Rift Herald is almost never taken

DeusVult·Apr 2, 2017·41 votes·3,078 views

Its exceedingly hard to take and doesnt give a buff except to one person, which is only usable if you are going to splitpush.

But if the reward was changed to something that helped the team that got it in a more concrete way...

The team that kills Rift Herald gains the buff "Glimpse of the Void" which is active on all five players on the team that takes it until the 30 minute mark. Glimpse of the Void grants 15% increase damage to Baron and Baron deals 15% less damage to the recipient.

Suddenly Rift Herald goes from an exceedingly hard to grab, incredibly niche buff, to one where teams would more readily look to take and fight over it, as taking it would lead into furthering your mid game advantage, or allowing you to take a desperation baron if you are behind.

24 Comments

Moooose3Apr 2, 201721 votes

They're reworking rift herald already I believe.

And you don't want a buff that's sole purpose is to help you take other buffs lol.

So while it does need a rework, this would not be a good one. In my opinion.

It is healthy as a splitpushing buff, but it's just really not strong enough to take at the moment.

Asayake 5150glowApr 2, 20173 votes

{quoted}

They're reworking rift herald already I believe.

And you don't want a buff that's sole purpose is to help you take other buffs lol.

So while it does need a rework, this would not be a good one. In my opinion.

It is healthy as a splitpushing buff, but it's just really not strong enough to take at the moment.

But Mountain Drake's sole purpose is to take other objectives like Barons, other Drakes, and towers...

Moooose3Apr 2, 20175 votes

Agreed, but there are many differences between that and what you are proposing:

Mountain drake is objectives in general (most notably turrets) not just one specific objective like you are proposing with just baron damage. The turret part is the main reason that you get this buff, the baron damage is more of a bonus. In my eyes.
Drake respawns and becomes more valuable the more you take it.
Mountain drake isn't the only drake that can spawn it's just a 25% chance of this happening.
Most of the time you will be taking baron when the enemy team is already dead, so the extra damage honestly isn't all that important.
Dragon is on the bottom side of the map.

6SfoolApr 2, 20172 votes

Ever since the "First blood" post, when a rioter commented just how much of a difference it makes, I make sure to grab it. I give it to the team's juggernauts and assassins. If you have a sustain champ it's not hard to take while the enemy top is low, and it's incredibly hard to steal because it takes teamwork to kill.

OMGSoAnnoyingApr 3, 20175 votes

I run with a guy who plays a lot of Tryndamere. I get it for him whenever I can. He goes from Usual Split Push Trynd to "You better send three people to kill me or I own your base" Trynd. Every. Single. Time.

That, or he becomes "I'm on the hunt... for your jungler... in his jungle, because now it's my jungle" Tryndamere.

Fondling GemsApr 2, 20171 votes

Whats sad is I have been playing on a side account to help a friend get into the game. He recently hit lv 18 and got his keystone. One game later I had to explain what the weird bubbly shriek echoing across the map was for the first time. Kinda sad when that is how infrequently it is taken.

3TWarriorApr 3, 20171 votes

lol, you could change it to a 5% damage reduction to reduce some of the crazy meta damage and then suddenly even the pros would be jumping for it

It Hertz When IPApr 3, 20171 votes

They would because (AFAIK) %DR is the most valuable stat in the game.

3TWarriorApr 3, 20171 votes

I mean, why not? go after rift herald for surviving the lane phase and then when baron procs, he's for sieging

also, lol, I was downvoted with 5% damage reduction only means 100 damage if they do 2000 to you. people the mastery passives already give 9% bonus damage and 5% more at most if the opponent is below 40%

MatezoideApr 3, 20171 votes

It is because Rift Herald is a cute, innocent """""monster""""" that does not deserve to be bullied for vision.

If you hurt the poor thing, you don't have a heart!

Teridax68Apr 3, 20171 votes

One of the core current issues with Rift Herald is that the monster and its buff contradict themselves: you're not going to be able to take it down unless your team is organized enough to lend you a hand, but the buff is useless to any player who is thinking of working with their team in the next few minutes. The Glimpse of the Void rework proposed in the OP would certainly provide a more useful buff, but one that still doesn't really offer any sort of immediate benefit, and certainly nothing that justifies the very large time and resource cost needed to clear the camp.

Personally, I think the Baron buff could be changed a bit and partially split up: if the Baron buff were purely focused on better pushing power (e.g. its current minion-buffing aura, or even extra minions down the lanes), then the Rift Herald could be made to permanently halve the killing team's recall timers upon its death, which would give them a huge rotational advantage around the mid to late game. Alternatively, killing the Rift Herald could spawn some monster minion down the lanes to give the winning team more opportunities to rotate, while the enemy is forced to defend their structures. In the end, though, killing the Rift Herald should have an impact on the whole map, not just one lane, and as long as it remains in its current state, both top lane and the camp itself will remain far too isolated for their own good.

ChickenWrapApr 3, 20171 votes

Excuse me, I quite like taking Rift Herald alone as Shaco and then using it to make up for the lack of my early/mid-game strength by giving me enough damage to compete. Thank you very much.

OyddAWqJ5rApr 3, 20171 votes

I take it literally every game. I main Yorick and Aatrox and both can solo it at level 6 (Yorick w/ ult, Aatrox w/out).

crippler38Apr 3, 20171 votes

isn't it fun when you use herald to take baron too? Or can yorick not do that anymore?

ImaSpacePotatoApr 4, 20171 votes

I think you're thinking of Mordekaiser? Yorick's ult summons the maiden. Mordekaiser gives you a "ghost" of the champion that you kill under the ult's duration. It works on dragons, not sure about Herald.

OyddAWqJ5rApr 4, 20171 votes

He meant use Yorick with Herald buff to take Baron (with ult ofcourse). It's a thing.

OyddAWqJ5rApr 4, 20171 votes

Don't think so. Could come close but I'd prefer atleast 1 ally be present.

crippler38Apr 4, 20171 votes

I remember back when yorick was first reworked I could solo baron if I had max ghouls and at least a triforce I believe.

Acheron16Apr 3, 20171 votes

When Rift Herald was introduced: active is like a pseudo-Statik Shiv, dealing decent damage both to single targets (good for dueling) and AoE (good for pushing).

Rift Herald buff after Riot changed it: deals some magic damage after charging up. Literally the epitome of meh.

yoshi2790Apr 3, 20171 votes

I don't think they need to change much about the buff itself.

Rift Herald just has way too much hp.

Maximum MordeApr 3, 20171 votes

Too much risk not enough reward. It's totally worth it to steal and kill whoever is trying, but not worth enough to try and take it in the first place.

HawkefireApr 3, 20171 votes

{quoted}

Its exceedingly hard to take and doesnt give a buff except to one person, which is only usable if you are going to splitpush.

Not only that, but it is entirely possible to deny the buff because it will expire if not picked up.

So if you do end up taking the rift herald, then die immediately after taking it (either because you stole it, or because the enemy caught wind of what you were doing and engaged on you), then you end up with no buff and no real gains.

A FLUFFY BUNNY 1Apr 3, 20171 votes

I always try for it around the 17 or 18 min mark. Usually by then I'm strong enough to take it and its just good enough to give me a slight edge.

just OK junglerApr 5, 20171 votes

Sounds like a terrible idea, dragon is still better to take, I think the reward should be as effective as dragon buff. For example the person the picks up the buff should deal increased damage to towers and make their minions in the lane have more health.