Let's talk Galio (rework hope discussion)

Sorry if this is in the wrong place, the moderators can move it to where it belongs then if they must.

Okay, let's talk about Galio and his upcoming rework in 2017(hopefully). With this I'm going to lay out what works about Galio now, both lore and gameplay, and then offer a couple things I'm hoping for with his rework. If any Rioters see this, feel free to confirm or debunk anything I say.

Lore

Galio's lore seems simple in concept but actually gets a little convoluted.

Galio was made by a mage named Durand to be his personal guard while his other enchanted stone golems went around protecting Demacia from Noxian threats. Eventually though the Noxians caught up with Durand and killed him, making Galio despair and stay as a still statue over his corpse for who knows how long. Eventually a little Yordle carrying a crown came by and thought Galio was apparently a statue and stayed for a little to rest before going back on her journey to Demacia. Galio saw this and thought about his original purpose and decided to follow her and start protecting Demacia once more.

What works is easy here; enchanted gargoyle protector. The rest is just extra talk that distracts from his entire purpose, Galio is meant to be a protector but failed and now after so long is going to start protecting again. The little part about the Yordle doesn't even work anymore as it was from Poppy's old lore that was changed with her rework. So honestly, ditch everything else about his lore and start over with a new and better lore. Just remember to focus on how Galio is a magic gargoyle for safety.

Gameplay

Passive - Runic Skin Galio gains 50% of his Magic Resist as Ability Power.

This is great. This works wonderfully. From a lore standpoint and a gameplay standpoint. Lore-wise, it makes sense that a protector would need to be able to defend and repel the danger, so he would need some strength and defense. In game, this means building his MR to tank the enemy AP characters also lets him in turn repel them easier with his own power. I like the idea of a character growing more offensive as they get tankier. Taric, Rammus and Malphite all have armor scaling with some of their damage, so an AP/MR variant is a nice and healthy touch. This also leads to lots of healthy and strategic gameplay choices as opponents now have to work around the strong scaling Galio has against their AP. Above all else with Galio's rework; THIS NEEDS TO STAY.

Q - Resolute Smite Galio launches a decent sized orb of magic that damages and slows on hit.

From a lore perspective, this ability seems okay. Nothing wrong with the protector having a way to fight back. Nothing special about it. From a gameplay standpoint though, this ability has good scaling and great late game damage. The only problem with it is its terribly high(comparatively speaking) mana cost that makes it very hard to spam in fights or even in lane without things like a Rod of Ages and blue buff. The slow tends to be the more important stat to this ability in the early game but it definitely can use some love here. Perhaps lowering the damage and mana cost to allow it to be used more? Or maybe allowing the slow to also scale with AP and not just the damage? And that's if the spell is kept and not removed entirely for something different.

W - Bulwark Galio shields himself or an allied champion, granting them Armor and Magic Resist while also healing himself for a portion of the damage taken

Starting with the lore perspective again, this ability works. Partially. Galio being able to shield another makes sense from a lore perspective. He's a guardian, of course a shield would be on his kit. However, healing himself for the damage the shielded person took? That makes no sense from a lore perspective. From a gameplay perspective, again the shield part makes perfect sense but the healing doesn't. Correct me if I'm wrong but I get the feeling that the heal was originally tagged on to help Galio survive and lane against opponent harass. My suggestion for this ability is to remove the heal entirely but buff the shield. Perhaps allow Galio to shield himself and nearby allies like a mini-Locket or Karma ult-E effect. Or perhaps make it similar to Redemption in that he aims it at an area and then all allies in that area receive a shield. I like the idea of Galio having a move that grants a shield but I feel it can be made stronger.

E - Righteous Gust Galio sends out a gust of wind straight ahead, dealing damage and speeding up all allies that walk over the target area.

This ability just works altogether. From a lore standpoint, speeding up allies to save them or speeding up himself to rush in and protect them makes sense. And in game the ability does just that. The damage on it is nice late game but this ability should be used more for the speed boost. When reworking this spell, I say take power away from the damage and put it towards the speed boost. That's where this skill really shines. Team-fighting? Give your tanks a speed boost to run right to the enemy back line. Getting caught out or losing the fight? Give your team an escape route to run away like a proper guardian should. Keep it a line skillshot but increase the speed buff, this ability works great.

R - Idol of Durand Galio sits down, taunting all enemies around him to attack him. After a short delay he makes an explosion of power damaging all enemies for a set amount plus a portion of the damage he just took.

This ability is strong and it works greatly. Lore has him as a protector and forcing the enemy to focus him means his allies aren't getting hurt. Gameplay this ability is amazingly strong when landed correctly. The problem with it lies in how easy it is to counter or break. Any CC or silence shuts it right off without damage and that can break an entire fight off and get him killed. Also, a lot of the time a Galio player can use this thinking the damage reduction it grants will keep them alive and then die mid ult. For this ability, my suggestion is to keep its effect as an AoE taunt as is but make it harder to kill Galio during its casting and make it so that once cast its harder to turn off. If damage needs to be reduced to allow this then fine. Galio is supposed to be a protector, an ult that forces opponents to focus him will allow his allies to run or kill during it, which should be its purpose all along.

In conclusion, his passive is perfect, his E and R could use some tweaks while his Q and W need stronger reworks and his lore can be entirely redone. With the changes I suggested for his W, E, and R it may push him more towards support than mid but I feel that's okay since he's meant to be a guardian. As long as solo lane Galio is still somewhat viable it should be fine. I hope you all agree and that some Rioters working on Galio can see this and comment on it. Thanks for reading.