Thoughts on new Taric, and suggestions
I played a lot of old Taric, and have been playing new Taric almost exclusively since his rework. Here are my thoughts:
I like Taric's new passive, it seems to blend well with his identity as a tanky damager that provides utility. I prefer the new passive because it is unique, rather than being a permanent Sheen. Temporarily boosting attack speed is an interesting twist, and reducing cooldowns falls in line with what old Taric players are used to.
Taric's new stun is far more fun to use. When it combines with Bastion, it's even more so, and it's unique. Taric's ability to twin cast off his Bastion link is the new defining trait for him, and I find it's an engaging experience. Picking/changing Bastion targets mid-teamfight is an interesting and strategic choice for Taric to make, and I welcome it. It's also great to have a stun that you can co-operate to use to great effect. Once you pop your stun with the right angle, having a teammate line it up to lock down additional targets is great. Taric's new stun is the crown jewel, it takes some skill to use effectively, and it synergizes with the rest of his kit. A Bastion-empoweed stun is new Taric's signature move.
The biggest thing I feel the rework got wrong is the removal of Taric's "radiant" attributes, I thought they were integral to his identity, and it's surprising they were cut. His old W was the armor-scaler and armor shred aoe. I considered this to be old Taric's defining ability. It was the one thing that Taric could do, that other supports could not. Taric could scale armor with the best of 'em, but he alone could cleave armor off foes without building Black Cleaver.
The 'radiant' aspect of his old ult was also fairly defining. Taric's old W was an aoe armor buff, and his old ultimate was a temporary aoe steroid field. I felt as thought Taric's identity revolved around aoe stat boosting, and a ranged stun. With Taric's new ultimate, and the loss of armor cleave, his identity is different, and far more generic. Taric now seems like a hodgepodge of other champions.
New W is similar to Malphite's, and Taric's new ult is like a combination of Kindred and Kayle's ultimates. His new Q is similar to Alistar's E heal, it just cools down faster with auto attacks rather than unit deaths. His new ult is the weakest link, and by far the most underwhelming ability. It's just not unique, and I feel League is starting to get crowded with abilities that make champions invulnerable.
Overall I'm enjoying Taric, as I always have. I feel like Taric's relationship with armor stats (passively granting to teammates, cleaving off enemies) is sorely missed and was old Taric's signature ability. His new ultimate is tricky to use, and not quite in line with what I was expecting, nor as interesting as his old ult. I always considered Taric an aura-based champion, and that seems to have been tweaked in both good and disappointing ways.
Suggestions on tweaking the rework
One of the designers mentioned in the Q&A that a prototype design was that Taric could flip between an offensive/defensive stance. I feel like this may have been a better direction, especially with his W.
- Scrap his ult and put Bastion as his R, available at level 1 (like Karma's ult). This would give Taric the 'reflective' unique identity right away.
- Rework the W into a version of the old one. The passive could be toggled with an active armor shred aura or ability.