Fiddlesticks (Possible Rework Ideas)
This is a long post that I put more work than is reasonable into. I wanted to cover as much as I could when it comes to (re)designing a champion concept from the ground up. I'm sorry if I deterred anyone with the long post, but I would not be happy to have it any other way. Please enjoy and leave feedback!
Overview Fiddlesticks is a champion who has been in a weird spot in almost every meta since his release in 2009. Now, he is a unique ability based jungler with potential to also be a midlaner and support. He relies heavily on vision control, mobility, and team coordination. Despite having no stealth or long range movement abilities, he can set up ambushes to catch out lone enemies or the entire enemy team when done right. Fiddlesticks embodies fear and paranoia to shred enemies through all stages of the game. Unfortunately, Fiddlesticks has a bit of an outdated kit. Having 2 targeted hard CC abilities, as well as an ultimate that allows him to instantly attack with no warning, Fiddlesticks lacks reactive counterplay. On the opposing end of this, proactive counterplay shuts Fiddlesticks down incredibly hard. Focusing him in lane or invading him in the jungle shuts Fiddlesticks down before he even has a chance to get started. To top it all off, Fiddlesticks' lore remains unfinished, being unconnected to any region of Runetera or any specific champion/faction. This is where we need to start in order to give Fiddlesticks an identity beyond "scarecrow."
Lore Possibilities Fiddlesticks currently has no background, and it would be best for it to stay that way. Being a person who was evil in life and brought back to possess an object is an archetype Fiddlesticks would end up sharing with Mordekaiser, who is a much more significant being in the lore of Runetera as a whole. With the recent explanation of magic and the spirit world (http://nexus.leagueoflegends.com/2017/04/dev-on-vastayan-evolution/), it is clear that Fiddlesticks is indeed a spirit animating the body of a scarecrow. We can tell because of his ability to stand completely still. He is a spirit inhabiting a scarecrow in the corporeal world.
Like other spirits in Runetera, Fiddlesticks should remain having little to no background. Kindred, Bard, and Anivia are examples of this, being spirits with vague origins but with a sense of purpose, having important roles in the world of Runetera. Fiddlesticks currently doesn't fit into this group, as Fiddlesticks has no purpose and no effect on any other champions/regions of Runetera.
Fiddlesticks is a champion who is on all levels a thrall, constantly referring to the summoner as "master," and having no will or goals whatsoever. But this doesn't necessarily warrant a full overhaul on Fiddlesticks as a character. If Fiddlesticks is left with no background and being a thrall, there are 2 possibilities for him to fit into the lore.
Option 1: Fiddlesticks was Created by Mordekaiser (Since Fiddlesticks can't compete with Mordekaiser from a lore standpoint, he can at least be associated with him,) Mordekaiser was a war tyrant who relied on dominating his opponents with sheer power. He is also no stranger to using dark magic to do so. So, Mordekaiser created Fiddlesticks to terrorize his enemies and control their fear. Fiddlesticks remains to fulfill that goal as a construct of fear to this day long after Mordekaiser's death (since the Shadow Isles lore is largely completed, Fiddlesticks should instead remain in Noxus, where Mordekaiser ruled his empire from). Fiddlesticks, not knowing of Mordekaiser's demise and current status, still terrorizes the weak and fearful Noxian citizens to modern day.
Option 2: Fiddlesticks was Created by Noxus Prior to Urgot and Sion, Fiddlesticks was a prototype of The Black Rose created with the purpose of proving that inanimate objects could be animated with spirits. Since Noxus is built around Mordekaiser's Immortal Bastion, The Black Rose utilized its residual dark magic to animate a scarecrow. The Black Rose, with little control over the chaotic being, kept Fiddlesticks a secret despite it constantly escaping and seeking out anyone who showed fear and ruthlessly killing them.
"Fiddlesticks is bound to Noxus, a land full of terror. The weak cannot fight fear. The weak cannot fight Fiddlesticks. A rumor of both fame and infamy, Fiddlesticks is believed by most to be but just a story told by the mothers to their cowardly children. Fiddlesticks, sickle in hand, cuts down the weak and fearful. He cuts deep into the roots of cowardice, to ensure it does not grow back. The seeds of weakness are not tolerated in Noxus, and those who sew it will soon be visited by an omen of crows. An omen of Fiddlesticks."
Regardless of his creator, Fiddlesticks is a being who unknowingly upholds Noxus' standards of eliminating the weak. In this sense, Fiddlesticks is the ironic antithesis of Galio in Demacia. Both are inanimate constructs who were animated to utilize magic. Galio is idolized and known by many Demacian citizens, and helps them by protecting the weak and inspiring courage. Fiddlesticks is feared and unknown by many Noxian citizens, and terrorizes them by attacking the weak and inspiring fear. Fiddlesticks could even possibly be animated in the presence of fear, similarly to how Galio is animated in the presence of magic.
Transitioning Lore into Character Design Should Fiddlesticks ever receive a visual update (which he really does need) it should reflect the following. Body - Being a scarecrow, Fiddlesticks should have a tall and lanky, yet skeletal and spindly model. Similarly to Ivern, Fiddlesticks should stand at an threatening height with long legs. Fiddlesticks should feel like he is imposing and lumbering, having a wide stance (similarly to how he stands now) despite being incredibly skinny. Walk - His normal walk should make him look like he is trudging menacingly, hunched and slowly swaying as he walks (picture his current walk, but slower and his other leg doesn't lift up until the first one hits the ground). For a fast walk (homeguards, scuttlecrab, etc.) he should take lurching strides (like Ivern's normal walk, but without the arm movements). Auto Attack - His autoattack animation would remain largely unchanged.
Fiddlesticks is NOT a being of DEATH, he is a being of FEAR. He does NOT us a scythe to REAP souls, he uses a sickle to intimidate foes so he can slowly DRAIN souls. He is NOT UNDEAD, he is a SPIRIT animating a corporeal body. He does NOT HIDE, but instead STALKS enemies.
Fiddlesticks should definitely be a solely offensive ap mage, because his delicate scarecrow body cannot withstand the force of attacking or being attacked. To skirt around this, Fiddlesticks relies on using cc and fear to disable his opponents and slowly kill them (Fiddlesticks does not have burst). Fiddlesticks has very low mobility and is very fragile, but uses many tools to play around this weakness. Fiddlesticks players need to be patient. When jungling, this means waiting for the right time to gank. When laning, this means pressuring and whittling down the enemy laner(s). Fiddlesticks is vulnerable to enemies who do not fear Fiddlesticks. Rushing Fiddlesticks down before he has a chance to react is going to be the most viable way of taking him down, but this will not be as crippling a weakness as it currently is.
With these things in mind, lets now look at the things Fiddlesticks needs in his kit: 1 - Plenty of CC (fear, obviously) 2 - A way to stalk enemies (NOT STEALTH) 3 - Some way to drain souls 4 - Long range and consistent poke 5 - A way to induce paranoia onto enemies
And now, for the part we have all been waiting for... Ability Overview
Passive - Stalk After not taking action for 5 seconds, Fiddlesticks enters a stance where he stands completely still. While in this stance, all visible enemy champions within (some long range that increases with champion level) will gain 1 stack of Dread every second. Being damaged or taking action removes this effect. Dread - Fiddlesticks' abilities can generate up to a maximum of 10 stacks of Dread on each enemy champion. Fiddlesticks' basic attacks also build 1 stack of Dread. Stacks do not wear off over time, but reset if the affected champion dies. Only Fiddlesticks and his allies can see the number of stacks on an enemy, until they receive a maximum of 10 stacks, where they will be alerted. Fiddlesticks' abilities gain additional effects on enemies with 10 stacks of Dread.
Q - Terrify Cost: No Cost - Cooldown: 120 / 100 / 80 / 60 / 40 Fiddlesticks fears all enemies with 10 stacks of Dread in a global range for 1 / 1.25 / 1.5 / 1.75 / 2 seconds. Enemies who do not have vision of Fiddlesticks will run in random directions instead of directly away from Fiddlesticks. Enemies with 10 stacks of Dread will keep their stacks for 5 seconds after being feared, before being reset to 0 stacks. All other enemies have their stacks reset immediately. This ability casts instantly and can be cast at any time Fiddlesticks abilities are not disabled (can be cast during channeled effects).
W - Drain (This ability is UNCHANGED, except for the following) Tethered enemy champions generate 1 stack of Dread each second they are tethered. Tethered enemies with 10 stacks of Dread are slowed by 30% and allow Fiddlesticks to have an additional 150 max range on the tether.
E - Dark Wind (Cost, cooldown, and range are identical to Fiddlesticks' existing ability)(The width and speed of the projectile is about the same as Anivia's Q) Fiddlesticks summons a murder of 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 crows to fly forwards to attack enemies. When an enemy is hit, they take (damage equal to Fiddlesticks' existing ability). For each enemy hit, one of the crows will break off and attack the hit enemy over the next 5 seconds, dealing 1/10 of the initial damage as magic damage and generating 1 stack of Dread each second. If all of the crows break off before the ability can reach its maximum range, the projectile will not hit any other enemies. Enemies with crows attacking them are silenced for 1.25 seconds once if they reach 10 stacks of Dread at any point during the 5 second duration.
R - Crowstorm (This ability is UNCHANGED, except for the following) (While fiddlesticks channels this ability, a global alert of cawing crows can be heard) After blinking, Fiddlesticks gains 10% movement speed for every enemy champion who reaches 10 stacks of Dread at any time during the ultimate, and lasting for the remaining duration of the ultimate.
Here is a TL;DR of Fiddlesticks' abilities: New passive makes enemies damaged or stalked by Fiddlesticks gain stacks that give Fiddlesticks bonus effects on them as long as Fiddlesticks doesn't fear them (if he does, he has a short window to utilize bonus effects) Q is now global and hits all champions, but only if they have 10 stacks W now slows and has more range at 10 stacks E is now skillshot DOT that hits fewer targets at early levels but more at later and does more overall damage (silence only at 10 stacks) R now gives an alert (like Sion's ult) and gives Fiddlesticks movement speed based on number of fully stacked enemies
So how does Fiddlesticks play now? Fiddlesticks still has a very similar identity to how he originally was. He is still primarily a jungler who is designed to ambush lanes and deal massive damage in team fights. Fiddlesticks' fear is no longer a safe panic button, but a game changing cc effect that makes enemies paranoid at all stages in the game. His W is a lot more effective at draining fleeing targets, and his E is a more capable clearing and poke tool at later levels, although the silence needs to be planned. Since the removed passive, his ult now gives him the much desired mobility to run around in late game team fights, although they will have a heads up when it's about to happen.
As a jungler, Fiddlesticks is more capable in ganking enemies with ample preparation time, and still relies on vision control to get a good ult, but enemies can now react to it. His new W and E makes killing isolated targets far easier, while barely touching his ability to fight grouped targets.
As a laner, Fiddlesticks can reliably level his E for consistent clear and poke (although its damage may need some buffs). Roaming and setting up ganks for your jungler is very easy, and still maintains the same late game strength as a jungle Fiddlesticks.
Overall, I hope people look at this concept as allowing Fiddlesticks to have impacts though all stages in the games, not just in large fights from just being able to ult in and deal a lot of damage and solo killing dragon at early levels. Enemies now have more chances to react to Fiddlesticks, and Fiddlesticks has more chances to react to them. Fiddlesticks maintains his unique status while opening his kit up to healthier and more diverse game play. Fiddlesticks now has to focus on when he should level his Q, and how many Dread stacks he should build before a gank/fight, as well as track enemy champions to ensure they have enough stacks to stay safe. Fiddlesticks' ult is now more risky, as enemies can react to his play before he gets to make it. Fiddlesticks still has a hard time killing champions outright, but instead relies on poking and out sustaining his enemies. Lane and Jungle Fiddlesticks are also equally strong, and allows for both to shine.
I apologize again for this wall of text, but I hope that anyone who has made it this far can leave feedback and insight, as well as criticism and counterpoints. Fiddlesticks, despite his current condition in the game, has always been one of the coolest champions in the game, and I hope that I can inspire more people to feel the same way.
