Runes Reforged Mass Rework (Very Long Post)

EDIT: By the suggestion of a Rioter, we are adding some of our thoughts and reasoning behind most of the changes.

With the recent discussion among the Rioters and Board members and other players concerning the state of the game and how high damage has become, Runes Reforged has become a major point of contention. Some of the problems with damage is that the Runes are very lazily designed and are uninteresting for the player to use.

Currently there are 12 non-Keystone runes that give % damage increase or flat AD/AP bonus. These include Coup de Grace, Cut Down, Last Stand, Zombie Ward, Ghost Poro, Eyeball Collection, Transcendence, Celerity, Absolute Focus, Waterwalking, Gathering Storm, and Chrysalis. The problem here is that these 2 types of damage bonuses increase every source of damage you have. Abilities, attacks, items, runes, etc. There is no counterplay or player interaction to doing this, and it makes it very frustrating and boring to use.

To remedy this, Kryonik (my brother) and I are reworking the stats given by trees and the Runes themselves. The main focus of the Rune Changes are to remove a massive portion of damage overall, shift damage into other areas, and put a MUCH stronger emphasis on utility and uniqueness between your Rune choices. The Resolve tree is also largely rearranged so that it makes more sense with the purpose of each row. The way that the changes are listed to is show what changes are made, not necessarily how the runes would look in client. WARNING: VERY, VERY LONG POST.

#GENERAL RUNE SYSTEM CHANGES

The current runes allow SOME creative freedom, but it feels restricted because you can only pick from 2 trees out of 5. I know they made it that way so you have to really think about what you want and be creative, but that creativity comes out of making the best out of a bad situation and finding the most optimal setup with the limited choices you have. Rather than feeling like you have made a unique build, it feels like "I guess this will do". This extra rune will allow far more flexibility by allowing you to pick a rune that suites your playstyle or the game.

Most Runes will now be visible in the buff/debuff area of the HUD.

NEW: BONUS RUNE

• Will still have 4 runes in primary and 2 runes in secondary
• Can now also have a 7th Bonus Rune, or Wildcard Rune, from any slot in any unused tree. It will be your niche, changeable rune for whatever fits your situation and will allow far more creative choice

BONUS STATS

• No longer based on primary and secondary tree. Points will now be distributed throughout the various available stats.
• 7 possible stats to choose from and 7 points that can be expended.
• A maximum of 4 points can be expended per stat.
• If points are not fully allocated by the end of champ select, they will be automatically allocated the same way the current stats are chosen, based on your path choices, but with points per rune in that path. If this happens, Sorcery and Domination will still function as Adaptive Stats. For example:
• Precision Primary, Resolve Secondary, Sorcery Wildcard
• 4 points -> Precision, 2 points -> Secondary, 1 point -> Sorcery
• +12% Attack Speed, +60 HP, +2 AD or 4 AP
• There would also be an option to toggle this on and off to allow you to always customize it yourself, or always automatically distribute points based on the tree

Stats:

• Attack Speed --- 3/6/9/12%
• Attack Damage --- 2/4/6/8
• Ability Power --- 4/8/12/16
• Armor --- 2/4/6/8
• Magic Resistance --- 2/4/6/8
• Health --- 30/60/90/120
• Mana --- 20/40/60/80

#FULL RUNE CHANGELIST

Precision

Keystone

• Press the Attack
• Damage: 40-180 >>> 30-160
• Damage Increase: 8-12% >>> 10%
• NEW: You and your allies gain 50 bonus movement speed towards exposed target, decaying over the duration of exposure.

Simple damage nerf and added utility. Wanted to add a reason for players to take it besides a damage boost. This would also play more into the fantasy of Exposing an enemy and pressing the attack on that enemy.

• Lethal Tempo
• REWORKED Effect: Damaging an enemy champion will create an emblem on the ground near you if you are ranged, or near the enemy champion if you are melee (max of 400 units away for both). By walking over the Emblem you pick it up and gain 30-50% bonus attack speed, and 10% reduced cast times and ability delays for 4 seconds. After 2.5 seconds, if you attack an enemy champion again, another Emblem will spawn. Additional Emblems after the first grant 15-25% attack speed, but will still grant 10% reduced cast times and ability delays. Emblems can stack up to 5 times and each Emblem picked up will refresh the buff duration. Max of 90-150% bonus attack speed and 50% reduced cast times and ability delays.

Current LT is a straight stat buff that has no interactivity for both players outside of waiting 1.5s for a massive buff. This reworked version allows both players to play around a little objective. If the player positions them self correctly they can amass larger and larger bonuses, but is still at risk of losing them all. The enemy player can also deny these bonuses set them back to zero.

• Fleet Footwork
• Heal: 3-60 (+30% bonus AD) (+50% AP) >>> 6-90 (+40% bonus AD) (+50% AP)
• NEW: Charges 25% slower for ranged champions.
• CHANGED: No longer applies on minions.

One of the biggest issues with Fleet Footwork is that it's good, it is too good. I believe one of the reasons for this is because it can be used on minions. I leads to a defensive and pacifist play style. The changes are to encourage more aggressive behavior that would reward you for making the right trades. As a trade-off it charges slower for ranged champions because it would very easy for them to proc.

• Conqueror
• True Damage: 20% >>> 35% 25%
• CHANGED: True Damage conversion now only works on ability damage. Auto attack empowerment work on the empowered damage, but not the auto attack damage itself.
• NEW: Visual Effects when damaging an enemy champion with abilities.

Despite all the outcry about Conqueror being broken because it gives true damage, the bonus AD plays more of a role in its effectiveness. Conqueror can definitely feel overbearing when used in conjunction with items, runes, and powerful basic attacks because the AD increases them and the true damage increases it even further. The changes would make it a little more niche, but hopefully more balance-able, and remove some of the abuse cases.

Heroism

• Overheal
• Self-healing Conversion: 40% >>> 70%

As it stands, Overheal feel horrible on self-sustaining champions, especially early game. This change would hopefully make it a more attractive and viable option on them so they will not always default to Triumph.

• Triumph
• Gold: REMOVED
• Heal: 12% >>> 10%
• NEW: Champion kills will also drop a flag on top of the body for 4 seconds. Allies who touch the flag will heal for 6% of their missing health

This rune seems very problematic. This is partially because it gives gold, which would make players more snowball. I believe gold is something that should be given in Inspiration only. The new addition of allowing allies to cache in on the healing should make it a more appealing choice for a wider array of champions who would not usually go into precision. It should also reward players for more organized play.

• Presence of Mind *NEW: If you do not have Mana, restore 20% of your ultimate cooldown instead of 10%.

This rune seems slightly under powered when compared to Triumph. It seems especially weak on Manaless champions. Increasing the ultimate CDR would make it more attractive on manaless champions as a viable option.

Legend

• Legend: Alacrity

• None

• Legend: Tenacity

• None

• Legend: Bloodline

• CHANGED: Gain 2% (+0.8% per Legend stack) Lifesteal, up to 10% at 10 stacks

I almost never see players take Bloodline, and I think the reason for that is because it does not give any early bonuses unlike Alacrity and Tenacity. I can understand why having early lifesteal would be problematic, but it does not change the fact that this runes is frustrating and unsatisfying to take.

• NEW: Legend: Quickdraw
• Gain 2% (+0.8% per Legend stack) CDR and Summoner Spell CDR, up to 10% with 10 stacks.

The Precision tree is not attractive to quite a few champions, especially those who would want runes from Heroism or Combat. Quickdraw would add a new option for mages, caster based ADC, Assassins, caster based bruisers, and anybody else who would want to opt into this tree.

Combat

• Coup de Grace
• AD/AP: REMOVED
• NEW: Deal 20% increased damage to shields against enemies below 40% HP.

This rune and its design is a problem. It is a straight damage buff that just grants more damage on top of that. I do not see the reason for there to be an AD/AP bonus on it because it creates the situation where the person who was ahead and came out on top is now even more dangerous and hard to deal with, creating an poor experience for the losing side. The addition of shield-busting would add to it's intended purpose of letting the use more easily finish off targets, and with the much larger amount of shields in the game, I do not believe this change is unjustified.

• Cut Down
• REWORKED Effect: Percentage Health damage, Armor reduction, and MR reduction effects are increased by 5-10% based on how much more max health the affected enemy champion has than you. (Increased by 0.5% per 100 hp, for 5% extra increase at 1000 HP difference).

Originally this runes just alienated half of the champions that would want to use this tree because they would never be able to get a benefit from it. Instead of the rune making you more effective against tougher targets across the board, it now makes your innate or chosen tank-busting effects slightly more powerful. This could result in it becoming more niche but it should change up the selection to a wider array of champions besides marksmen.

• Last Stand
• REWORKED Effect: Gain 15% 10% bonus attack speed and 5% CDR while below 60% HP. This increases based on your missing health, up to 30% 20% bonus attack speed and 10% CDR when at or below 30% HP. Attack Speed and CDR caps can be temporarily broken while this is in affect.

This is another straight damage boost rune that is problematic and stale. This version would make it less of a general option and more playstyle focused. The fantasy should be to fight harder and harder the closer you are to death. You will still be more deadly the lower health you are but now it is more dependent on the champion and the build.

• NEW: Blade Weaving
• Casting abilities will cause your next basic attack to deal 3% 2% increased damage within 5 seconds, stacking up to 3 times (max of 9% 6%). Ability casts refresh the duration. If used at 3 stacks, your next basic attack will reduce your remaining basic ability cooldowns by 20% 15% (15 25 second cooldown on 3 stack empowerment).

This was a rune from the old Runes system that seem really interesting and when thinking of new possible runes, this one and Spell Weaving immediately popped into my mind. 1) because they seemed to follow the current design styles of the other runes, and 2) because if modernized, they could become unique options for many playstyles. While the % bonuses are higher, they would be less problematic because they are lower, take longer to apply, and are applied in fewer areas. The cooldown reduction was added to this rune because it would make more sense for the playstyle this rune would augment, and it would differentiate it from the other runes and their effects.

Domination

Keystone

• Electrocute
• Damage: 50-220 (+50% bonus AD) (+30% AP) >>> 40-180 (+40% bonus AD) (+20% AP)
• NEW: Now deals its damage in a 175 radius AOE around the target.
• Cooldown: 50 >>> 40
• NEW: Cooldown lowered by 15% on takedowns.
• NEW: When Electrocute is used on an enemy champion within 6 seconds of an allied champion's Electrocute. The damage is reduced by 50%.

This rune has always been a problem for a lot of players, primarily because there is 0 interaction between players when one uses this rune, but it makes burst champions obnoxious, and makes non-burst champions into burst champions. A simple damage nerf would alleviate some of the frustration. The damage nerf is followed by a decrease in cooldown, and away to further reduce its cooldown, putting this rune closer to TLD. The reduced damage from additional Electrocute procs would hopefully make it less frustrating for players to play against, and make the players using it think more about who their targets are.

• Predator
• Damage: 60-180 (+40% bonus AD) (+25% AP) >>> 40-160 (+30% bonus AD) (+15% AP)
• NEW: Damaging an enemy champion will now slow them by 50% 30% for 1.5 1 second.

Simple damage nerf, but added utility to compensate. It should feel like you are on the hunt not because you are going to kill the target, but because you are going after your prey and you do not want them to get away before you are finished.

• Dark Harvest
• CHANGED Effect: Damage is now applied over 3 2 seconds instead.

This runes is very frustrating to play against for the same reasons as Electrocute. Making the damage apply over 2 seconds would hopefully give players a little bit of time to play around the rune and the champion instead of getting instantly one-shot.

• Hail of Blades
• NEW: Now works on Towers and Epic Monsters.
• NEW: Now completely refreshes (comes off cooldown) on takedowns.
• NEW: Now deals 2.5% of the target’s max HP on each attack as adaptive damage.

This rune is very nice, some of the time. Personally I find this rune to be underwhelming do to how infrequently I use it in situations where it would be most helpful. Changing it to refresh on takedowns would make it so that instead of empowering you for your first few attacks in combat, it would empower your first few attacks against each new champion in combat. This would make it an overall more consistent boost and much more useful for long skirmishes and teamfights.

Malice

• Cheap Shot
• Cooldown: 4 >>> 5
• NEW: Exiting stealth will also cause your next basic attack to deal the same damage. Only one can be applied.

To make it a little more accessible since Stealth is no longer associated to Sudden Impact, but making it less frequent to compensate. The damage seems fine, albeit to frequent.

• Taste of Blood
• REWORKED Effect: After damaging an enemy champion and entering combat, store 15% of the damage dealt to that champion. This effect only works against the first enemy champion damaged. After exiting combat, heal for 5-15 + stored amount over 1.5 seconds. 25 second cooldown.

Another example of a rune that has no interaction. It is universally useful for anyone who wants to take it. These changes are intended to make it more of a high risk, high reward rune for players to like drawn-out fights, instead of poke champions getting free sustain. Timing your trades and winning your trades would be key for this rune to be useful to you.

• Sudden Impact
• REWORKED Effect: Dealing Damage with a gap-closing ability will deal 3% of your max HP as bonus physical damage and reduce the target’s Tenacity by 30% 15% for 3 seconds. If the target does not have any bonus Tenacity then the next hard CC applied to them within 3 seconds will have its duration increased by 20% (Max of 0.3 second increase).

Currently this rune crowds out the other 2 because it is very strong on a lot of champions. Part of the problem is that champions get the benefit of the rune even if they mess up. They can miss a dash ability that they should have landed, but still get the bonus. This version would make it more niche on some champions, but would make it a better utility option overall that benefits skilled play.

• NEW: Spell Weaving
• Basic attacks on champions cause your next ability to deal 3% 2% increased damage, stacking up to 3 times for 5 seconds (max of 9% 6%). Auto attacks refresh the duration. If used at 3 stacks, your next ability will also reduce the enemy’s Armor and Magic Resistance by 20% for 3 seconds (15 25 second cooldown on 3 stack empowerment).

The other weaving rune that was added for the same reason as Blade Weaving. The Reduced resistances were added to this one because it seemed to fit with the intended fantasy and playstyles for this rune.

Tracking

• Zombie Ward
• AD/AP: REMOVED
• NEW: Enemy champions that kill your zombie wards will be slowed by 20% for 3 seconds.

Adding damage to this rune was silly and it is removed. Instead, it will have more utility by making it somewhat dangerous for enemies to destroy it if they are not paying attention to the map, allowing you to capitalize on their mistakes.

• Ghost Poro
• AD/AP: REMOVED
• NEW: Ghost Poro will now attack spook enemy champions that enter into its brush, revealing them and their surrounding area for 4 seconds.
• NEW: Leaving a brush will no longer remove the Poro from your inventory and will last for 1 minute.
• NEW: Using the Poro in a brush that it was not acquired in will put it on a 45 second cooldown.

Adding damage to this rune was silly and it is removed. Instead it will have more utility by following the discovered target and revealing a small area around them. You can capitalize on players who are foolish enough to constantly run away when they are spotted instead of standing still for a couple seconds until it goes away. It is also strange and unsatisfying to have the Poro be put in your trinket slot, but not be applicable outside of the bush it was acquired in.

• Eyeball Collection
• Damage on Completion: REMOVED
• CHANGED: Now gain 2 stacks for every unique champion takedown (Max 10), and 1 stack for every ward kill. You gain 0.4 AD or 0.8 AP per stack up to a max of 6 AD or 12 AP. At 15 stacks you gain a new permanent bonus and cannot gain anymore stacks.
• NEW PERMANENT BONUS: Increase the vision radius of wards and effects by 150 units, and increases vision ability duration by 20%.

This was a snowballing rune and nothing but a snowballing rune. While I do not mind it giving a little bit of damage, the amount it gave was dumb and the fantasy of the rune could have been better displayed. It will still gain damage, but not as much because it seem thematically resonant. The new mechanic gives the player to incentive to stack it as soon as possible and make more tactical decisions with their wards.

• NEW: Parasite
• Killing an enemy monster camp will corrupt them the next time they spawn. Upon respawning, the corrupted camp will reveal a moderate area around them for a few seconds, and this area vision will shrink afterward and remain until the camp is killed. This camp will also deal 50-200% (based on level) extra damage to enemy champions until it is killed. Enemy smites will deal 50% increased damage and have a 50% increased heal against corrupted camps. Only one camp can be corrupted at once. Corrupted camps will be visible to enemy champions who see the camp; it will not show up on the map. 90 second cooldown.

This new rune is intended to serve as a tactical counter-jungling tool that has some interaction and counter-play between both teams. It will serve as a trap/choke point where players can chose to take it and risk getting ambushed and revealing their position, or avoided and taken later when the coast is clear. To make it less potentially frustrating for players and particularly players who where already behind, smite will now deal additional damage and provide additional healing against these corrupted camps.

Hunter

• Ravenous Hunter
• NEW: No longer reduces AOE healing to ⅓ when used against enemy champions if only 1 champion is being damaged.

While this rune is nice, it's design alienates a long of champions, specifically those with a lot of AOE damage. This change is designed to give AOE damage champions comparable sustain to Single-target champions in 1v1's so it is not a limited-use option for those champions.

• Ingenious Hunter
• NEW: Now reduces Passive Item Cooldowns by 7.5% (+2.5% per stack) up to 20%.

To put it simply, this rune is mostly ignored because it is inferior to the others. Reducing passive cooldowns by a smaller amount will hopefully make it a more attractive option.

• Relentless Hunter

• None

• Ultimate Hunter

• None.

Sorcery

Keystone

• Summon Aery
• NEW: Damage will only work on the first tick of DOT damage and not subsequent damage ticks.
• Cooldown: 2 >>> 4.5 (Aery will hover around the target for longer before returning)
• NEW: While Aery is hovering around enemy champions, healing and shielding effects on them are reduced by 20%.
• NEW: Bonus Shield now works on self-shielding and healing at 50% effectiveness but increases the cooldown by 2 seconds.
• NEW: If the spell both damages and heals, it will choose the stronger value to amplify.

Back when this rune was being abused by toplaners, it was had to be nerfed, but the nerf chosen was the wrong nerf in my opinion. The problem was never the damage, the problem was how often champions applied that damage in drawn out fights. Nerfing the damage only made it a less viable option for every other champion that wanted to take it. Applying the damage 5-6 times in one spell rotation on a fighter was problematic, the damage was not. I do not think it is inherently bad for fighters and other melee champions to want to take this, in fact I think it is the opposite. The nerfs are intended to make it less frequent overall so and so it is not abused by DOT effects (Teemo and Singed cough cough). The damage will remain the same because I think it's current damage is appropriate already and does not need touched. To support different champions using this rune like what was mentioned before, I am making it so that the bonus shield works on self casted shields and heals, but at decreased effectiveness and frequency.

• Arcane Comet
• REWORKED Effect: Hitting an enemy champion with abilities will generate stacks of Arcane up to 100 stacks. While at 100 stacks, your next basic attack will cause a meteor to crash down onto the target, dealing 40-120 (+30% bonus AD) (+20% AP) adaptive damage and summoning a circle of fire at the impact area, slowing enemies by 20% and dealing the same damage again over 4 seconds.

The current version is a poke rune that is bland even though it serves its purpose. Because it is free damage it is a staple option, but I believe it can be made into a more impactful and satisfying rune. The changes are intended to make it more reliant on when you want to use it and how, and to make it more impactful and dangerous overall assuming you can keep them in the AOE burn. This could also serve as a good utility and/or DPS option for AP fighters or tanks.

• Phase Rush
• MS: 25-40% >>> 30-45%
• NEW: Gain 25% Tenacity
• NEW: Can move through units.
• NEW: Can move through champion-made terrain.

While a solid option on some champions, it seems to be underwhelming on a lot of others. The changes are intended to give it more power in other areas so it is more useful in more situations to a wider array of champions.

Artefact

• Nullifying Orb

• CHANGED: Shield will now adapt to either Physical or Magic damage based on the damage type that proc'd it. The shield will also now only block ability damage.

• Manaflow Band

• REWORKED Effect: Hitting an enemy champion with an ability permanently increases you maximum Mana by 20, up to 400. Upon reaching 400 Mana, gain the effect: After using an ability, your next basic attack within 3 seconds will deal 2% of your maximum Mana as bonus adaptive damage (Stacking works on large and epic monsters, damage works on towers). 20 second cooldown (on mana increase).

This rune is very effective, arguably too effective, and especially on mages. The bonus Mana is great, the mana regen is questionable. Mana is primarly intended for mages while regen is intended for supporters. Giving this rune both of them is strange and it makes it the best option for mages. This is more true now because of the past AP item changes and Mage Mana changes. It is fine for mages and supports to have access to both, but having a rune that grants both is silly. The other issue is that you can gain the regen extremely fast because the mana will stack up so quickly. To address this, you can now gain more maxiumum mana than before but at a slower rate. The mana regen will live on in Transcendence and Waterwalking in different forms. The new max mana bonus is a small spellblade effect that gives mages and other champions a little more oomph when they decide to throw in basic attakcs and feel less bad about it.

• Nimbus Cloak
• Delay: 1.5 >>> 1.25

Simple buff to allow players to get the benefit a little earlier. Concern is that the fast pace of the game doesn't allow this effect to come online when it really needs to.

• NEW: Arcane Blade
• Basic attacks deal 2-10 (+5% AP) (+5% AD) bonus magic damage on-hit. After using an ability, you will deal 3-15 (+7.5% AP) (+7.5% AD) damage instead on your next 2 basic attacks on champions within 3 seconds. 15 second cooldown (On the amplified attacks).

Like Blade Weaving and Spell Weaving, this was another old mastery that was very interesting. With a slight buff to bring it in line with other runes it can be used on a wide array of champions for different playstyles. The second passive of increasing the damage every once in a while is to give it different moments of power to make it more satisfying and synergistic on many champions.

Excellence

• Transcendence
• AP: 2 per 1% CDR >>> 1.5 per 1% CDR
• AD: 1.2 per 1% CDR >>> 0.9 per 1% CDR
• NEW: Mana costs are reduced by 0.5% per 1% CDR over the CDR cap. This bonus is capped at 20% reduced mana costs (40% CDR over the cap).

The rune is already interesting and useful, but the damage needs to come down. The reduced mana costs is to serve as a alternative to mana regen or flat mana on some champions, and it serves is a partial compensation for removing the mana regen from Manaflow band.

• Celerity
• AD/AP: REMOVED
• REWORKED Effect: Gain 2% Movement speed. After using an ability or a summoner spell, gain 18% bonus movement speed for 1.5 seconds. 10 second cooldown.

This rune giving AD/AD is silly and removes from its intended purpose and fantasy. Instead we are making it a short term kiting tool.

• Absolute Focus
• AD/AP: REMOVED
• REWORKED Effect: Buffs from abilities, runes, items, summoner spells, and Monsters last 30% 25% longer. This bonus is reduced to 20% while below 70% HP, and further reduced to 10% 15% while below 40% HP. The duration increase is determined by the HP amount you have when the buff was first received.

This is another rune that gives a straight damage buff and is arguably one of the more problematic ones. This gives an advantage to the player in the early game and a good advantage at that. While it isn't giving a large advantage it is completely useless. The sheer amount of damage in the game ensures that this runes is rarely active. I understand the thematic choice for this rune, so I reworked it to be a more niche choice that delivers on its fantasy a little better. The idea is that while at your prime you are more powerful but lose control of your power the more damage you take. Staying at healthy is key to making this rune effective but losing health will not make it completely useless, just weaker. The actual effect applies to a large pool of effects and can be used on many champions.

Power

• Scorch
• CHANGED: Now deals 4% of the target’s maximum HP over 2.5 seconds as magic damage and applies grievous wounds for the duration. 20 second cooldown.

While it serves its purpose of being a poke/trading rune, it becomes useless late game. The changes are intended to let it scale into late game and be semi-useful, while the grievous wounds are intended to give it utility for specific playstyles. Assassins and aggressive carries will like the grievous wounds portion.

• Waterwalking
• AD/AP: REMOVED
• Movement speed: 25 >>> 30
• NEW: Regen 1% of your maximum HP and Mana per 4-2 seconds while in the River.

Another rune that gives AD/AP. Removed. Movement speed is buffed to compensate. The new effect makes it a more useful rune overall because the regen will always be in effect while the damage bonus would only be used while fighting. This will also make it a better option for roaming supports, roaming mages, and less kill-hungry junglers or junglers with sustain issues.

• Gathering Storm
• AD/AP: REMOVED
• REWORKED Effect: After using your ultimate ability, surround yourself in a storm for 4 seconds, dealing 40-160 magic damage over the duration and slowing enemies by 15%. While your ultimate is off cooldown, Gathering Storm will gain a stack every 30 seconds, stacking up to 4 times. Each stack increases the damage dealt and slow by 25%, up to 80-320 damage and 30% slow.

This rune is the tied with Coup de Grace as the worst offender of giving straight damage. This rune literally gives you free damage over time, and it is more problematic because the bonus applies to many different sources of damage. This reworked version helps is remain thematically resonant and give it a purpose and niche. This is good for any champion that wants to be next to some one. This would be useful on many supports, fighters, tanks, and some mages and assassins. The damage could be insane at first glance, however it takes time to ramp up. It starts at 40-160. Every 30 seconds that pass while you have not used your ultimate (while it is off cooldown) will increase the damage and slow by 25%. It will take 2 minutes of neglecting your ultimate to max out this runes efficiency, meaning you have to make a choice about how you want to use this rune.

Resolve

For the most part we rearranged the tree so each rune makes more sense placement-wise and so we can avoid some abuse cases.

Keystone

• Grasp of the Undying
• Damage: 4% >>> 3% of your max HP
• Healing: 2% >>> 3% of your max HP
• Now works on large and epic monsters at 50% effectiveness.

_ Nerfing its damage to make it giving tanks less killing power but buffing the sustain to support its intended purpose. Overall a power shift to make it less frustrating. The addition of making it work on monsters at 50% effectiveness and a more experimental idea exploring what it be like if keystones worked on monsters but on a lower power level._

• Aftershock
• Damage: REMOVED
• Cooldown: 35 >>> 45
• NEW: Enemies hit by the Shock wave are marked for 4 seconds. Basic attacks against the marked target remove the mark, stun them for 0.5 seconds, and deal 3-7% (based on level) of their max HP as adaptive damage.
• NEW: Cooldown reduced by 15% each time you apply hard CC to an enemy champion. This bonus is reduced to 5% for additional enemies hit by the same CC.

This rune gives a lot of damage when its primary purpose should be to give defense. While the defense is good, we believe the rune could serve a another purpose to make it less of a damage rune and more of a utility disruption tool. The initial damage is removed and replaced with % max health damage. Unless you are very tanky, the damage should actually be a nerf against most champions. The Cooldown reduction with CC hits so we can make it less abuse-able (cooldown wise) by the non-intended users and more gratifying for the intended users.

• Guardian
• NEW: More than one allied champions can be marked with Guarded at a time.
• CHANGED: Allies will be marked with Guarded as long as they are within 1500 units of you.
• NEW: Shield amount is decreased by 10% for each champion marked past the first 2
• NEW: Cooldown reduced by 10% each time you heal or shield an allied champion (8 second cooldown).

It is a versatility and slight usability buff. Now you can coordinate with and/or play around your teammates so you can have a strong shield on 1 person, or slightly weaker shields and several people.

Strength

This row will now be more straight utility and combat focused defense scaled runes.

• Demolish

• None

• Unflinching

• MOVED from Vitality

It did not make sense to have a non-sustain rune in Vitality, especially since this rune relates to Strength more thematically. Moved it back into Strength as a result.

• NEW: Barrier Reflector
• The first time your shield would suffer damage within 1.5 seconds of receiving it, reflect 3-12 + 20% of the damage suffered as true damage. 25 second cooldown.

Intended to be used by champions who want to use their shields to strategically or offensively. Timing your shield correctly is key to using this rune effectively.

Resistance

Will now consist of 4 defensive runes that have different purposes for different champions and playstyles. HP, Resistances, Flat damage reduction, % damage reduction.

• Bone Plating
• CHANGED: After using an ability, gain 1 Bone Plate for 3 seconds (2 for ultimates) that blocks 10-44 damage from the next attack or ability. Up to 3 Bone Plates can be active at one time. Gaining 5 Bone Plates within a 10 second window will prevent you from gaining further Bone Plates and will put the rune on cooldown for 30 seconds.
• MOVED from Strength

Right now Bone Plate is the dominant choice for many champions because it allows you to face-tank poke early on and auto-win trades without doing anything. The changes are intended to make the rune more engaging and add more counterplay. Instead of gaining 3 Bone Plates automatically you will only gain 1 each time you cast an ability. This makes its defensive power less upfront and more spread out and lets the enemy play around your cooldowns. When you have cooldowns, that should be the perfect time for you enemy to make a play, but the current version does not allow this assuming it is available. This version allows players to take advantage of mistakes and good timing. It was also moved from Strength because it did not make sense to have it there when it was a purely defensive rune.

• Overgrowth
• HP Bonus: 0.2% per 8 minions >>> 0.3% per 8 minions
• MOVED from Vitality

It's just weaker and not an attractive option when it should be. Simple buff. It is not necessarily a sustain rune so it was moved to the Resistance section to serve as an anti-damage option.

• Conditioning
• Total Armor/MR increase 5% >>> 8%
• CHANGED: gain an extra 1 Armor and MR per level until level 10, maxing at 10 bonus Armor and MR

Also a straight buff because it is crowded out by Second Wind and Chrysalis. The flat bonuses also now start out earlier to make it more thematically resonant and more usable early game.

• NEW - Defensive Instinct
• After 8 minutes, gain the effect: any amount of damage that would deal more than 20% of your max health within 1 second is reduced by 30%. 15 second cooldown

This is to serve as an anti-burst option compared to Bone Plating's anti-DPS. Is useful on squishy champions against burst playstyles and useful against tankier champions when faced with a lot of tank-busting.

• Chrysalis Removed

This rune is too dominant and kind of pointless. It gives an early advantage that turns into a different advantage for already winning and/or snowballing. We are removing it because we believe its design is not healthy nor appropriate.

Vitality

Will consist of sustain based runes.

• Second Wind
• Heal: 6 (+4% missing HP) >>> 8-14 (+4% missing HP)
• NEW: 10 second cooldown
• NEW: Taking damage that would put you below 20% HP will increase the heal by 100-200% (based on level) over 5 seconds instead. Max heal is 24-42 + 12% missing HP. 90 second cooldown.
• MOVED from Resistance

While it is very strong, it is too strong when combined with item sustain or natural sustain, making it a pointless effort for people to make trades. Instead it will work less often but will have opportunities to have massively increased effectiveness and give it different windows of power. Was moved from Resistance because it is a sustain rune.

• Revitalize

• None

• Font of Life

• CHANGED: Healing now works on yourself, but at 50% effectiveness.

• MOVED from Strength

Can now be used on yourself as a simple usability buff for champions who are not always with another player or for champions who have a lot of CC. Moved from Strength because it is a sustain rune.

Inspiration

For the most part this tree is fine. We think the reason this tree is chosen less often than the others is because flat damage buffs are simply more valuable than any utility this tree can provide. As a result there are very few changes in this tree because we believe the tree as a whole would be more attractive if damage was lower across the board.

Keystone

• Glacial Augment

• None

• Kleptomancy

• None

• Unsealed Spellbook

• None

Contraption

• Hextech Flash-traption

• None

• Magical Footwear

• None

• Perfect Timing

• None

• NEW: Storm Relic

• Every 6 minutes, starting at 3 minutes, gain a Storm Relic in your Trinket Slot. The Storm Relic acts as a regular ward, but has double the health. Allies who step within 150 range of the Relic gain a shield that blocks damage equal to 10% of their max HP for 3 seconds. While the shield holds, Allied champions who are within 400 units of each other gain 25 movement speed. Allied champions can only gain this bonus once per Relic.

Intended to give your team small moments of power when utilized effectively and to serve as a deterrent for the other team, making them consider their own battle power before making hasty decisions.

Tomorrow

• Future’s Market

• None

• Minion Dematerializer

• NEW: Caster and Melee minions who are killed by a Dematerializer grant double gold.

To make it a more attractive option.

• Biscuit Delivery

• None

• NEW - Hallowed Defense

• While you or your corpse are within 400 units of a tower, that tower gains a 150-450 (based on level) point shield. The shield will start to decay by 15/sec, 10 seconds after leaving the shield range. Your corpse will stay on the field for 45 seconds longer even after you have respawned, and you can use Teleport on it. When the shield is destroyed it goes on a 45 second cooldown.

Another way to outwit mere mortals by setting times of defense and allowing you to play around with positioning and being able to gain an advantage by being pushed under tower.

Beyond

• Cosmic Insight

• None

• Approach Velocity

• NEW: Gain movement speed toward any movement impaired champion.

This rune is very underwhelming because if you are CC'ing the champion yourself then you are already sticking to them, and even if your ally is CC'd, you will not always run toward them. This change will allow it be used as a follow-up tool to your allies' engage tools.

• Time Warp Tonic
• None

#Closing Remarks

Although some new damage runes were added, the effects are more targeted and noticeable, rather than just being a blanket buff to all of your damage. The amount of utility is massively increased and this should allow for much more interesting builds and play styles to emerge. One of the highlights of the changes is the Wildcard Rune. Allowing you to take an 7th rune could be extremely valuable as it allows you to take whatever rune is effective for whatever situation, whatever rune best suits your playstyle, or whatever rune synergies well with other runes, items, or abilities.

If you are confused on what some of the runes do, just ask, I can re-explain them in more detail, as well as give the reasoning behind all of the changes. Would love to have CONSTRUCTIVE criticism so we can make tweaks and re-evaluate the changes as needed.

SELFISH PLUG: In addition to the Rune changes, my brother and I are also working on the item system. I made a post yesterday about a rework to that changes it from a Crit Burst item into a brief window DPS boost item. Feel free to check that out as well.

Edit: KRYONIK SELFISH PLUG: "If a rioter sees this....PLEASE ADD DORAN'S DAGGER, the one from the preseason teasers."