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Spellvamp Item Theory/Discussion/Suggestion

Killzerz·10/10/2014, 8:35:20 PM·1 votes·882 views

Spellvamp has been a heated topic of late, and I would like to open this discussion up for anyone here interested in said topic.

Some of the issues that Riot employees have stated currently are:

  1. "I agree that Spell Vamp is in a terrible spot and something should be done - even if that something is to destroy it entirely so that we don't make false promises to players about what kind power they can acquire in game because it'll be suboptimal for almost every character."
  2. "Layering it behind an active adds the fact that most players won't be able to use this effect, so it'll most likely feel weak to the average player."
  3. "Granting 40% Spell Vamp, knowing that most burst mages are AoE and some burst mages are ST is completely off - as Annie will get 1/3rd of the benfit as Leblanc for no good reason - even though their burst patterns are ideally the same."
  4. "What should burst mages give up to gain sustain, as many of these characters are balanced to be fragile but able to unload a massive payout fairly quickly. If they give up too much, they're no longer burst mages and this item will be horrible on them."
  5. "The answer to 'why not' is always Akali."

In summary: Spellvamp needs help or removal. No actives. Problem with AoE sustain vs. burst sustain (one is better in lane, one is better in teamfights). Burst mages become juggernauts due to high damage and good escape patterns. A good item probably would be bad with Akali's playstyle but good on other playstyles.

My thoughts and goals:

  1. I think that there would be a greater diversity in toplane if there was a good spellvamp/sustain item to build Hextech into.
  2. This item can't be good for burst mages; it must be strong for sustained damage mages. Think Vlad, Diana, and Mordekaiser.

Items - So with that, and how Riot is organizing preseason:

Innervating Locket Amplifying Tome + Amplifying Tome + 330 gold (1200 gold) 40 AP UNIQUE Passive: Every time your spell hits a target, you gain +200% health regen for 5 seconds.

Zhonya's Keepsake Seeker's Armguard + Innervating Locket + 640 gold (3000) 80 AP 60 Armor UNIQUE Passive: Every time you use a spell, you gain +300% health regen for 5 seconds.

I prefer this honestly. Simple, clean, you get what it does. Provides sustain in lane while being an AP item with a bit on tankiness on the side.

What do you guys think? About spellvamp and how the new season might change everything?

3 Comments

Duke Anax10/10/2014, 9:59:57 PM2 votes

If spellvamp was bad on burst mages then you shouldn't be able to get lifesteal on burst assassins either.

Personally i think the biggest problem for spellvamp is the the discrepancy between AoE and ST spells. The best solution I see, is to scale the AoE recuction to the number of targets actually hit.

So using the AoE spell on a single target would give full spellvamp, then 2x0,6, 3x0,45, 4x0,4, 5x0,35 (actual scalings need testing of course

Killzerz10/10/2014, 8:38:37 PM1 votes

Riot also stated that spellvamp wasn't on defensive items because they wanted bursting you to be an option, but I don't see too many Vlad's going full AP without grabbing Zhonyas, Rylais, and Abyssal and even SV. So I disagree heavily with the point that spellvamp can't be put onto a defensive item; I just think it should cost a lot so laning is still interesting.

Another idea:

Zhonya's Wand Hextech Revolver + Seeker's Armguard + 640 gold (3000) 80 AP 60 Armor 15% Spellvamp UNIQUE Passive: Additional spell's damage to a champion (2 second internal cooldown) reduces your spellvamp on that champion by 50%, stacking 2 times (100% decrease in spellvamp at 2 stacks).

Was another idea I had, but I think the item I outlined in my first post was better.