So, Bard Discussion

VentusDragoon·Feb 24, 2015·4 votes·17,951 views

Put a link to the reveal page in case anyone hadn't seen it yet.

Anywho, I'm honestly just curious GD, what do you all think about the newest support? What kind of questions and ideas do you have for him? I can see many things being brought up about him, and I'm honestly curious what you all think.

Some of the things I was thinking was...

Will Bard's ult have any effect on Dominion Turrets/Any Mode Nexus/TT Altars?
As it is-- Bard's E seems to be literally useless on Howling abyss, due to the lack of walls outside of the stage limits.
A lot of people are asking, how often will the little chimes appear? They seem to be close together in the video, but I notice suddenly no more appear.
What roles can this guy do? He seems like he could be an EXCELLENT jungler (free experience just for doing what you do anyways? OP.) and could work as a roaming mid as well. Another thing someone brought up is have Every lane solo-- solo top, solo mid, and marksman bot-- while having the jungler in the... jungle and bard following him around, and going where needed.

So, GD, any thoughts on any of these points/questions or any of your own?

61 Comments

Rabid LlamaFeb 24, 20156 votes

Hey there! I can answer these questions!

1.a. Right now, it **does not ** hit Dominion Turrets (it's cooler to just hit the people channeling, and they serve a very different purpose than turrets on SR)

1.b. It doesn't hit Nexuses (Nexies?) or Inhibitors - there's no reason to hit the enemy Nexus besides trolling, and I like the symmetry on the spell. I'd like to keep it focused on clearer plays, too.

1.c. In general it doesn't hit untargetable things, and there's nothing to hit on the TT altars, so nope :)

2 - I'm interested to see how he plays out on Howling Abyss - he can cut the base wall corners and end up way into the lane, and can jump from brush to brush in the middle of the map. He can flank pretty hard, and might be a big force multiplier for an Udyr or similar. We'll see. Can always up his Chime spawn rate to compensate!

3 - Right now, the chimes show up two at a time about once a minute. Definitely a balance lever, though

4 - That remains to be seen. Jungle Bard is definitely possible, but I'm not sure if it's viable or not. As for double-jungle with a support, his W and E definitely synergize hugely. If that's a thing that happens, I'll be super excited.

BlackSunNocturneFeb 24, 20155 votes

[{quoted}](name=Rabid Llama,realm=NA,application-id=cIfEodbz,discussion-id=OIuxIenq,comment-id=0007,timestamp=2015-02-24T22:05:02.930+0000)

4 - That remains to be seen. Jungle Bard is definitely possible, but I'm not sure if it's viable or not. As for double-jungle with a support, his W and E definitely synergize hugely. If that's a thing that happens, I'll be super excited.

Calling it right now. If Bard sees play in the Jungle he's going to be nerfed into the ground.

Because supports being played outside of their role ( Alistar , Lulu ) tend to get their ankles broken by the nerf hammer.

Wait, Bard doesn't have ankles. Carry on.

VentusDragoonFeb 25, 20151 votes

Thank you so much for replying. -bows-

As for the questions...

1.b. I wasn't thinking of it like that, moreso if you're trying to save your OWN nexus-- say your team got aced, and you're the first alive-- and you need about 10 seconds at most for the rest of your team to revive. Could you delay defeat by putting your own nexus in stasis?

Point 2-- Wow, really? Exactly how far would he be able to jump? Cause if he just went forward, he could go on the southwest wall (right before you leave the base on the ghost side) and go forward, and end up all the way in the enemy team's base. And as for chimes-- they could be real trouble for him, trying to collect them at least, especially if they spawn too far forward, kind of like Zac's blob's flying towards an enemy.

Point 4-- I'd like to see it. Imagine a Jungle Rek'sai with a roaming support Bard-- instead of doing the obvious tunnels, Bard could put a portal through a wall into a lane, rek'sai following through, then using the tunnel as a gapcloser on the person he's ganking. (Thinking mostly top or bot lane, at least.)

CuixFeb 25, 20151 votes

{quoted} 1.b. I wasn't thinking of it like that, moreso if you're trying to save your OWN nexus-- say your team got aced, and you're the first alive-- and you need about 10 seconds at most for the rest of your team to revive. Could you delay defeat by putting your own nexus in stasis?

[{quoted}](name=Rabid Llama,realm=NA,application-id=cIfEodbz,discussion-id=OIuxIenq,comment-id=0007,timestamp=2015-02-24T22:05:02.930+0000) 1.b. It doesn't hit Nexuses (Nexies?) or Inhibitors - there's no reason to hit the enemy Nexus besides trolling, and I like the symmetry on the spell. I'd like to keep it focused on clearer plays, too.

(Emphasis mine) Meaning no, you can't use it on your own nexus/inhib, because everything else about the spell is "friend and foe" and there's no reason to ult an enemy nexus/inhib.

RaptameiFeb 24, 20152 votes

Bard has 2 Dota skills.

Q = Windranger entangle, but a skillshot.
R = Void chronosphere.

Just saying.

SerevasFeb 24, 20154 votes

You mean to tell me that a game was influenced by another game of a similar type? What madness is this?

RaptameiFeb 24, 20151 votes

{quoted}

You mean to tell me that a game was influenced by another game of a similar type? What madness is this?

Difference between influenced and outright stealing 2 abilities and a third that is intended to enable Dota style tree ganks.

VentusDragoonFeb 24, 20157 votes

So every champion that can go through walls is outright stealing Dota abilities? Nice to know.

Dangerous ManFeb 24, 20155 votes

Omg skiddadle little dota fan

SerevasFeb 24, 20152 votes

I'll go down your points and then throw some random stuff in on my own.

I imagine there wouldn't be an effect on any of those things as it could be potentially a complete disaster on any other map. I could potentially see the Nexus, but I think that's probably unlikely.
You're right this would be entirely useless, so that would be quite disappointing to get stuck with, but Riot has always had their large focus on SR, for obvious reasons, so I doubt this will change much if at all.
I'm also very curious, and do they occur everywhere on the map, or exclusively through jungle and river areas. Like would you have them in lanes if you were roaming through?
I could see him working as a jungler, might be difficult due to the lack of damage he's likely to have, but the whole, skillshot that stuns from hitting walls as well as other enemies/minions/monsters, could work to a pretty good advantage, plus with the extra XP from chimes and damage from meeps, he could be the fastest leveling jungler in the game with some pretty solid clear times.. Someone suggested potential for mid and top lane, though I find a hard time picturing him for that just because it's difficult for a solo laner to leave without having pushed your laner out, and Bard is lacking in damaging abilities to do that effectively.

As for my points now.

I actually really like the concept of this "Support" he's going to come out of the gate a little OP, as I'm sure we all expect, but I think he can be very healthy for the game. He'll teach supports how to start roaming and influencing other lanes properly, will force ADCs to not lean on their support like a crutch in place of their own leg, also provides a lot of opportunities for major plays. I would bet he'll walk out with a high difficulty rating, while he seems relatively simple, you have to balance your roams with helping your ADC.

Another thing is that he'll be a support that's actually capable of dealing with minion waves pushing in, with some decent base damages from what I can tell, he'll also have the meeps to make his auto attacks a bit of a pass through skillshot, meaning he'll have some manner of wave clear if his ADC died, and will be able to defend his turret rather effectively if he's been roaming and such like he should. He's going to be a heavy impact support for the entire game, in all places of the game, so it could cause a bit more interest in supporting, but I won't hold my breath on that.

Finally how exactly do the health packs work? Do they stay for Teemo shroom lengths of time? Steath ward lengths of time? Is it a Shaco Box? A Maokai sappling? It obviously says it takes a few seconds to charge, but afterwards does it just hang out forever? How many of them can you have out? Does it operate like a spell with a CD or like a stacking item with a recharge?

I'll admit it's got me curious to try supporting with him.

Dangerous ManFeb 24, 20151 votes

While he seems relatively *Simple

SerevasFeb 24, 20151 votes

ty for the proofing.

KüramaFeb 24, 20151 votes

He E can be casted in the air on HA. Problem solved.

Dangerous ManFeb 24, 20152 votes

I think he's a support, he has a Free Zhonya's effect, heals, movement speed, with only 1 real poke.

VentusDragoonFeb 24, 20151 votes

He is confirmed a support, a roaming one at that.

B3ERFeb 24, 20152 votes

Broken, completely fucking broken. I mean release Thresh level broken. He's gonna come out strong, people will suck with him, get QoL buffs, people will be good with him and he'll have a 58% winrate. Then there will be lots of QQ and he'll have half of his kit nerfed over 4 patches.

VentusDragoonFeb 25, 20151 votes

Well, while his kit seems very good, I can't imagine his ratios (AP wise, at least) will be too oppressively high. Release Thresh (and well, Thresh in general) has a very stacked kit, so he is strong no matter what his numbers. (Unless they like, completely removed the damage from his ult.)

SpecterVonBarenFeb 25, 20151 votes

Eh. His ult, and Q could do no damage and it wouldn't impact him that much, it's only his E's damage being messed with that would likely cause him to take a big hit.

VentusDragoonFeb 25, 20151 votes

Well, even if they did lower his E's damage-- heck, even if they literally removed all damage from his kit, Thresh would STILL be useful simply due to the sheer amount of utility he provides. He has a Pull/Dash that locks someone down for a few seconds, a Shield that can literally save someone from anything, an E that displaces, can be chained easily off of Q>Dash, and counts for Yasuo's Last Breath, and a 99% slow ult in a pentagonal form around thresh-- even without damage, Thresh simply does a ton of things too well.

SpecterVonBarenFeb 25, 20151 votes

Ya, but his E is the only reason anyone takes the Relic Shield line on him which is the only way for him to get sustain in his kit (The one thing it lacks).

VentusDragoonFeb 25, 20151 votes

True. Although, he COULD farm without Flay's passive. It just makes it easier.

ZarxisFeb 24, 20151 votes

Unless Riot gets lazy, it should affect Dominion Turrets and Nexus turrets. It shouldn't affect fountain obelisks.
It might work with turrets and inhibitors... Considering its range, it might be able to link up along the line made by two turrets (or a turret+inhib, or the Nexus). Structures (destroyed or not) count as terrain for abilities like Nautilus' Q; I don't see why Riot wouldn't allow Bard to use his E on them. His E's usefulness on ARAM will depend on whether the portal ends right after the first terrain it goes through, or if the portal actually goes to the end of its range (if there is another bit of terrain to "link" with).
Unknown. Wait for him to hit the PBE.
He might be able to jungle, but he only has two sources of damage (meeps and Q) and doesn't seem to be focused around building auto-attack enhancement items (mainly AD). He might be capable of jungling with his W sustain and Q/meep damage, but it'll probably be very slow. Riot might do something to enhance his primary role— roaming support— if he's just used as a jungler.

I really want to see his on-release skin, and I hope Riot gives him an actual voice instead of copping out by giving him wind-chime noises or something similar.

VentusDragoonFeb 24, 20151 votes

I'm thinking that if he grabs blue and some CDR, he could easily be the fastest leveling jungler in the game.

Think about it. His passive chimes randomly show up just as you're farming the jungle anyways. Start Q, get a good leash, have meeps up every now and then to help the farming. He's pretty much got a vayne condemn (but with a double stun) on his Q, so that mixed with gift of heavy hands, and setting a health pack down before starting a camp can really keep him from taking much damage. As you keep doing your jungle business, farming, ganking, etc, he'll keep getting chimes, which will as well power up his meeps-- making them stronger and making more of them. This'll keep making his jungling faster and faster, but I'm not sure how fast it progresses. (It'll probably work on tiers like with Rengar Bonetooth and Cass's new passive.)

And to continue a bit on that, keep in mind his chimes give him mana, a speed boost, AND exp. Combine that with placing health packs down (when off cd) before doing camps and he'll have practically infinite sustain in the jungle if you play your cards right. Seriously. Devourer enchantment on this guy could be scary.

And about the skin, I'm curious as well. I'm hoping he gets a voice too (And one with character, like Braum or Sion). As for what the skin will be, a lot of people are saying Santa Bard, which would be a pretty easy remodel for him. I'm honestly expecting Riot to do a skin for him based off of the mythology he comes from, or reusing a skin theme from previous champions. (Like Arclight, Dragonslayer, etc.)

ZarxisFeb 25, 20151 votes

{quoted}

snip

He does have a toolset that allows for some interesting ganks and possibly good sustain, but he'll probably be very slow and vulnerable during his first clear. We might be overestimating just how much damage his Q and meeps provide, along with just how much sustain his W and chimes give. Ganking with Gift of Heavy Hands could be strong... If he can afford to gank at level 3/4 without backing first. Devourer might sound good with his meeps, but we don't know how quickly he generates meeps, and he might not have the scalings or natural attack speed to do well by building damage. I'll definitely try it once he's released, but I think we really have to consider who he's going up against in terms of other junglers- Lee Sin, Jarvan, etc. He'll have to clear relatively quickly and sustain enough during his first clear to be comparable to what will be his competitors. Jungle would be a logical place for a roaming-based champion to thrive, but Riot seems to want him to be a roaming support, not a ganker or jungle-farming carry.

VentusDragoonFeb 25, 20151 votes

Like I said, all of what I said was simply speculation, as we don't know his numbers yet. ...I got a rioter comment, holy crap.

SiachiFeb 24, 20151 votes

Although I know nothing of his stats, I'd assume if he were taken into the jungle, he'd have a pretty rough clear: He has one damaging activatable ability, and his passive, while it has an AoE damage function, may not come up often enough.

I'm not sure of the exact mechanics of his Chime passive, so I can't comment on it.

As a support, I think you'd have to be careful with him and his roaming, and if you don't have an ADC that can fend for themselves, or wants to play too agressively, you may not be able to roam at all.

His ultimate... Well, other people have already voiced their complaints on troll potential. Not that I think it's bad ability, not at all, it's potentially a very big game-changer, but the delay on it suggests it'll may be hard to use effectively (You hit R and the tank decides to go in right when you pressed it, etc.). And I'll be honest, I'd love to have a "STOP FOR TWO SECONDS AND LET ME BREATHE PLEASE!" button when things are getting a bit hectic.

VentusDragoonFeb 24, 20152 votes

You know, your last point actually got me thinking.

What would happen if say....

You have Bard, Yasuo, and Malphite on a team (with some other jungler and adc). Malphite ults in, and Yasuo ults-- bard ults during yasuo's ult.

Do all 7 people just kinda freeze there mid ult in midair? It's never been possible to Zhonya's while CC'd before so I'm curious what kind of bugs or tricks this could make.

SiachiFeb 24, 20151 votes

Hmm... I've got a PBE account, might have to convince people to help me see what happens whenever he gets there.

VentusDragoonFeb 24, 20154 votes

I have a PBE account as well. As soon as he comes out I'm going to try my best to bug the crap out of him so I can report anything.

Example:

What happens if you put his portal on the outside of an enemy base gate? Will they be locked from exiting their base from there until your portal disappears?

If a Master Yi/Fiora Q's/Ults before the activation of Tempered Fate, will they come out of their animation and be frozen, or be able to still move since they were invulnerable?

Here's a biggie. Can you Zhonya's to avoid the forced Zhonya?

Can his gates be used to cross the large gap from the Dominion base platform to the lane ahead? (Same with Base>Jungle gap in TT)

If Bard uses Tempered Fate while someone is recovering from Zilean Ult/Guardian Angel/Aatrox/Anivia/Zac Passives, what happens? ESPECIALLY with Anivia and Zac.

I notice there is a travel time when going through portals. Are you invulnerable during this time? (Could you use it to dodge Requiem or something)

If Lee Sin hits someone with a Q, then they go through a portal, will he go through the portal with second Q or just dash straight to them?

What the heck happens if Bard uses Tempered Fate on a Yorick-Revived champion?

What happens if you use Tempered Fate on ANY champion that is currently being displaced? (Being popped up, knocked aside, Gragas ulted, etc.)

What happens if you ult someone Polymorphed by Lulu? Are they stuck that way?

What happens if your ult hits an undead Kog'maw?

Pantheon ults. Bard ults either the jump location or the landing location. What in the world happens?

What happens if you use Tempered Fate on any stealthed champions?

What happens if (hard to replicate but it can happen) you ult a Rengar mid-jump? Or any champion (Kha'zix, Tristana, Aatrox, etc.) mid jump?

What happens if you use Tempered Fate on people currently in Nami's Q?

Can Gangplank cure himself of the Zhonya's, or no since it is not a CC?

What happens if you use Tempered Fate on Zac mid-ult?

What happens if you use Tempered Fate on Lissandra while she is locked in her own ult? Considering hers is a stasis as well?

What happens if you ult Kalista while her soulbound is held by Fate's Call?

What happens if you somehow manage to catch Rek'sai mid-travel during her ult or tunnel passage?

Can champions that ignore CC (Sion with ult, Vi with ult, Nocturne with ult) be hit by Tempered Fate, as it is not CC, but stasis?

What happens if Soraka uses Wish while another is in stasis? (kinda general but curious)

Will spell shields/Morgana's Black shield stop Tempered Fate?

So. Many. Things. To. Test.

Solidair3Feb 24, 20151 votes

confirmed in another thread, zhonya can be used to avoid his ult.

RaptameiFeb 24, 20154 votes

{quoted}

confirmed in another thread, zhonya can be used to avoid his ult.

"To avoid becoming locked in place and untargettable, I'll lock myself in place and become untargettable."

10/10 would counter again

Solidair3Feb 25, 20152 votes

The perfect crime.

VentusDragoonFeb 25, 20151 votes

Well, it would be handy if you zhonya'd early and YOUR zhonya ended right after his inflicted-- allowing you free movement during his stasis infliction.

KougaFeb 24, 20151 votes

My thoughts and responses in bold. My assumptions based on current practices.

{quoted}

I have a PBE account as well. As soon as he comes out I'm going to try my best to bug the crap out of him so I can report anything.

Example:

What happens if you put his portal on the outside of an enemy base gate? Will they be locked from exiting their base from there until your portal disappears?

Since enemies can go through the portal, it wouldn't prevent them from using it. So it doesn't help or hinder them but it would help your allies.

If a Master Yi/Fiora Q's/Ults before the activation of Tempered Fate, will they come out of their animation and be frozen, or be able to still move since they were invulnerable?

From what I've seen, the "trigger" on the ult is a one-time event and then the targets that are eligible are Statis'd. So anyone who enters the zone shouldn't be frozen.

Here's a biggie. Can you Zhonya's to avoid the forced Zhonya? Zhonya's makes them invulnerable to any new effects so they should avoid the "trigger"

Can his gates be used to cross the large gap from the Dominion base platform to the lane ahead? (Same with Base>Jungle gap in TT) In another thread I believe a Rioter specifically mentioned Dominion and TT and how he can use it across very large walls

If Bard uses Tempered Fate while someone is recovering from Zilean Ult/Guardian Angel/Aatrox/Anivia/Zac Passives, what happens? ESPECIALLY with Anivia and Zac. Revival effects where they are untargetable during the time (GA, Zilean's animation) should avoid it if they "revive" after the trigger. I imagine that since Zac and Anivia are targetable that they will be frozen - but the real question, which I don't know, is if Anivia will revive from her egg --while-- under the effect of Tempered Fate, and if Anivia herself will then be frozen or free?

I notice there is a travel time when going through portals. Are you invulnerable during this time? (Could you use it to dodge Requiem or something) Good question. It'd be super powerful in the right situation if they were invulnerable. It might make them un/targetable/ so they would still take DoTs, AoE and ignite but wouldn't be able to be targeted by new spells. Similar to a Vlad going into a pool.

If Lee Sin hits someone with a Q, then they go through a portal, will he go through the portal with second Q or just dash straight to them? Lee can already dash through terrain, no reason for him to go through the portal. I think it'd just move him to their location. But what if they are mid-portal? My guess, it just pulls him along until they exit.

What the heck happens if Bard uses Tempered Fate on a Yorick-Revived champion? Since it can be targeted, they'd be frozen still. The ghost is on a timer so if it clocked out I assume it would die and pop out of existence

What happens if you use Tempered Fate on ANY champion that is currently being displaced? (Being popped up, knocked aside, Gragas ulted, etc.) Should freeze them in place

What happens if you ult someone Polymorphed by Lulu? Are they stuck that way? I imagine it would expire, and they'd still be frozen, but good point. Similar to the Anivia and Yorick question.

What happens if your ult hits an undead Kog'maw? Kog'Maw is not targetable during his passive death-splosion so he should not be affected.

Pantheon ults. Bard ults either the jump location or the landing location. What in the world happens? If he hits Pan before he leaves, it'll interrupt the channel. At the Landing location it just depends if Pan has landed yet or not when the trigger goes off

What happens if you use Tempered Fate on any stealthed champions? No reason that aren't also frozen, but I don't know if the particles would reveal them or if say Teemo or Eve would remain stealthed the whole time

What happens if (hard to replicate but it can happen) you ult a Rengar mid-jump? Or any champion (Kha'zix, Tristana, Aatrox, etc.) mid jump? I've seen Jumpers get stopped mid-air when stunned by like a Sej ult, so it should just freeze them in place

What happens if you use Tempered Fate on people currently in Nami's Q? Again, they are targetable. So they are stunned, then frozen. Then the duration of the stun expires while frozen, so they are free to move when un-frozen. Might cause some weird animations depending on if they can move or not, as far as the "knockup" effect from the bubble.

Can Gangplank cure himself of the Zhonya's, or no since it is not a CC? Good question, both for allied and enemy GP. Enemy GP should be able to cleanse it, since he can even cleanse suppression, but I don't know how it would code for an allied GP.

What happens if you use Tempered Fate on Zac mid-ult? See above - should freeze him mid-air. I believe he would continue bouncing after but I'm not positive

What happens if you use Tempered Fate on Lissandra while she is locked in her own ult? Considering hers is a stasis as well? She is not targetable during it, so she should come out of her ult and be free to move around.

What happens if you ult Kalista while her soulbound is held by Fate's Call? Again I believe they are untargetable and/or cease to exist. But the knock up wouldn't effect anyone under Fate's statis.

What happens if you somehow manage to catch Rek'sai mid-travel during her ult or tunnel passage? Hmm.... Interesting. No idea. If she is just passing through during her ult, I don't think she is targetable. But not sure about the tunnel

Can champions that ignore CC (Sion with ult, Vi with ult, Nocturne with ult) be hit by Tempered Fate, as it is not CC, but stasis? It should still be qualified as a form of CC, so they would ignore it.

What happens if Soraka uses Wish while another is in stasis? (kinda general but curious) Same as if they Zhonya - they miss out on the free HP

Will spell shields/Morgana's Black shield stop Tempered Fate? It should. BV, Morgana, Sivir all should block it. Again, can they block an ally Bard's Fate, though? Dunno.

So. Many. Things. To. Test. Agreed!

VentusDragoonFeb 25, 20151 votes

"What happens if you put his portal on the outside of an enemy base gate? Will they be locked from exiting their base from there until your portal disappears?

Since enemies can go through the portal, it wouldn't prevent them from using it. So it doesn't help or hinder them but it would help your allies."

What I mean by this one is, Let's say you're outside their base, and you portal in through their basegate. Would they be able to walk out of that basegate, or be blocked due to the one-way portal being in the way?

"If Bard uses Tempered Fate while someone is recovering from Zilean Ult/Guardian Angel/Aatrox/Anivia/Zac Passives, what happens? ESPECIALLY with Anivia and Zac.

Revival effects where they are untargetable during the time (GA, Zilean's animation) should avoid it if they "revive" after the trigger. I imagine that since Zac and Anivia are targetable that they will be frozen - but the real question, which I don't know, is if Anivia will revive from her egg --while-- under the effect of Tempered Fate, and if Anivia herself will then be frozen or free?"

Makes sense. Still VERY curious how that would work with Anivia egg and Zac bloblets-- considering they're surely not untargetable. Would it delay their revival?

"What happens if you use Tempered Fate on ANY champion that is currently being displaced? (Being popped up, knocked aside, Gragas ulted, etc.) Should freeze them in place"

What I mean is, considering you've never before been able to Zhonya's while CC'd, what exactly would happen? Would they get stuck in midair/mid knockback, or immediately return to the ground? Same for nami bubble. (As it is considered a popup for Yasuo, but a stun for tenacity for some reason)

As for GP, Champions that can ignore CC, and spellshields-- Zhonya's hourglass-- and stasis, in general, has never been known as a type of CC. Considering that stasis is NOT cc, and something of its own-- how would all of these things react? (It's like... if GP used a zhonya's, he can't orange himself out of it, because it's not a CC. So how would these things react to a FORCED zhonya's?)

ArcSage55Mar 8, 20151 votes

Soraka's wish should still work because It affects untargetable allies

GigglesOFeb 25, 20151 votes

{quoted}

I have a PBE account as well. As soon as he comes out I'm going to try my best to bug the crap out of him so I can report anything.

Example: What happens if Soraka uses Wish while another is in stasis? (kinda general but curious)

Soraka's wish hits champions in stasis and untargetable, if it doesn't it is probably a glitch.

Umbral LightFeb 24, 20151 votes

One thing I'd like to point out about his ult: can all "Zed is OP, nerf him rito, nerf him!" people, calm down now, cause Bards ult basically is made to counter Zed and you wouldn't really need to worry about getting Zhonyas too early to protect yourself against it. Just something I wanted to point out.

Piltover CustomsFeb 24, 20151 votes

Off the top of my head here's the run-down on how to start him as a support. Start shrine Drop two shrines top Drop a shrine mid Go to lane/jungle leash.

Now your top and mid have the sustain to beat out their lane opponent (the two top since it's usually an island).

By the time one is used you will be level 2+ and after harassing bot lane be able to drop one for you or your carry.

Another way to start is starting your tunnel and tunnels enemies buff for your jungler to snag right away, in and out so to speak.

Don't see him working out top lane solo. Would be a very niche pick into very few champions.

Jungler he'd be fine jungling. Ganks wouldn't be super strong as landing a Q on enemy or enemy + terrain/minion/mulitple enemies would be hard to pull off.

As a support I would rank him mid tier. Mainly for his ability to help out his top/mid early enough. All the other supports will win out and he shouldn't see much play after first week or two. Highly doubtful he will see any competitive play at all until he is tweaked/re-worked.

RaptameiFeb 24, 20152 votes

{quoted}

Off the top of my head here's the run-down on how to start him as a support. Start shrine

Start portal

Enemy jungler starts at golems. ... ... SURPRISE 4 MAN GANGBANG FIRST BLOOD

VentusDragoonFeb 25, 20151 votes

This tactic sounds a lot like the Zac run in alone, die, entire team TP's in from his blobs trick. Of course, you'd have to figure out exactly where their jungler is starting-- and junglers don't just do red or blue first this season.

SpecterVonBarenFeb 25, 20151 votes

I was nodding my head in agreement until your last two sentences, it remains to be seen how he'll do in soloque but in competitive? They'll be all over this guy.

Piltover CustomsFeb 25, 20151 votes

Let me explain a little bit. While his health is nice (think about dropping three shrines for a 2v1 on your top laner (wherever he is). His harass is a q, which will only slow 90% of the time. Competitive players will be able to dodge a lot more than most players so getting a snare/stun (Whatever you want to call it) will be a lot harder.

Shrines post laning phase won't be much. I foresee them as surviving a last tick of ignite (if placed well) or for speed boost catching/running.

Tunnel would be create interesting game play. As stated running into a fight from fog/terrain. But not too terrible much can be done.

His ultimate is his saving grace for competitive play. Both saving allies and getting good engages off. That being said the range and interaction will be intriguing.

Like I stated there are better supports that will take over. Think along the lines of how little champions are played out of the numbers we have. It won't be relegated for top tier picks.

VentusDragoonFeb 25, 20152 votes

That does seem a very good plan, but it depends on how high his base movement speed is. I'm actually thinking it'll be somewhat low due to his passive speed boost. (Similar to how Varus's starting AS is super low but his passive makes up for it) It also depends on how LONG these shrines last-- if they only last 30 or 40 seconds that won't help much. (Also depends on cooldown-- if it's like, a 20 second cooldown, and they last for 1 minute-- one of the top ones would expire before you finished placing all of them.)

He seems like a support that can do very well if the team understands him-- so I think he'll be pretty strong in ranked 5's. But he's also a champion that requires a lot of communication to do well-- it isn't like Kalista where you grab your soulbound and let them figure out what's going on in the next 2 seconds.

Piltover CustomsFeb 25, 20151 votes

If I recall, the shrines last until used and can only have 3 up at a time. 12 second cool down. So you'd be able to get them all down and move around as needed.

And you are very correct that it will take lots of coordination.

LevyathynFeb 24, 20151 votes

I've played a few games with a jungle being supported, and it worked okay. It depends on team comp like a lot of those ideas, but I think Bard would be better at it than most if not all other contenders.

OwltearsFeb 24, 20151 votes

Are the little spirits around Bard like the Japanese tree spirits? The ones that reside in trees and act like fairies and curse you if you cut down or kill the tree they reside it? They look like the one's I'm thinking of.

Basil van YhunFeb 24, 20151 votes

Is Bard's ultimate a projectile and being blocked by Yasuo Wall/Braum Shield? How does it interact with Braum's shield?

VentusDragoonFeb 25, 20151 votes

From the video, it does seem to have a trajectory, but it depends on if it travels more like Corki Q or Ziggs R. Also, we don't know if it'll stop and activate where it hits, or just disappear entirely.