Some suggestions on how to tweek the Summoner Spells (Flash in particular)

I had 2 things I wanted to say to a Rioter's PBE post , however since I am not part of the PBE I am not allowed to post there, so I will just leave it here..

An ideal sentiment - though I think that ideal would be cooler, if again, the summoner spells actually synergized at all in ways that didn't immediately make the gameplay super dull. Imagine running Ignite and Exhaust simultaneously with Flash. Don't get me wrong, It is more choice. However the actual gameplay of it is: You die and you can't do anything about it. Ideally, I'd like more spells like Flash - creative spells that can be used for a wide variety of purposes.

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(A)

Let's face it, without the "instant blink" the player looses A LOT of options, knowing when and where to use Flash can be a game-changer. So there is no meaningful choice by giving people the possiblity to have 2 summoner spells if one of them is always going to be flash. Many champs require flash to be played effectively (Annie, Jarvan, Lee Sin, Skarner, etc.) and even those who don't need it still find a lot of use into that spell. I can only think of one champion to whom flash is not a must (Singed), and he still could be benefited from the spell (flash+fling).

With that in mind, I don't see why incoporating flash into every champion normal kit would not work. I have heard from some other Rioter that "flash as an individual skill would be difficult to include in the HUD", which I can understand. However, the same was true for trinklets and now they are a core element of LeagueOfLegends. I can see the same happening to flash if done with care.

How would this change work? Well, I can think of a couple of options...

1. Allow players to pick a single spell for each match. (pretty much how it works today with very few exceptions)

• Allow for two spells, but add new ones and add some restrictions. Divide Summoner Spells into different categories (disruption/defense/utility/etc) and allow only one SE from each category. This would ban people from stacking Summoner Spells from the same category. (like exhaust/ignite)
• Each Summoner Spell has 2 effects, an "strong effect" and a "weak effect". Before the match players pick one of each category. Suddenly, the mid laner can have an weaker version of smite to help him farm or camp the wraiths, or the ADC have a mini-cleanse that gives him 20% tenacity for 3 seconds.

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(B)

The problem is that a lot of the Summoner Spells have very passive, akin to steroids. After all, you don't need any skills to activate Ghost or Clarity and gain a passive buff. Let's see what works and why...

• Flash:- It creates a lot of newer possibilities and gives low-mobility champions the chance to lane without being obliterated by the enemy jungler.

• Ignite/Exhaust:- Have to be used at close range from an enemy champion, and bad timing can leave you without good defenses.

• Heal/Barrier/Cleanse:- Similar to Ignite/Exhaust, they have to be used at the precise time to avoid death.

• Teleport:- You need a lot of map awareness to know where and when to use this spell. Bad timing can mean loosing an objetive or even getting kill. The fact that it can be dennied with CC gives it further counterplay.

• Smite:- It's usually used on the jungle where there is little player interaction. Besides, it adds a lot of tension thanks to smite battles between jungles for big objectives. (buffs/dragon/baron/etc)

With that in mind, the best idea would be to create similar situations for the other spells...

• Ghost:- I know the spell is called ghost due to it's ability to ignore units collision, but how about allowing the user to become invisible? You can cast it twice, the first time you get a bonus move speed. The second time you loose the speed but you gain stealth+silence for half of the remaining time. So, if the spell lasts 10 seconds, you can use the move speed for 4 seconds, then re-activate and use the stealth+silenced for 3 seconds. This would be ideal to allow champions to escape or sneak into enemy territory. Besides it would be great for initiating with tanks like without being destroyed Garen. The silence is to avoid abusive plays by mobile champs.

• Clairvoyance:- This spell has already been replaced by the trinklets and wards. Even if they didn't exist, it still provides very little counterplay by the enemy team. Similar to how you added a mini-ghost into heal, I think the best option here would be adding a mini-exhaust into clairvoyance. It reveals an smaller area than it does now, but it also does 2 new things: (a) Reduces by 15% the movespeed and attack speed of the enemies affected (b) Non-epic monsters revealed gain 20 magic/armor. Now you can disrupt the enemy jungler and use it on lane for something other than scouting.

• Revive:- Far shorter cooldown. Works only when killed by an enemy champion (not by monsters, minions, turrets or pets). To add playability, it has to be used a couple of seconds BEFORE dying (think Zilean's ult), and surviving gives you TWICE the normal cooldown. Would work fine for champions likely to get camped.

• Clarity:- I have no idea, mana hunger is not that common on League anymore. Tear of the godess, Chalice of Harmony, Blue buff and Baron buff already got it cover. Maybe allowing you to reduce the cooldown of your spells? (akin to Zilean's rewind) See your enemy cooldowns? Gain additional AA damage based on your current AP? (similar to ziggs/lulu/orianna) I have no idea here, sorry. :/

And for some of the spells you removed...

• Promote:- Transforms a minion into a pet which grows stronger each minute it stays alive (up to a 5 minutes cap). You command said pet with the same key you used promote. This allows you to easily freeze a lane, deny one minion worth of experience from the enemy laner (which in early game can be a difference), tank the jungle, attempt an early game push, use the minion as a ward, use the minion as a meat shield for CC, etc.

• Fortify:- Now it's kind of redundant, but something similar to Azir's passive would have been great as an alternative to fortify.

• Surge:- My best guest here would be to do something similar to red-buff, in which hitting an enemy champion with an skillshot/AA reduced their move-speed and did damage over time. That way the enemy would still be able to retilate, but they should be careful.

• Rally:- Has 200 HP and can be used to block skillshots. After activation, the flag will reduce the damage of all enemies close to it by 30% as long as it remains standing. It gives the enemy meaningful choices (shoudl I run, attack the enemy champions or the flag?) while providing situational utility (spell blocked) and general utility (damage reduction).