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Wards should work like recall (crosspost)

BedderDanu·9/18/2013, 6:44:59 AM·4 votes·1,921 views

Abstract

It's a common point of contention that not only do supports get the least amount of gold, they must spend it on consumable vision because of the innate power it provides, at a cost of the permanent growth non-consumable items provide.

After seeing the latest patch notes attempt to address this problem, I think that there is a better, albeit more drastic, way of accomplishing the same effect that could also permanently solve the support "starved for gold" problem. Change wards to be an innate spell like "Recall"

Implementation

Cribbing from the current setup of sightstone, we create a new ability on all champions

Ward

Place a ward at the target location by expending a charge.
Charges refresh upon returning to base.
You may only have so many Active Wards at a time.
Charges: a/x
Active Wards: b/y

Note, I'm going to use x/y to represent the total number of charges vs the number of wards that can be active at a time. so 2/1 means you have 2 total charges, but can only have 1 ward active at a time.

In this setup, you can't buy wards at all, of any kind. This completely removes the gold sink from the support/jungle class. Instead, each champion starts the game with 1/1 and the ward skill (or 2/1 if that winds up working better, but I would think that would be too much free vision early game).

There are still ward producing items, but they are updated to reflect the new skill.

Unique: Ward Refresh - Grants an additional 4 ward charges and 2 additional Active Wards.

This would update your ward skill to 5/3

One potential update would be to the power of the explorer ward skill, which may instead grant you 1 additional ward charge. Of course, this could remain unchanged and still work perfectly fine.

Clairvoyance would work fine as it currently is as well, but it could also be tied into the new ward system in multiple ways.

Reveal target location for 5 seconds. Restore all ward charges

or

Place a ward at target location. Consumes 1 ward charge and the ward takes an Active Ward slot.

These, of course, are examples, and no attempt has been made to truly balance the setup. Note that skill number 2 is supposed to be to ward what teleport is to recall.

The next biggest change would be to Oracles Elixir. While it should be able to be left alone and function just fine, I think the new system allows for a much better implementation that greatly increases the engagement of warding.

Oracles Elixir

Sightstone (950g) + Emblem of Valor (650g) + 400g = 2000g

Health: 200
Armor: 20
Unique Aura: Nearby allied champions gain 10 health per 5 seconds
Unique Passive: Ward Refresh - Grants an additional 4 ward charges and 2 additional Active Wards.
Unique Active: Vision Wards - For the next minute all wards placed are vision wards that reveal invisible units. If an enemy ward is destroyed within range of your vision ward, the active time extends 15 seconds and the cooldown is reduced by 30 seconds. 4 minute cooldown.

Note: The ability is only up for a minute, but the wards placed last for a full Vision Ward duration.

This would really add a significant reward to hunting down enemy wards, as well as would increase the value in placing wards in unique spots.

Conclusion

I know the above numbers aren't balanced yet, but changes on this scale would need play testing to really get right. However, this gives Riot more levers to balance support items with. Supports get to feel increasing power through buying ward items, instead of consumable vision with minimal power increase. Vision becomes easier to balance (for example, start the game with 3/1, but wards only last for 1 minute, for example). And finally, all items finally fill the same purpose: increasing power and utility as a reward for smart play.

http://forums.na.leagueoflegends.com/board/showthread.php?t=3648348

12 Comments

The Lord Impaler9/21/2013, 7:48:59 PM3 votes

Good to see we finally got a Red to reply, but I must say I'm sad to see Xelnath make the same mistake that half the people in GD make when he reflexively assumes this is a simple proposal for MORE vision, nothing could be further from the truth, vision can go up or down in quantity independently of this kind of redesign (BedderDanu you really need to emphasis this more as it is just so easy for people to miss this point).

What we have here is a splitting of one 'balancing handle' into two. With Consumable wards all that you can change is the cost of vision duration with currently runs at 1 gold per ~9 million unit-area-seconds ((1110^2) x PI x 180 / 75). With Danu's system you for the first time have a cost to the maximum vision coverage at any one time and it should be a High cost. And a separate cost to maintaining duration of vision now arises from the maximum number of charges, the cost to increase that maximum and the opportunity cost of returning to base to refill them.

Let me post some of my item ideas from the original thread. The goal is to force an equal amount of personal growth to occur when people spec into vision, to make items desirable to more roles and generally have more cool effects trigger around warding. Sight-stone's effects are an un-named unique and every ward increasing effect on items it builds into are likewise un-named so you can't stack sight-stone but you can upgrade it and then buy another to enjoy both effects.

Sight-stone: 375 gold, Increases placed ward limit and ward charges by 1 each.

Odin's Eye: Sight-stone + Amplifying Tomb + 300 gold (1110 total cost), +25 AP, Increases place ward limit by 1 and ward charges by 2, Unique Passive: Each of your placed wards gives you +5 AP

Mace of a thousand eyes: Avarice Blade + Sight-stone + Pickaxe + 650 gold (2700 total cost), +45 damage, +30% Critical Strike chance, Increases placed ward limit by 1 and ward charges by 3, Avarice: gain an additional 3 gold on kills, Insight: gain an additional 2 ward charges on champion kills and 1 on assists or upon destroying an enemy ward.

Rock of Ages: Philo-stone + sight-stone + 250 gold (total 1325): Increases maximum placed wards by 1 and maximum ward charges by 1. Grants nearby allied champions +7 health regeneration and +9 mana regeneration per 5 seconds. Unique: Every 90 seconds you gain 1 ward charge.

Bejeweled Vestments: Spectre's Cowl + Catalytic Protector + Sight-stone + Cloth Armor + 400 gold (total cost 3675): +450 health, +300 mana, +45 Magic Resistance, +25 Armor. Increases placed ward limit by 1 and ward charge limit by 1. Unique Passive: Upon taking damage from an enemy champion you regain 30% the health lost over 10 seconds plus an equal amount of mana, +10% per active ward (Maximum 60%). UNIQUE Passive - Valor's Reward: Upon leveling up, restores 1 ward charge, 150 Health and 200 Mana over 8 seconds.

RiotXelnath9/19/2013, 8:54:51 AM2 votes

There's probably some value here in making wards more accessible. However, I do not feel that simply adding more vision without addressing the other problems surrounding the system.

I do appreciate your points tho:

  • Warding is a high demand thing that is often at odds with personal growth
  • Warding only on the support is too much of a burden
Doc Thulhu9/18/2013, 4:49:18 PM1 votes

I am not sure granting everyone free vision is the way to solve this problem. Riot really needs to examine the itemization (or lack thereof) of supports and build sightstones into other useful items.

As for elixirs, I feel that they are fine the way they are. They cost enough that the price keeps them from being spammed by everyone while still being easily obtainable by the gold starved support.

I would propose they perhaps the sightstone should build into 2 separate items. One granting the owner HP/MP regen and the other providing gold per second.