With Runes Reforged, should there be Champion-specific runes/keystones?

darkdill·May 31, 2017·1 votes·246 views

Looking at how Blizzard does Talents for Heroes of the Storm gives me a few ideas on Champion-specific Keystones. Here's a few off the top of my head.

Leona's Eclipse now vacuums in enemies upon detonating, but the mana cost is increased.
Enemies affected by Lux's Illumination are revealed for X seconds. Does not reveal stealth.
Upon conclusion, Tryndamere will heal for X% of damage he dealt to enemy Champions during Undying Rage.
Soraka's Rejuvenation now restores a tiny amount of mana over time in addition to its normal effects.
Kled now becomes invulnerable upon reaching 100 Courage while he remounts Skaarl. Effect ends once he's back on his untrustworthy mount.

Think something like these might work? I know a few would be super-overpowered, but humor the idea of Champion-specific Keystones.

4 Comments

This Is Your DadMay 31, 20174 votes

That would just lock in certain runes, which is what they DON'T want to do. Keeping it vague enough to be used by multiple champs for different playstyles is what they're after.

darkdillMay 31, 20171 votes

Fair enough, but if these Champion-specific Keystones had serious drawbacks or forced you to sacrifice another powerful Keystone, would they still be worth it?

This Is Your DadMay 31, 20171 votes

I think they want to make runes less complicated, and cover a general playstyle. With the current runes, trying to number crunch created issues, and left many runes better or worse than others. -15% time dead quints anyone? I think they really want to emphasize not player freedom in its entirety, but player freedom in the sense of how they'd like to play the game. The Pixie keystone for example can be used by many different champs without being overshadowed by other things.

ChaddyFantomeMay 31, 20171 votes

the whole point of the system is to encourage theory crafting and customization. That is why Runes and Monasteries exist, to give players something to try and figure out and built around while also giving them options and variety.

Even in a system where theoretically, only 1 keystone was the best on every champion, it still would be better than your suggestion purely because it leaves the space open for the player to figure it out as opposed to doing it for them, which is why the system exists from a game design standpoint.