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Shyvana Rework Thoughts from a True Fan

Just Brian·10/11/2019, 8:20:13 AM·3 votes·1,462 views

I'm a mediocre League player but, from lore to playstyle, Shyvana is deeply enjoyable and most don't get why I feel that way. "She's simple." "She's boring." "Why aren't you playing AP Shyv?"

I've always enjoyed melee scrappers. Whether it's tanking for my guild in early WoW or being the sword-and-board Fighter for my DnD campaign, I revel in the thick of battle and the idea that, once I commit to a fight, I'm in it to whatever end may come. No tricks. No gimmicks. Just sheer determination and grit. From Shyvana's skirmishing in-your-face playstyle to the ferocious presence of her dragon form, she is fundamentally as close to my ideal character as I could picture. And that's without talking about her lore which, given some love from the writing staff, could blossom into a real tale of terror and triumph!

But she's still so far off, in my humble opinion.

Shyvana, being possessed of one of the oldest kits and lores in the game, is extremely linear and underdeveloped. The dev team has grown so much and the mechanics available to "younger" champions are so sharp and compelling. To think what they could do with Shyvana, a character with so much depth, who both fills the role of traditional fantasy archetypes and stands out as an Alpha Female. She's a sort of unaligned paladin, a rogue knight, she is clad in plate armor with close-quarters weapons, while still wielding some kind of feral fire magic. From the creature of flame she was born to discover to the tenacious warrior she made of herself, she's a beautiful yin and yang of order and chaos.

Some of what plagues Shyvana, as I see it, is that she's easy to play but, easier to play against. Yes, AP Shyvana can feel like a terror but, as a true fan, watching her ult used as a "change my E" button by top tier players, rather than a means to dive into the enemy ranks, is insulting. Seeing one of her most successful builds and iterations be "R E, E, E, E, E, get ult back, repeat" (yep, the AP rotation spells REEEEEE; coincidence?) Watching her Q and W sit idle for entire team fights is just plain wrong. She has the math to be a good artillery mage but, she has to ignore 75% of her kit to do so. Is that healthy? Furthermore, her ult CD is telegraphed, her abilities are extremely straight-forward and, despite being the vessel of a kind of fire magic that would make Brand and Annie jealous, she doesn't live up to the potential her story and theme provides.

Rather than a complete overhaul, I tried refocusing her kit around features that align with the playstyle her lore suggests. And so, without further adieu and as her greatest fan, I offer my thoughts on what could bring our towering half-dragon warlord more character and definition in her kit while breathing life into her fairly uninspiring gameplay.

2 Comments

Just Brian10/11/2019, 8:20:48 AM1 votes

SHYVANA, The Half-dragon

Shyvana has trained herself over the years to contain a deep well of fury and destruction. As a formidable front-line warrior, she channels this energy to imbue her powerful melee strikes and encircle herself in a feral flame. This fire is lit in battle, stoked further by the clash of claw and steel. As combat surges, Shyvana bathes in the rage of her enemies, pressing them, taunting them to attempt to subdue her terrible power. Once engaged, Shyvana's ability to keep her foes within arms reach increases and, should a fight last long enough, awakens her true form. And woe to the wicked for the fury of the dragonborn is a sight to behold. A sight few have survived.

(P) Fury of the Dragonborn: Shyvana's secondary resource is fury and she has 100+25/1000 HP fury maximum. Fury is gained for each instance of damage against an enemy or for each instance of damage inflicted upon her. Each of these instances also triggers Writhing Flame (W). Fury dwindles after a few seconds of neither condition being met. Fury empowers her other abilities.

(Q) Furious Strike (5 Fury): Next basic strikes twice, both gaining bonus magic damage based on current fury and applying on-hit affects. In dragon form, Shyvana strikes all enemies in a cone once, briefly slowing them and applying on hit affects and fury damage as normal. If only one champion or large/epic monster is struck, they are briefly snared instead. Basic attacks reduce cooldown.

(W) Writhing Flame (5 Fury/second): Shyvana passively deals magic damage in a 150 radius around her every second based on her current fury. As her fury mounts, the radius and damage increases. Each time her passive is triggered, Writhing Flame is triggered. Radius and damage start at 25 fury and growing at 50/75/etc. Activating Writhing Flame toggles it to maximum damage and radius while depleting her Fury. After one second, she can toggle it off and it will go on a short cooldown. She gains movement speed towards enemy champions affected by the flames. In dragon form, the radius is doubled and enemies become 'Nearsighted' with each tick of damage, not to exceed 3 total seconds. Thereafter, enemies cannot be 'Nearsighted' again for 5 seconds.

(E) Flame Breath(25/50 Fury): Shyvana unleashes a gout of flame dealing magic damage in a line, stopping at the first enemy champion or large/epic monster hit. Upon impact, enemy targets take magic damage again and Shyvana gains movement speed toward them for a short period. An extended press will charge the ability, doubling the cost, range, missle speed and movement speed granted. Dragon form increases missle width and speed while reducing cost based on rank. Enemies struck by the final impact while in dragon form are "Bathed in Flame", causing magic damage over time. Shyvana's attacks extend the duration and increase the intensity up to a maximum.

(R) Yvva's Legacy (medium/long cooldown, no cost): Shyvana's gains double her current fury (or 5 per level, whichever is greater) as she transforms into a monstrous half-dragon and dashes unstoppably to a target location dealing magic damage based on HP/Armor/MR. Fury created by Yvva's Legacy over her maximum is lost but, increases damage to enemies on impact. While in dragon form, the duration and potency of movement impairing effects is reduced. While in dragon form, Yvva's Legacy's duration is increased by each trigger of her passive. While in human form, its cooldown is reduced.

Just Brian10/11/2019, 11:17:24 PM1 votes

My brother is over my shoulder asking me why these changes make sense in my vision and asked me to give more detail as to how this all would look and feel.

(P) The idea behind Shyvana's rework is to give her a lust for battle feel like other fury champions. She doesn't just sit back gaining fury for nothing, she actually loses it like Renekton or Tryndamere would. A minor change to be sure but, making fury directly tied to the use of her Q and W makes fury a resource to manage and not just an ult cooldown timer that can be reduced.

(Q) Shyvana's fury is like any fire. It needs to be stoked but, it can burn out if not properly managed. Using her Q is now not just a time dump during wave clears or an automatic use on cooldown aa reset. She considers whether it's worth it to burn her fury for a vicious lunging attack, potentially dwindling her W radius and gimping her fury gain from ult. In dragon form the slow demonstrates the impact of being smacked by a huge dragon and, if you're alone, she pins you with each Furious Strike. This ability now feels more like a dragon's ability.

(W) Unlike her current Burnout, Writhing Flame is an active demonstration of the potential within her growing. It's a clear signal that has much more visual appeal than a red bar getting longer. As a dragon, her flame becomes an inferno causing those inside to struggle to see.

(E) Again, Shyvana's fury is something she has to manage. How often she gives in to the pulsing rage inside her affects her immediate opportunities but, when used judiciously, it becomes an excellent and expressive aspect of her character. I view Shyvana always spitting flame from her mouth, whether in dragon or human form. This makes it more viceral and less like mage casting a spell. The extended press is both expressive (deeper inhale) and tactical mechanically. The psychological effect of her running you down when you attempt to engage her backline is real and present.

(R) Building fury isn't free. Instead of being a simple replacement for a cooldown timer, Shyvana gains multi-faceted benefits and has to consider the state of her fury bar when she wants to ult. She is highly encouraged to stay active to stay fueled allowing her to become more of a threat from pushing a side lane, laying siege to a tower or skirmishing around an objective. She retains the intuitive side of gaining access to her ultimate ability through combat but, it's slightly more comprehensive in both how it extends the duration and accelerates her next use.

Also, specifically regarding the HP/Armor/MR considerations. Shyvana turns into a freaking dragon! The idea that a wizard hat or staff makes the impact of her flight more powerful or menacing is slightly odd. Yes, she's a magical individual by nature but, so few champions gain benefit from being bigger, tougher and more heavily armored. If she has 4k HP, a ton of plate armor and magic resistance gear on, transforms into a dragon and comes crashing down on you, you better believe you will feel the difference between that and when she is doing a Master Yi impression (BotRK, Wit's, Bloodrazor, Nashor, etc). In fact, much of the playstyle change comes in the way of making Shyvana a force to be reckoned with. In her current form, enemies just have to consider whether she needs to be ignored or not, kited or not, etc. But, her nature demands so much more than that. Diving into combat as a bruiser or tank, blinding enemies in fire and stomping into their midst feels more like a woman who has learned how to channel this deep and furious power.