Champion Mastery: A Gateway to Implementing Champion Specific Perks?
TL;DR: Implement champion specific perks into the Champion Mastery system. Raise the mastery cap from 5 to 20 or something and as you gain mastery levels with the champ, you unlock 5-8 interchangeable perks (you only take 2-3 into the game) that augment the champion's kit in some beneficial way. Please read the full post to get the big picture...I know it's a lot, but this idea has potential.
The main thing I wish would change is that they need to add a new dimension to runes and masteries to make builds more unique to each champion. I think that the new champion mastery system is the tool they can use to give even more specialization to each individual game if the more you play a particular champion and gain mastery levels with it, you unlock certain champion specific perks to their kit or whatever and maybe once you hit a max champ mastery of say 15 (or what-have you, it can be whatever level) you choose anywhere between 2-3 out of 5-8 champion specific perks each game to either emphasize a distinct advantage that champion has or compensate for a particular weakness the champ has in an unfavorable matchup. They can be relatively minor perks, but it adds an extra level of champion customization and mastery between each individual game. It can even alter the way a champion builds their items, at least a little bit. Just something to make each game with the same champion an even more unique experience and that adds a new depth of strategy/specialization and customization/creativity.
Furthermore, with this kind of incentive to play a particular champion to unlock their perks, it'll encourage summoners to play those champions strictly in normal games for a long time before they take them into ranked to maximize their competitive potential. Thus, many players will have played potentially dozens, or hell maybe even near a hundred games, to get all the perks before they go into ranked and as a result gained sooo much personal experience with that particular champion and in turn making the competitive scene a lot more fierce with the dedicated players having played SO many games to truly learn the in-and-outs of their preferred champion. The shitty, non-dedicated players will still get stomped on, and it'll even emphasize the experience and skill gap between two players because if one is inexperienced on the champion they are playing then not only will they be relatively crappy with the champion, but they will also not have the benefit of the perks, which the other player who is maxed Champion Mastery will have an even greater edge on them.
Granted, this would impact the learning curve a bit, but what if the perks can only be used in ranked? Thus directly stating that "ranked is not for the casuals, it is for the experienced players that want to compete and want to win" so the casuals playing ranked will get phased out of the gene pool and stick to normals (where you can still gain Champion Mastery levels from, just not use the perks you unlock with it).
Honestly I think this would open up a brighter future in ranked gameplay because if you have reached the maximum champion mastery level, and thus unlocked all the perks, by that time you should have played SO MANY games with said champion and gained pure experience under your belt, which is more valuable than the extra perks you'd be getting at the end of it. This would raise the skill level in ranked and indirectly limits the game mode to only those who are truly dedicated players, otherwise you risk getting stomped on by everyone else who has their mastery perks unlocked.
Although the main problem with this is that it'd delay many players from entering ranked because to be effective at ranked gameplay you need to have AT THE VERY MINIMUM around 10 champions you can play well across every single role, which will be extremely unattractive to most casual players to play that many games across that many champions. But that is the point isn't it? Ranked is for the competitively dedicated who are willing to put in all those games to maximize their potential with all of their champions that they take into ranked.
This may also bring even more diversity into the champion pool because people may pick up champions with the perks that will make them competitively viable that never get banned because they aren't ever played; so to make your time efficient you master the champions that you don't have to worry getting banned from you. Perhaps this is something they implement for Season 6??? :D Rito Please???????
I'd like to see this idea expanded on. What other problems might this system bring about? What sort of perks are we talking about? (I am thinking along the lines of providing additional or slightly changing the functionality of the champion's abilities or even sacrificing an ability's utility for extra dmg or vice versa) What's a good progression system to gain these perks (like are all of them unlocked at max mastery, or should one be unlocked every few levels?)
