Rune Rework Idea
This will be my first ever post, so I hope this comes out comprehensive enough. My second attempt, because I posted in the wrong subsection [zombie-brand-facepalm]
And its gonna be long, so be in it for the long haul. [slayer-jinx-unamused]
So why runes of all things.
The idea came from a youtuber that talked about the state of runes. Got me thinking about it, and noticed that the concept of runes was very linear and static. Have often checked in the past the runes that players of high elo used, and have often mixed and matched runes available for my own characters. Noticed that almost all of the runes used were very similar, and can be used with basically any champion of the same type (such as mages, assassins, or tanks). The runes used were essentially the best in their field, find out which gave the most and use that rune every time. There is almost no variation in the runes that get used or thought once you learn which give you the most for each rune. I wanted to recreate the system to be more dynamic, choosing one path over another. In other words, tailoring your runes specifically towards the champion you would be playing, or playing against, or towards the overall team composition.
First would be to eliminate the choices between the runes, and create designated slots for each rune type. For example, instead of deciding whether to use marks, seals, or glyphs for increased AP, there would only be AP marks for its designated category. My reasoning for this change would be that the majority of the players that would use AP runes use the runes that would give the most AP. An argument can also be made that this method would restrict players who would want to play with a full rune page of the same type, such as a full AP rune page. As a way to work with that method, players would be allowed to place runes aside from their designated slot but with reduced effectiveness. This plan is to allow for players to still freely choose which path they take, but still follow the pattern to weighing the pros and cons.
Another change would be towards the categorization and the number of slots available. Instead of the three minor categories being marks, glyphs, and seals with 9 slots available each, and the major category of quintessence containing 3 slots, there would be a total of four categories (offense, defense, utility, and resource) and a replacement of quintessence with alterations with 3 slots, one for each type. With the changes being made to how runes will be categorized and with the addition of more categorical runes, the addition of types needed for runes is necessary. The increase in the number of slots for each type is more of an aesthetic change. Having a total number of slots changed to 10 makes it easier on the player to know exactly the total change they will have before purchasing any runes.
On the list below is some of the specific runes and effects that I have come up with. The list is by no means balanced and are just preliminary ideas, and keep in mind that the names are fundamentally just placeholders. It is also not a complete list as I continue to have more ideas on potential runes and effects.
Offense
Some minor stat changes to the basic runes for the changes in the categorization
AP – 1.5AP AD – 1.0 AD Scaling AD – 3.0 AD at 18 Scaling AP – 4.0 AP at 18 Attack Speed – 1.5% Attack Speed Crit Damage – 1.5% Crit Damage Crit Chance – 1% Crit Chance Life Steal – 0.5% Spell Vamp – 0.5%
Potential New Runes
Increase CC (stuns, snares, silences, slows) – 0.05 sec (Runes are specific to spell [q,w,e]) Effective CC – When affected by CC in the last 0.05 sec, gain 15% tenacity for 0.5sec Basic Attack – Basic attacks reduce Armor by 0.1 – 0.5 (depending on level) for 2 sec (stacks 5 times) CS – Killing a minion restores 1HP and 1Mana (10sec CD) Structure – 0.5% Structure Damage Reversal – 0.5% Damage based on missing %HP
Defense
Some minor stat changes to the basic runes for the changes in the categorization
Armor – 1.5 Armor Scaling Armor – 8.0 Armor at 18 MR – 1.5 MR Scaling MR – 7.5 MR at 18
Potential New Runes
Tenacity – 1% Tenacity Conversion – 0.1% of damage taken by champions is converted to bonus Armor and MR for 4 sec Bonus Armor – 0.5% increase Bonus Armor Bonus MR – 0.5% increase bonus MR Group – 0.5 Armor and MR for each nearby ally Shield – 1.5% AD from Bonus Armor Cloak – 1.5% AP from Bonus MR Armor Expertise – 1.5% MR from Bonus Armor MR Expertise – 1.0% Armor from Bonus MR
Utility
Some minor stat changes to the basic runes for the changes in the categorization
Armor Pen – 2.0 Lethality Scaling Armor Pen – 3.5 Lethality at 18 Magic Pen – 1.5 Magic Pen Scaling Magic Pen – 3.0 Magic Pen at 18 Hybrid Pen – 1.0 Armor Pen/0.75 Mag Pen CDR – 0.5% CD Scaling CDR – 1.5% CD at 18 Gold Gen – 0.5 Gold / 10sec Movement – 1% Move SPD Exp Gain – 1% Exp Gained
Potential New Runes
Store – 0.5% Store Price Ability Redux – 0.5% CD (unaffected by CDR cap) (ability specific [q, w, e, r]) Recall – 0.2 Sec Recall Time Assist – 2.5 Gold on Assists Loot – 0.1 Gold when damaging an enemy champion (5sec CD) Miner – 5% Gold Generation
Resource
Some minor stat changes to the basic runes for the changes in the categorization
Mana – 11 Mana Scaling Mana – 25 Mana at 18 Health – 10 Health Scaling Health – 30 Health at 18 Mana Regen – 0.5 Mana Regen / 5 Sec Scaling Mana Regen – 1.5 Mana Regen / 5 Sec at 18 Health Regen – 0.5 HP Regen / 5 Sec Scaling Health Regen – 1.0 HP Regen / 5 Sec at 18 Energy – 3.0 Energy %Health – 1.5% Health
Potential New Runes
Mana Cost – 1.0% Mana Cost Energy Cost – 0.5% Energy Cost
New: Alterations With how summoners and item choices seem to be with most players, I find that my decisions are basically the same every time. Each role that I play have their own set of items that I buy every time I play that specific role. The champion that I play doesn’t do much to impact the item choices. I believe that adding and/or changing item affects and summoners will create a more dynamic playstyle, where players choose summoners and items tailored to the specific champion that they have chosen as well as reacting to their opponent’s choice. The other intended effect is to allow more items and summoners to become viable and used. On a side note, for the ones with replaced effects, it would be replacing one or more of the original effects. I have not written whether all of the effects would be replaced or not, nor have I placed effects that will not be overwritten. The additional effects are as implied, and just added effect.
Summoner Alteration
Replacing Effect
Cleanse – 1.5 Sec CC Immunity Exhaust – Armor and MR Reduction Take additional 5% increased damage Clarity – Reduce your mana cost to 0 for 5 sec
Additional Effect
TP – 2 Sec Channel TP – 20% decaying Move SPD over 2 Sec Ghost – 15% Slow Resist Over Duration Flash – 0.5 Sec Spell Shield Smite – 50 Gold for Smiting Large Monsters Smite – 1.5% Damage from Jungle Monsters and Epic Monsters Barrier – 10% Damage Reduction over Duration
Trinket Alteration
Replacing Effect
Sweeper – True Sight
Additional Effect
Ward – Increase vision range of all wards by 25 Ward – +1 Ward Charges Ward – 15 Sec Ward Duration Ward – 10 Sec Recharge Time Farsight – 1HP on Ward Sweeper – 15 Range Sweeper – 3 Sec Duration
Item Alteration
Replacing Effect
Banner of Command – Aura: +15% Atk SPD and +10% Damage to Towers to Minions Death’s Dance – 5% of damage taken is converted as a decaying shield over 1 sec Face of the Mountain – Passive: executing minions store 50% of their HP / Active: Shields for 100% of stored HP for 4 sec and heals for 15% of Damage Taken Liandry’s Torment – Passive: Upon taking lethal damage, revive as a specter for 3sec Mortal Reminder – Passive: Upon taking lethal damage, revive as a specter with 15% Atk SPD for 3sec Randuin’s Omen – Passive: When hit by basic attacks, place a damage debuff on the attacker, reducing damage dealt by 3% for 1.5 sec (stacks 5 times)
Additional Effect
Banshee – After blocking a spell, gain 20% tenacity for 2 sec Frozen Heart – Active: Silence nearby enemy champions for 1 sec Thornmail – Passive: When hit by basic attacks, reduce attacker’s AD by 5 for 1.5 sec (stacks 3 times) Warmog’s Armor – Warmog’s Heart: Excess HP regen is stored as a shield up to 10% of max HP
And that's about it for now. If this idea holds interest with you, I would be open to comments and suggestions and would love to discuss them with you.
