Can We Get Another Look At Vision?
I was trying to write some kinda witty preamble but I'm just going to jump right into it. If you haven't read it yet, check out Willbachbakal's "Another Look At Vision" where he outlines some of the vision problems plaguing this game as of the start of season 4. I disagree with the direction Will would take things, but his analysis is pretty solid, IMO, and still holds true even with Season 6 upon us.
Anyways, here we go. TL:DR at the bottom.
I find Riot's designs for vision... frustrating. Don't get me wrong, I'm loving the new 'Eyestones', the trinkets are cool, and even the Raptor and Wolf smite bonuses and Skuttle 'shrine' (that we've had since season 5) are all steps in the right direction. Unfortunately, Riot has yet to address the relationship between true sight and stealth, and I cannot fathom why.
With so many cool and unique items granting awesome passive and active effects, it is a crying shame that there are practically none for true sight or stealth. To add insult to injury, the items that do exist function as hard-counters. There is no 'telegraphing', no projectiles to dodge, no activation delays - if you have the appropriate item you can wreck a subset of champions at instant speed, provided you have the mental wherewithal the use it in the heat of the moment, which isn't hard.
Also, consider that there is no counterplay inherent to stealth. Even if you know where that ward or Teemo is, if you don't have a Pink or upgraded Red then you can't touch them. Likewise a Rengar, Shaco, and Twitch can stealth as they run through half the enemy team to safety. And Vayne, too, can Tumble right on top of you without penalty. This is the opposite of organic gameplay.
Not all is lost, however. Riot is making progress, albeit slowly. The best thing that they've done, so far, is Rek'Sai's Tremor Sense. This kind of ability is unprecedented in League, as it gives information without providing targetability. Red trinket, too, just got some fancy new particles that act as detection. These are incredibly powerful effects, but then, so is stealth. The game needs more of these abilities as they are, on the whole, better for stealth that true sight.
The game also needs more sight-denial abilities. I'm talking about things like Graves' Smoke Screen, Nocturne's Paranoia, and Tahm's Devour. More effects that limit or reduce a target's vision range (and remove their shared sight) are necessary for the health of the game. Such effects would act as a psuedo-stealth, providing invisibility (and, subsequently, untargetability) in a different functionality. When stealth is no longer the only 'sight-based trickery' that player's must contend with, the game should become much more fun (hopefully) while requiring more skill and prediction, and reducing the need to rely on wards for info (tho they'd still be the best way of attaining it) or as a immediate answer to invisibility.
That isn't all that needs (or should be) done either. The champions with stealth need some kind of_ ability quirks_ or interaction with true sight. These would (ideally) be nothing more than QoL and utility buffs - exactly what the Juggernaut and Marksman updates gave to their respective champs classes. That way, even when true sight does come into play (and I do believe it should), they aren't completely gimped by it.
The goal here (what I would like to see from Riot) is to give players options when it comes to gaining information. Just like you build for the situation, and spec your champion your way, and pick champs based on the matchup, having variable options where none is strictly better than any other but situationally more appropriate is crucial to the health (and longevity) of the game.
A Summary:
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More Ward variety, please. Offer different types of wards with different quirks and functionality, to supplement the trinkets. They all do the same thing more-or-less (provide information) but how they execute on that is different. For example, bring back the 'Mandrake Ward'. Personally, I'd call it the 'Snitch'. It is invisible, has 3 health, grants no sight, can be placed anywhere, and pings whenever an enemy champ comes within it's range. Costs 50 gold. Lasts X seconds. Easy.
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Quirks and compensation for stealth champions while under true sight. For example, Evelynn's Dark Frenzy could have a clause for when she is seen under true sight. Maybe DF's cooldown is reduced in some way, or her MS boost is larger? Anything would be nice. Also, points for thematic flavor?
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Introduce more pseudo-stealth effects. This would take the pressure off of stealth, hopefully. For example, Teemo's blind, rather than guaranteeing all autos 'miss' for a certain duration, instead could reduces target's vision to X (maybe melee range?) Potentially more counterplay, more room to outplay for the opponent, and less frustration? Likewise, his shrooms, explode in a 'poison spore cloud' that deals DoT (like Singed and Cassie), rather than how they currently work (applying the DoT to you) which is frankly BS.
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Audio cues and 'tell-tale' signs on invisibility and stealth. For example, Rengar's ulti SFX. Good job, Riot, I'm proud. Now consider Shaco's traps (which already cackle upon placement) playing music if you are with X range of them. More can be done here. Maybe Twitch has 'skittering' sounds accompanying him?
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Alternate forms of detection. The design space here is largely unexplored! For example, we could have a 'x-ray' vision-like effect, an 'aura-awareness', or even 'smell' (what's that Warwick? Your nose somehow grants sight of units you smell but if they become invisible they are odorless? Yeah, that is weird, I'd get that checked out...)
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Some real (legendary or mythic-tier) items that grant true sight or invisibility. This way, everyone can have fun playing with vision! Ideally, these would be items for supports to help their allies. For example, Eleisa's Miracle: +Stats. Unique Active - Sanctuary: Target ally gains becomes invisible for X seconds, immune to true sight and totally undetectable. They cannot cast spells, use abilities, or attack during the duration. Also, bring back 'Twin Shadows' in some form.
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Inherent counterplay for stealth. We should be able to see stealthed champs if they are right on top of us or vice versa. Positioning is important for everyone, it should be doubly so for stealth! Highlight godly players from the mere mortals!
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(!Bonus!) Make the trinket key toggle between two inventories. One for major items, the other for trinkets, pots, wards, etc. I cannot imagine this happening, but I think it would be cool and I can dream can't I?
In Closing (TL;DR):
Change the relationship between sight, true sight, and stealth into a Rock-Paper-Scissors-Lizard-Spock dynamic by introducing more vision-denial and detection effects, rather than the current True Sight > Stealth > Sight.
Why is there no love for stealth? Hasn't this kind of topic come up before at Riot HQ? What is the rationale behind letting stealth linger in such a torpid state for so long? Are their plans for more detection abilities? What about the role of summoner spells in the vision game?
Wait. Don't answer those questions just yet. Ask yourself this one first:
How can League have come so far and learned so much from it's predecessors, only to have true sight and stealth virtually unchanged from DotA? Riot, please.
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