Giving Sunfire Cape a PURPOSE
It's gotten to a point where Sunfire Cape is a garbage item. Up until recently most tanks were still taking it because what else are they supposed to take? But I just looked through some champion analytics and I just saw that almost none of them are building it now. That is a huge problem. That is an entire item that tanks used to find useful but now have a hard time justifying. The goal of the tank update was to lower tank damage while giving tanks more tankiness with a better focus on CC, not to just gouge sunfire cape, remove health from most tank items, buff ADCs, and then call it a day.
So here's what I suggest. A rework. Sunfire Cape needs to have a strength and a weakness, and that strength sure as hell isn't going to be wave clear (something pretty much all tanks are innately born with the ability to do). I have a two different ideas. The first one cements Sunfire Cape as a damage item that helps a tank out by rewarding them for successfully staying on a target long enough, but doesn't give tankiness. The second suggestion supplements a tank's ability to help win teamfights in a way that doesn't involve squatting on the ADC while they play deathball with the other ADC, but doesn't give damage.
My first suggestion is a 4 auto trigger passive. Every successful basic attack afflicts the target with a stack of Solar Flame. Upon attacking a target with 3 stacks of Solar Flame, unleash a small nova that deals 38 + ( X% Armor (Does not count armor from this item) to all nearby enemies, and slowing the target by 25%, decaying over 2.5 seconds. (Enemies near the center take full damage, enemies hit by the edge of the Nova take 50% damage)Solar Flame stacks fall off after 2.5 seconds if a stack has not been applied within that time
This iteration rewards tanks for doing what they used to do, picking a target and sticking to them so that they either run from you and aren't doing damage in a team fight, or are picked off by your team. People might argue that 38 seems too high for a starting base damage number. That's on purpose, as the AOE damage over time is now gone, leaving much more power budget open for Sunfire Cape to have. Normal it takes a tank 4 or more seconds to get off 4 autos. Compared to Sunfire Cape today, that would be 44 damage just from the base damage, for just sitting on top of somebody and doing nothing. This version forces you to EARN that damage, and rewards you when you do. I purposefully made it not scale with its own armor. If that makes the item too weak, that can be removed. The stacks fall off every 2.5 seconds so that a tank can't just rush this and then zone the other guy for the rest of the laning phase. A tank will actually have to choose wisely the time to go in for a trade.
The next iteration I propose is an active effect Unique Active: Supernova: Your champion begins to continuously draw in energy, slowing champions and minions/pets running away from you. After 3 seconds, you reach critical mass and the energy is released in an explosion that slows all champions around you for 50% (decaying over 3 seconds) and shielding you for 65 + 35 for every champion hit by Supernova.
This iteration does literally zero damage to champions and minions, but makes up for it by giving you a very impactful active ability that rewards you for being in the middle of a fight. This Sunfire Cape would embody being a tank. Absorbing damage, and applying CC. This is a Vanguard's item. I kept the shields minimal because I don't want abuse cases where tagging one person automatically gives you like a bazillion health.
I hope other people think these are reasonable reworks, and if you don't, tell me why and we can improve them to make them feel more fair.
tl;dr: Read the damn thread. You can skim it for the reworks without reading the rest, but if you actually care you should read it all