Here’s my problem with Domination
TL;DR at the bottom
In the old Mastery system, many immobile mages had two choices in terms of their keystone: Deathfire Touch and Thunderlord's Decree. I feel like they tried to give a more meaningful choice by giving you one that was lower risk with lower reward (DFT) and one that was of higher risk and higher reward (TLD). However, for non-DoT mages, TLD was often considered the better option (as it was far easier to proc than Electrocute). Now that we have Electrocute vs. Arcane Comet/Summon Aery, I feel like they finally accomplished that.
However, now we are faced with a far bigger problem: secondary runes
As a Vel'Koz main, I feel like I should be able to choose whether I want to go with an option that plays to a more skill-oriented with a bigger outcome if I can take the risk (Electrocute) or the safer route that's more reliant on strategy and playing the long game to compensate for the lack of output (Arcane Comet). However, most of the secondary runes of Domination just fall so short of the high risk-high reward fantasy that Electrocute has, plus there's just such a low breadth of choice among them.
Let's take a look:
- Nullifying Orb/Manaflow Band/Nimbus Cloak
While Manaflow Band seems like outright the best option, it's not as simple as that. Manaflow Band may help pad your early game mana-usage, but something to consider is that I am personally utter shit against AP assassins, particularly Fizz and Diana. If I see one of them on the enemy team, I know I'm gonna be hugging that turret. However, before I do that, I need to farm. If my opponent is too aggressive, they'll level up more quickly and take advantage when I'm at my most vulnerable. With Nullifying Orb, I might be able to even the odds and give myself space to scale when farming under tower. With Nimbus Cloak, I'm given great repositioning power in fights throughout the game, whereas Manaflow Band and Nullifying Orb have the bulk of their power concentrated in the early game. If I'm against a more mobile enemy team, an ult to help after my team initiates allows me to stay on top of our opponents or get to safer ground.
- Transcendence/Celerity/Absolute Focus
Okay, Celerity's out because A. Vel'Koz already has relatively high MMS for an immobile mage, and B. He doesn't have anything MMS-related integrated into his kit. Absolute Focus may seem inferior to Transcendence because of its low stats, but just like with Nullifying Orb, it provides a redeeming factor. Transcendence is better for when you know what you're up against and are mildly confident that you at least won't feed. It provides good CDR to compensate for the lack thereof in more damage-oriented items like Liandy's and Rabadon's. Absolute Focus, on the other hand, provides more damage for your mana early on to help with wave clear and poke, plus a little something to help with short-term compensation for the lack of AP you're going to have from choosing defensive options like Zhonya's and Banshee's (which just so happen to, with your Lost Chapter upgrade, give you a full 40% CDR).
- Scorch/Waterwalking/Gathering Storm
Scorch is my personal go-to, as it really helps get the upper hand in the early stages of things, but I also tend to be good stalling games out, so I've found equal success with Gathering Storm. Analyzing it a bit further, Scorch is the more aggressive/risky option to help assert dominance early with poke, but falls off later so that you have to rely on your lead. Gathering Storm, however, is clearly the safer option. It helps in match-ups where you have to play more cautiously early so that you can tip the scales as the game progresses, or better yet turn things around. Waterwalking isn't the best, as you are an immobile mage that gets caught out extremely easy in the river, plus (even if you manage to use it when you know you won't get caught out) you'll simply get more bang for your buck with the other two.
There are a lot of great choices as far as Sorcery is concerned. If you try to go any other tree primary with Sorcery secondary on most immobile mages, you almost always have to make a meaningful sacrifice. Not so when taking Domination secondary. It's just so easily outshined by Inspiration runes like Future's Market and Cosmic Insight or (too a lesser extent) Precision runes like Presence of Mind or Coup de Grace. In addition, if you take Domination primary, you need to be compensating for whatever sacrifice you made in Sorcery. Unfortunately, Domination's best way of compensating is just more damage. I mean, just check it out:
- Cheap Shot/Taste of Blood/Sudden Impact
You can't proc Sudden Impact, so that's automatically scrapped. Taste of Blood is alright, I guess, but not really something you're bent on having. Vel'Koz plays very safe and from very far away. If you get put into a tricky position way too close to an enemy champion, your best bet is to Flash away before you get bursted too hard. You're not going to be worrying about healing on Vel'Koz, or most immobile mages that don't build a Catalyst item. Really the only viable option is Cheap Shot. The damage is very combo-oriented (what with it only occuring after imparement) and thus synergizes pretty well with Electrocute and is a good nod toward the high risk-high reward fantasy, but the row itself just leaves so much to be desired in terms of choice.
- Zombie Ward/Ghost Poro/Eyeball Collection
Ghost Poro isn't really an option since you don't want to be facechecking brush when you have little to no escape tools. That leaves Zombie Ward and Eyeball Collection, although the latter is obviously superior as you (once again) need more damage to compensate. I'd only ever take Zombie Ward as support Vel'Koz, but even then it's outshined by Eyeball Collection since it not only gives you the damage you want, but also lets you play the part of a support in terms of vision control. This is due to the fact that it motivates you to sweep for wards to not only deny enemy vision, but also help with your scaling. Like Sudden Impact, it does seem to be on-track to being a rune that causes you to use skill to put yourself in jeopardy with the posibility of a big pay-out, but it just hinders your scaling so much proportionate to the skill it takes to overcome that hindrance as compared to certain Sorcery runes.
- Ravenous Hunter/Ingenious Hunter/Relentless Hunter/Ultimate Hunter
Honestly, there's just nothing in this row that I actively want to have, outside of maybe Ultimate Hunter. The others are just nice to hae at best and totally unnecessary at worst. I already explained healing with Taste of Blood, so I'm not going over it again with Ravenous hunter. Ingenious Hunter is so situational and very rigid about what circumstances it can be used in, and as a mage, you can't really get as much as bang foryour buck as a champion with more active items can (seeing as you'll probably only ever buy Zhonya's or Spellbinder). Relentless Hunter is alright or getting around the map, but you'll be missing out on the damage potential from Ultimate Hunter. Even then, Ultimate Hunter really relies on you making plays with your ult as often as you can to make it compare with the more straight-up damage from Cheap Shot and Eyeball Collection, since you have to make those seconds you get off your ult count, or else you might as well not have them. Again, a good step toward high risk-high reward, but dwarved by the fact that the reward isn't comparitively that high.
Tl;DR - I see a lot of potential in Domination, but right now the choices are just too easy and overall not worth the sacrifice from taking Sorcery secondary. I know Riot has plans to work on the vision row (and I personally can't wait to see what they come up with), but honestly, I feel like this whole tree needs to be looked at. I know the philosophy is "more powerful keystones with less powerful secondary runes", but maybe it's time that changed to something a bit more defined. I want the risk that's going to make me rely on my own skill, but in return, I expect a reward that was worth the effort.