@Repertoir An Idea for Jungle buffs

You've been talking quite a bit on the jungle recently in one of the threads on the front page, and I would make a response, but, I think this warrants a thread of it's own......so here we are!

I don't think the problems you guys have with the jungle are clear speeds, and healthiness of junglers when they gank..........instead, I believe it actually boils down to both Red and Blue buff.

Remember when Dragon was changed right after the Visual Update for SR went out? It went from nothing but a gold producer to its Pre-elemental form. You guys did this to make taking dragon far more interesting, and able to be useful in all stages of the game. Elemental Dragons were than added in order for Dragons to have an even larger impact on the game.

I believe that Red and Blue buff pose a similar problem to what the old, old dragon posed. They are nothing more than stat bonuses that make junglers SUPER dominant in the early game........but almost useless come mid to late.

So...this is what I would suggest:

• First, move the current stat bonuses that each buff gives to the jungle items. Hunter's Machete would get Red Buff's health regen, and Hunter's Talisman gets a buff to it's mana regen, and some CDR.
• The upgraded jungle items would get both, albeit both stats would be considerably weaker than what the buffs currently provide, since the junglers would have them all the time.
• These stat bonuses would only be available in the jungle (and possibly in your own base), similar to how Hunter's Talisman works, so as to avoid laners abusing the items. That said, this would make junglers disproportionately strong in the jungle, and weak out of it. So, you could possibly add in a passive that grants the stat bonuses after a certain time limit (say 15 - 20 minutes) for a period of time after killing a jungle creep.
• Then come the changes to the buffs themselves......and I believe Red Buff is already almost there. Increase the damage the burn does, and also increase either the slow or slow duration (I would recommend the slow duration). To make the buff even more interesting, however, I would also recommend adding a unique passive that blows out a ring of fire, and applies the burn and slow to every enemy around the jungler after they use an ability. This passive would have a cooldown of maybe a minute, so as not to make Red buff OP.
• As for blue buff...it's a bit more tricky since right now it gives nothing more than stats. However, I figured that since Red Buff is already quite naturally offensive......why not blue buff be naturally defensive (this makes sense thematically, since you're killing a stone golem)? Give blue buff a regenerating shield (like Targon's old passive) that has a set smount (it would be the same on anyone who uses it). While this shield is active, anyone who attacks the user gets reduced attack speed (similar to how Warden's Mail works). If this shield is to break, it explodes, providing a very small knockback in a generous area around the user (the explosion will deal no damage).

All of these changes would not only make both buffs FAR more interesting and fun to use, but should also give you plenty more levers to balance jungle correctly. We don't need to nerf or buff the clear of junglers, or the stats on jungle items.......we just need the jungle to be more interesting than it is.