. Use it to make enemies turn your back on you to attack it, setting them up for your E. Use it to trick enemies and allow you to escape. Use it to bait abilities. Use it to bait in general. Use it to blow up the entire enemy team. The tether range is gone allowing for more plays. I love Shaco's ult because it has a lot of hidden utility in how you use it, and like his W it's iconic. I didn't feel it needed much of a change at all.
That's all. Hope you enjoyed and remember to comment your thoughts. Hope this would make a Shaco main or two happy or at least raise some eyebrows.