Let's talk Bard: My idea for a small buff
TL;DR give Magical Journey a passive which reduces its cooldown by (1) second for every chime Bard collects.
When I first purchased Bard on release, I didn't manage to stick with him for very long. Everything just felt a little awkward and unconventional in a way I couldn't seem to pick up, and I just ended up abandoning him. So, recently I decided to give everyone's favorite walking beard a second chance, but this time, I tried playing less like a support and more like... well, Bard.
I asked for an ADC who could handle themselves in lane, roamed all day and tried to help everyone. This led me to discover two things:
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Bard is a whole heap of fun. His kit is incredibly unique, and the fact that he has two abilities which can affect either team is totally unheard of. His health packs are helpful and, on top of this, zooming around the map collecting chimes is a great mini-game that feels completely organic to him.
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Sometimes, Bard has a hard time being very useful. Now I'm probably the last person to work this one out, but it can really be disappointing once you've chimed your way up to top lane, unloaded your Q and all of your meeps, and then... nothing. No kill, no assist, you didn't even force the enemy flash. And now you're looking at bot lane going "man I wish I could be securing that kill for my ADC, but I'm all the way up here". While I understand that failed ganks are only natural, it just feels like Bard sacrifices too much when using his limited ganking potential.
What I'm getting at here is that, while he's fun as a roam champion, sometimes the whole map is can be a bit much for Bard to handle. So here is what I propose:
> (E) Magical Journey > Passive: Each time Bard collects a chime, the cooldown of magical journey is reduced by x seconds
At this point, my proposal is 1 second, but I'm not a balance expert. The point of this change is to gently give Bard a push in the direction he was intended for. While it is not a big change to fix all of his issues, the intention is to give Bard an easier time roaming and even setting up ganks or helping his team. Because chime collecting is (usually) a solo activity, the biggest effect this will have is in increasing Bard's early roaming power. If a 5 chime-chain can allow Bard to throw in an extra magical journey, he can cut out a chunk of his travel time, which in turn means he will be able to help the next laner faster.
Again, I'm not a balance expert so feel free to throw in any thoughts or changes you might have. (I'm not very good at conclusions so this is my conclusion.)