[Ideas] Pre-season change(s)
With the pre-season coming i think it's time to take a better look at Poacher's knife the black child of the jungle enchacements.
Purpose of the item is very simple:Counterjungling
Pro(s):It gives bonus gold(+20) upon killing a large! monster in the enemy jungle after smiting it.And gives a little speed boost to get away(This is not that important in my opinion but can be useful) Halves the recharge time of the smite.Now this is the more important part.Because this way you can actually stack buffs really nicely IF you can kill the large monster.
Cons: Compared to other enchancements this upgrade falls short because it telegraphs what you want to do the same way as Kindred's passive markes a large monster. Also it isn't useful in your own jungle.THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT. It's a huge risk to take this upgrade as if you fail you fall behind even more unlike with other upgrades.
Ranger's Trailblazer:Grants really nice sustain.Can be used on either side of the map. Skirmisher's Sabre:Offers combat stat in a DoT.Also reduces incoming dmg from smited champion.Really good for duels.Useful every time. Stalker's Blade:Offers a true dmg nuke with built-in slow which is great for skirmishes and teamfights.Again useful every time.
However Poacher's Knife isn't useful every time in the game.It's only useful IF you can counterjungle BUT wards are used quite a lot thus it's usefulness gradually reduces as the game goes on.Sure early game you can snatch 1-3 large monsters but then?
The concept of the item is not BAD per se however it needs to be backed up by something that differentiates from the other upgrades while being useful even when behind.
My idea(s):
- Give it an active that gives the same ward as the Farsight Orb with reduced placement range.The range either increases or not based on level,numbers of killed enemy large monsters,etc.There is a lot of lever to build in. This change would make it safer to counterjungle while still being useful when behind because of the vision it gives.Giving it a regular ward probably would be too much.
2.This is not an active rather a passive.Buffs last 20% longer than usual when you have Poacher's Knife.By buffs i mean every kind of buff large monsters can give.Of course this is just a number which can be adjusted.But make sure it doesn't stack with Runic Affinity though junglers don't spec into utility tree afaik. This change would amplify the buff stacking aspect of the item however it would give an interesting choice about what you really want based upon the state of the match. More buff duration for ganks and objective control but with a risk,better dueling tool,all around useful true dmg nuke with slow or more sustain?
Other change that should be tested is a rather big and impactful change to the map layout:
Basically both at baron pit and dragon pit create a gap in the wall on the other side as well(there would be two gap on both pits within the same size and mirrored placement as of the current ones)to make them more contestible along opening up new routes for junglers as well as improving general movement on the map.It could also possibly solve the slight advantage that one side has.