What if we made summoner spell diversity through diverse summoner spell variants?
We all know too well by now that people run
as pretty much the only viable spell combination for the current mid and top lanes (aside from niche uses of
&
). But this isn't the first time a spell combo has dominated the rift, in fact, this is how it's always been. Well what if instead of forcing a shift to another default spell set we instead diversify the spells by creating variations of each spell? That way, even though both are running say,
, they'll be almost entirely different spells but fundamentally the same in that they teleport your champion. On top of this, players will be able to find spell combos that work better for certain champs as opposed to other. I have no doubts it'd be horrendously unbalanced at first but eventually I'm sure it'll find a balance point. Its implication would be something very similar to how the new item changes and masteries both provide the same stats with the same offensive/defensive/utility purpose but with different effects to fulfill different niches. These variants would be tailored towards specific uses but still remain their fundamental uses.
Spell variants would be selected after selecting a base summoner spell in champ select.
Edit: I should probably post a few examples huh?
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- Phase - Adds a quick, short ranged dash at the beginning of the spell that can then be recast after 1 second at the cost of 4 seconds removed from the spell's duration. Cannot be cast after 6 seconds.
- Pursuit - Increases the bonus movement speed when moving towards enemy champions to an initial 70% that decays to 35% over 1 second. The first champion takedown while Ghost persists increases the duration by 5 seconds and re-grants the initial Pursuit 1 second movement speed increase regardless of whether an enemy champion is present or not (this can only occur once per cast).
- Siphon - Steals 5% of each nearby enemy champion's movement speed every second (max 20% buff and 20% debuff) and increases the duration by 0.5 seconds for every second you remain near an enemy champion
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- Unyielding - Cast range is doubled but now has a 1 second non-channeled delay. Upon arrival, the user is granted +20% bonus armor and magic resist for 5 seconds.
- Blur - Grants 60% bonus movement speed that decays over 0.5 seconds after cast.
- Fury - Flashing towards an enemy champion reduces the cooldown by 30%. Scoring a champion takedown within 2 seconds after cast reduces it by an additional 20%.
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- Immovable - Slows the user by 30% for the shield's duration but grants double the shield amount.
- Bulwark - Shield is 50% stronger but only guards against a specific direction (does guard against "non-directional" attacks such as Zed's Death Mark).
- Bold - When below 20% health, shield strength is tripled and 50% of the remaining shield after the duration is converted into health.
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- Combust - Killing the ignited target causes it to explode, dealing 50% of Ignite's total damage to nearby enemies.
- Inferno - Nearby enemy champions that remain in range of the ignited target for 3 seconds are ignited as well.
- Devour - Reduces the target's armor and magic resist of the target by 4% every second they remain ignited (max 20%). The reduced stats remain for 5 seconds after Ignite ends.
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- Glory - Cooldown is reduced by 15% per champion that comes in proximity of the targeted unit (max 30%). Upon arrival, all nearby enemy champions are slowed by 30% for 1 second.
- Fortify - Teleporting to structures grants invulnerability to them and reduces the cooldown of this spell by 20%. During the first 3 seconds of channeling when teleporting to a structure, an ally may right click on you to teleport along with you.
- Overseer - Teleport's channel time is reduced from 3.5 seconds to 3 seconds. Upon arrival, the user and the nearest allied champion gain 30% bonus movement speed for 2 seconds. The first champion takedown within 5 seconds of arrival reduces the cooldown by 20%.
In addition to this, I'd say distortion boots should be removed or at least only provide the spell cdr.
The goal of the variants like the ones listed in the examples is to provide a meaningful and impactful decision on how you want to use your summoner spell in order to diversify their usage. Of course, these could simply be "has 20 second reduced CD" or "gains 10% increased duration" but those just feel like unimportant micro-decisions. By flaring up the effects on the variants, the decision becomes vastly more important and allows for much more room to enhance the diverse ways you intend to incorporate them into your playstyles.