On Shen, his problems, his strengths, discussion on fixes (cont. from aatrox thread)

Disclaimer: This is an alternate account I'm using to avoid preconceptions.

I've seen some discussion on Shen and ways to improve him, strangely on an Aatrox discussion here: http://boards.na.leagueoflegends.com/en/c/gameplay-balance/alR9fGRR-can-we-replace-aatroxs-ultimate-steroid-with-an-aoe-fear

I think it's actually a simpler problem to fix than people think. His main issue is energy, and in the past, he required nerfs because some aspects of his kit made him too strong. Both these problems can be fixed by moving some of his abilities to be more conditional, like his health regen (examples below), and others to be more controllable, like his energy refund (again, examples below). You can accomplish this simply by moving some abilities to different parts of his kit. Below is an example kit that experiments with different gating and counterplay mechanisms than he has now, while keeping the numbers relatively the same. (Credit to much of this goes to the wiki.) Bold for new, Strikethrough for removed

• Ki Strike: STATIC Cooldown: 9 Shen's next basic attack drains 10 / 15 / 20 energy and deals bonus magic damage equal to 4 + (4 × Shen's level) + (10% of Shen's bonus health) and restores 10 / 20 / 30 Energy. Every basic attack reduces the cooldown by 1 second, up to 2 seconds while Feint holds.** If Shen kills a unit with Ki Strike, he restores 10 / 15 /20 (+ 1.5% Shen's maximum health) hp over 2 seconds.**

• Vorpal Blade; Range: 475, Cost: 60 energy, Cooldown: 6 / 5.5 / 5 / 4.5 / 4 Active: Shen throws a blade at the target enemy, dealing magic damage and marking them for 5 3 / 3.5 / 4 / 4.5 / 5 seconds. Shen and allied champions that damage a marked enemy will heal over 3 seconds, with the duration refreshing upon subsequent damage. Basic attacks and single target abilities by Shen and allies reduce the cooldown of Ki Strike by 0.5 seconds If Vorpal Blade kills the target, Shen heals for 33% of the normal amount instantly. the cooldown of Ki Strike is reduced by 2 seconds. Magic damage: 60 / 100 / 140 / 180 / 220 (+ 60% AP), Heal: 6 / 10 / 14 / 18 / 22 (+ 1.5% Shen's maximum health), Instant Heal: 2 / 3 / 5 / 6 / 7 (+ 0.5% Shen's maximum health)

• Feint; Cost: 50 energy None, Cooldown: 9 / 8 / 7 / 6 / 5 10 / 9 / 8 / 7 / 6 Active: Shen gains a shield that absorbs a certain amount of damage. The shield dissipates after 3 seconds if not already destroyed. While the shield persists, Shen's basic attacks reduce the cooldown of Ki Strike by an additional 1 second (2 seconds total). (See Stand United for Feint interaction) Shield: 60 / 100 / 140 / 180 / 220 (+ 60% AP)

• Shadow Dash (UNCHANGED)

• Stand United; Range: Global, Cooldown: 200 / 180 / 160 Active: Target allied champion gains a shield that absorbs a certain amount of damage. The shield dissipates after 5 seconds if not already destroyed. After 3 seconds of channeling, Shen teleports to the allied champion. Passive: If Feint's shield is broken before it dissipates, Shen gains 10 / 20 / 30 energy.

This concludes my example model. TLDR: I moved the heal to a more conditional position to allow more counterplay, increased the cd of feint, but removed its cost and gave it energy refund after level 6 (since blue restores energy and early Ki Strike is inexpensive, I believed reducing his lane bully capacity outweighed the jungle cost), did not change dash, made Ki Strike more powerful with allies via Vorpal Blade interaction and required a choice between both damage to champions vs. sustain rather than being able to do both, as well as giving clear signs of when Shen is at his strongest and a sane strength curve

I fully welcome general discussion about Shen as well as criticism of my idea, or ideas of your own!