After Meddler's words on TP

After Meddler's words on TP in the most recent Gameplay Thoughts, some people have been wondering if TP is going to be reworked, or removed, and a few have been extending that to Flash as well, even though Meddler's comments didn't even suggest as such.

His exact words are as follows:

> {quoted} > > >

• Looking at TP, and chilling effect it has on the game in many cases, both in pro and regular play. Things like how it makes it harder to fight and meaningfully win in top lane, increases risk of aggressive play in bot (don't so you don't get TP flanked), leads to periods of 'wait until TP is up before trying anything late game etc.

So, in response to this, I'm going to make a small dissertation on how removing TP, (And Flash) would be, at least in my opinion, very detrimental to the game.

We'll start with Flash.

Removing Flash means greatly reducing the mobility of a very large number of champions, many of whom would be near-on completely useless without it. I could be wrong, but it certainly feels like that would be the case, to me at least.

For example, let's look at the Fighter subclasses.

Juggernauts, who are among the slowest, and most telegraphed of all the champions, would now lack any way of getting on those capable of kiting them. Mages, Marksmen, and even some Assassins would be able to run circles around them even more than they already do. Granted, Kiting is intended to be the main form of counterplay to a Juggernaut, and a person who commented on one of my Juggernaut discussion threads put it this way...

"The juggernaut subclass is well spread over the regions of the game and they are all different thematically, yet all give you exactly that feeling of being a living fortress. Something that slowly comes after you and your only way to survive is to run. (aka kiting)" - SatomiKun

Without Flash, Juggernauts are now completely screwed, as even if they were able to use their very limited CC to catch a target, that target could just respond in kind and use their CC or escapes to get right back out of the Juggernaut's reach and the Juggernaut would be right back where they started. The same could apply even when factoring in the bonus effects some of their items grant ( / Rage passive, Gradual MS boost, Active Slow, etc.) as the target could have their own bonuses from their itemization that could render the Juggernaut's bonuses useless.

So just Flash alone being gone screws them over the hardest. I'll get to TP below, but let's look at the other Fighter subclass and how removing Flash could affect them; namely, the Divers.

Divers, who are also part of the Fighter class, would not have quite as hard a time, as they usually have one, to sometimes two abilities that could be counted as a dash, leap or blink, depending on how you look at it. But once used, that ability often has a long CD, and it is used to do exactly what the subclass name implies: DIVE, often right into the center of the enemy team in hopes of disrupting or distracting them enough for the rest of the Diver's team to follow up and turn the fight in their favor.

Once that Diver has used their "Diving" ability, they are left to their own devices. Sure, they might have a Slow, a Stun, or some other form of CC on another ability, whether an ultimate or not. However, aside from using Flash, they have no other way of getting in (Or out, as the case may be) once that "Diving" ability has been used, unless they manage to win the fight. Divers usually have a more balanced build than Juggernauts: Juggs commonly only need 1 offensive item and can go full tank afterwards, while Divers oftentimes have to be more balanced, or a roughly equal mix of offense and defense, depending on the enemy comp. The same idea of adaptability for one's build applies to Juggernauts for the enemy comp, but it's usually more forgiving as Juggernauts have higher built-in defenses.

In summary of this point, Divers aren't as bad off as Juggernauts are, but they aren't in much better position either. Once again, I'll go over how the removal of TP would affect them below.

Now let's try another class/subclass: Mages.

For most mages (Whether in a subclass or not) Flash often acts as an escape when all other options have failed (Such as using one's CC to repel the attacker or attackers, as the case may be). So this would make them very susceptible to Assassins, or rather, Slayers (Who are considered Mage's natural predators anyways) who use their slipperiness/high mobility to avoid a Mage's CC or damage. This could even make them susceptible to Fighters and Tanks, though that is less likely given the fact that Fighters/Tanks lower overall mobility makes it harder for them to close the gap when not factoring in blinks or dashes like Flash or even their kit's CC.

So for Mages, removing Flash makes them pretty much completely unable to outplay a smart Slayer/Assassin. This might not be exactly how a Mage/Mid lane main might put it, as that class and role is not my area of so-called expertise (I'm a Top Lane Main), so if any actual Mage mains want to correct me, feel free to do so.

Now let's move on to TP, to start, we'll go back to Juggernauts. Or actually, for a broader sense, let's say top-lane in general, as that's where most, if not all Juggernauts go, as well as some Divers, and members of other classes/subclasses are seen, and it is where TP gets taken as a Summoner Spell most often. (Like Tanks, Skirmishers, a few Assassins, etc.)

For the last few seasons, Flash and TP have been the bread-and-butter summoner spells for top-laners. Flash was your get-out-of-jail-free card (Not sure if that's the exact right way to put it, but whatever), and TP made up your map pressure. It's often said that Top Lane is an Island. This can be considered very true, as it is the furthest place from where a Jungler has their most success (Mid, and Bot, where Dragon is located). So Top-Laners are often going solo, and any failures or successes are on the head of the person playing top-lane. YOU were (And largely still are) responsible for your lane's success. Sure, you might get a gank here and there from the JG, but their main focus is going to be where the important stuff is, down on Bot lane. So, TP (When you took it) made it possible to extend your influence to the other lanes, at the cost of a long CD, and depending on how things were going, some minion waves or even your tower, if things go bad. If a fight was going down bot, or mid, and there was a good place for you to TP in from (Such as a well-placed ward), you could use it, and if you timed it right and then played your cards right after arriving, you could turn the fight in the favor of your team. That's where the 4 to 5-man bot thing popped up.

Removing TP makes Top lane even MORE of an island than it currently is. It would probably come to the point that neither toplaner would EVER see their Jungler, much less get a gank from them, considering the unreliability of Rift Herald as an objective, and the lack of influence that helping the toplaner would give them, when Mid or Bot lane could make for MUCH juicer opportunities.

I know my dissertation, if one could call it that, on TP is shorter than the one for Flash, but I hope I've gotten across how, at least in MY opinion, removing these two Summoner Spells could be VERY detrimental to the game.