Shireen, Secret's Bane

Shireen, Secret's Bane

Table of Contents:

1. Overview
2. Appearance + Skin
3. Abilities
4. Strategy
5. Suggested Items
6. Lore

Overview Shireen is a utility-heavy Support/Mage, whose strategic niche is that of unparalleled vision control. An ex-member of an order of secret-keepers, Shireen rebelled against them after discovering a horrifying truth that had been kept suppressed. Now, she works to banish the world of its dark lies and political corruption, to illuminate society to the puppeteers that hide in the background. Seeking to light the darkest of places, Shireen can provide vision of the map above-and-beyond that of mere wards, as well as burn down the very shadows enemies seek refuge in.

Attack Power - Low Ability - Medium Defense - Medium Difficulty - Medium

Appearance Shireen is dressed rather casually; even an ex-secret-keeper would do well to avoid flamboyant attributes that can bring focus to oneself. Colorful clothing and distinct characteristics attract attention from prying eyes, eyes that may well be plotting a reprisal against her for abandoning the order. Perhaps ironically, to bring down a sect of liars and puppeteers one must employ their techniques to stave off detection. Shireen has a rather snarky, sarcastic way about her, except in regards to her role as "Secret's Bane"; she takes her new purpose in life quite seriously.

Debut Skin - "Broker of Lies Shireen" A callback to her days before turning away from the secret-keepers, Shireen's appearance is akin to a shadowy agent. Cowl and cloak shield her, affording her the ability to hide in plain-sight. Consider the Assassins from Assassin's Creed, who attempt to blend in with clergymen and the like to do their business without bringing down attention from the law.

Abilities Passive - No More Secrets, No More Lies Shireen has the equivalent of Oracle's Extract on her at all times, with slight differences. The effect's range is superior to Oracle's, but the vision granted has a delay present before the enemy champion/mushroom/etc. is revealed. An enemy champion Stealthed through an ability (or hiding in a bush) would be alerted that they have entered Shireen's range; a slight head-start telling them they must leave it immediately if they hope to remain undetected.

Q. Revelation Shireen fires a blast of light in a forward line, Slowing the first enemy hit and dealing Magic damage.

W. Beacon of Light Shireen illuminates an area with a Beacon, what one might call a "super-ward". Initially, Beacons are similar to wards produced from Farsight trinkets (the blue one), but with less overall sight range (albeit with more health). Beacons gain additional sight range and health with additional ranks, and improve in function: Rank 3 Beacons gain the ability to attack enemy champions who enter their radius for Magic damage, and Rank 5 Beacons gain the ability to sense Stealthed targets a la Vision (Pink) wards. Beacons function similarly to Heimerdinger turrets, in that they will not attack unless they are seen or Shireen is in the area. However, if they are spotted, Shireen's Beacons will fire on enemies regardless of their distance from Shireen.

E. Mind Blank Mind Blank has two different use-cases depending on the target, similar in function to Lulu and her Whimsy spell. If used on an enemy champion, Mind Blank briefly Silences the target while inflicting Magic damage. If Shireen uses Mind Blank on a target ally champion, they will be protected from incoming forms of crowd-control that would impair their ability to cast skills (Taunts, Stuns, Silences, etc.). It would not, however, protect movement from CC like snares and roots, nor something like the stop from Stun. Mind Blank can be self-cast on Shireen, either proactively to prevent incoming CC or in reaction to cleanse such CC after-the-fact. Note that Mind Blank can only cleanse Shireen herself of control-impairing CC, and it still does not remove or prevent movement-based CC.

R. Declaration of Truth Passive - With each rank of Declaration of Truth, the delay on Shireen's passive decreases slightly while the range increases slightly. Active - Shireen burns a target area with brilliant light, blasting enemies for Magic damage. Enemy champions within the area will have their Stealth immediately cancelled/negated, and any forms of vision-cover (such as Akali's E, or bushes) are destroyed. If cast into the Fog of War, Declaration of Truth will grant vision.

Strategy Despite turning against her secret-keeper brethren Shireen has not forgotten her training or techniques, making her excellent at vision-control and denial. Shireen is unique for a Support, in that her need to have a Sightstone is greatly lessened given her access to Beacon of Light. Despite being fully-visible like Farsight wards, Beacons are tougher than any regular ol' ward, having higher health and the ability to defend themselves. No enemy will ever catch Shireen unaware, not when they're under attack from her wards, being revealed from Shireen's passive, or having their hide-y holes outright destroyed by Declaration of Truth.

Shireen's strength comes in awareness, and subsequently denying such capability from her enemies. While she can only have so many Beacons present on the field, Beacons are not classified as stealth wards, meaning Shireen can illuminate large swaths of the battlefield by intelligently utilizing both in tandem. An enemy team that cannot surprise loses the ability to initialize ambushes and sudden ganks; "bush-tactics" are not a thing when Shien is around. This is rather-dramatically demonstrated by her ultimate, Declaration of Truth, that can burn bushes to the ground and permanently remove them from the game. You can't hide in a bush if there is no bush to hide in. However, players must keep in mind that this can be a double-edge sword, in that Shireen's allies can no longer use the bush either ('cause it's gone). But with a title like "Secret's Bane", it's only natural that those cowardly patches of grass should come to fear Shireen's abilities.

Suggested Items Stat Priorities - Health > AP > 40% CDR > Durability > Mana

Frost Queen's Claim, Eye of the Watchers It seems obvious that a Support would want a Support item, right? The benefit of FQC's active is that after spotting would-be ne'er-do-wells, Shireen can try and catch them out with the Slow. This turns the hunted into the hunters, giving her allies time to catch them before they can retreat back into the shadows. Conversely, Eye of the Watchers provides Shireen additional warding potential while maintaining the Tribute passive and stats.

Rylai's Crystal Scepter Shireen's overall CC-level is low; it's just not her primary strength as a utility Support/Mage. However, Rylai's can provide a boost to this department: Slows on her Beacon attacks, a Slow to combine with the Silence on her enemy-cast E, and an AoE Slow on her ultimate. Plus AP and Health, which is always appreciated.

Locket of the Iron Solari, Banner of Command, Zz'Rot's Portal Shireen may be well-equipped to reveal enemies and their dastardly plans, but one has to act on the information to get anywhere. Shireen is first-and-foremost a Support, so items like Locket provide additional utility in teamfights. Conversely, items like Banner or Zz'Rot can be used to foil opposing tactics or boost the push-power of your allies. Either way, the Legion passive is never something to regret having.

Hextech GLP-800 Again, another option for Slowing is a definite plus. GLP-800 adds to Shireen's Health and AP, while providing her some additional Mana. Shireen isn't too desperate for Mana, but more never hurt.

Nashor's Tooth An unexpected item, but for a good reason that I did not explain above: the Attack Speed of Shireen's Beacons is based in-part on her own Attack Speed. Nashor's Tooth provides AP and CDR (always good), but also provides additional oomph to Shireen's would-be ward-warriors.

Example final build (not in order): Eye of the Watchers, Banner of Command, Rylai's Crystal Scepter, Nashor's Tooth, Rod of Ages, Sorcerer's Shoes.

Lore Entry (Unfortunately, I have run out of time to write up the story right now; I'll come back and Edit it in later)

Friends - Lee Sin, Riven, Yasuo Enemies - Zed, Jhin, LeBlanc, Elise, Swain

Having what some would call a "history of unscrupulous behavior" doesn't generally earn you many friends. When your profession is that of a mercenary information-broker, you get paid to pass along secrets, sow lies and keep your trap shut, regardless of any moral qualms you might possess. That said, Shireen's attempts to find redemption for her actions grant her a kinship with similar individuals seeking atonement for past misdeeds. And yet, her desire to lift the veil covering those who would hide in the darkness has placed Shireen squarely in opposition with many puppeteers who use such tactics for their wickedness.

Example Quotes Moving "I'll light the way." "Secrets lie ahead."

Placing a Beacon "...I think I'll name you 'Steve'."

Activating Declaration of Truth "No more lies!!"

Taunt, against Swain "It's no wonder you can't fly, with all the lies weighing you down."

Taunt, against Jhin "I'm going to rip that mask off your face, and show the world who you really are!"

Eye of the Watchers "There are watchers everywhere. Time to reveal them."

Hextech GLP-800 "I wonder if any know the true story behind this device."

Banner of Command "Never been much of a leader..."

Locket of the Iron Solari "The Iron Solari? I have some juicy stuff about them, let me tell ya."

Banshee's Veil "To remove the veil I must use a veil. The irony is not lost on me."