New warding trinkets/vision items/ward timers/ward debris: A discussion

I have mixed opinions on the changes to warding. Some of them I really like, but most of them I feel have had a negative impact on my gameplay. I main top lane and jungle around high silver-low gold elo, and the upgraded stealth ward trinket was one of my favorite item updates in the game. I'd pick it up as soon as possible as both a top laner and a jungler, and I'd be dropping wards for the remainder of the game. Anything under around 23 wards in a game was low for me, and I felt that this was something that gave me an edge over most opponents at my elo. It was also a major way in which I helped the rest of my team, since I would drop wards for my laners, as well as early deep wards to help keep track of the opposing jungler and buff timers. I would ALWAYS have 2-3 wards on the map at all times, as well as a pink ward, and this habit of vigilant warding really helped me and my team in all of my matches. However, with the new warding trinket this is not very viable. Sure, pink wards are now 1 CS cheaper, but the warding trinket is garbage. It's now impossible to have 3 stealth wards on the map without having either a Sightstone or both the trinket and a Tracker's Knife, and the wards only last for 60-120 seconds, as opposed to 180 seconds for the old stealth wards. I'd even be alright if all wards only lasted for the 150 seconds that was introduced this season, but I could still reliably keep 2-3 wards on the map.

I understand that Riot wants to make warding more accessible to all payers. But all this did was hinder players who already had good warding habits. Warding is an integral part of the game, and this move helped people who were bad at warding while simultaneously hurting people who put gold and effort into it. I would really like to see the return of a 250 gold upgrade on the warding trinket, with all the previous stats (recharges every 60 seconds, holds up to 2 charges) and a 150 second timer on the wards themselves. This would allow players who ward vigilantly to continue to do so, while still allowing players who don't feel that wards are worth money to have more free access to warding.

I feel like ward debris is in the same vein, as far as reasoning and problems. Last season, coming up with creative spots for wards that opponents aren't likely to sweep was another thing I excelled at. There are some spots where you kind of have to put wards, (mid lane brush, deathbrush, the intersection at blue buff, etc) and those still got swept regularly. But some areas, such as directly in front of raptors, between destroyed outer/inner turrets in mid lane, or the back side of the wolves camp, all gave great information and were not likely to be swept. I like the idea of being able to learn the warding patterns of an opponent, while having to change up your own patterns to keep your wards from being swept, but I also feel like this is hindering players who have good warding habits, while helping players with poor warding/sweeping habits. Ward debris is far more useful to players who don't keep track of their opponents or their warding than it is to players who put in the effort to pay attention and know where their opponent likes to ward.

In other news, I do like the addition of the Tracker's Knife. I feel maybe it would be better if it could hold 3 charges once upgraded to a full jungle item (while still only holding 2 charges as a tier 2 item), but I really like the options for junglers to have access to reliable warding and sweeping without needing to buy a Sightstone, at the cost of not upgrading Smite.

In addition to that, I LOVE the new Sightstone upgrades, especially the support item/Sightstone combinations. I play very offensive supports, and so freeing up that extra item slot has been very helpful for me. I also appreciate the Ruby Sightstone upgrades, which still rewards support players who build multiple items with actives and utilize them effectively.

Feel free to comment with additional thoughts, agreeing or disagreeing. I just wanted to share my thoughts on the new warding systems and get some insight from other players as well. IGN Das BrotatoChip (BrotatoDestroyer was my old IGN)