Taric Rework Concept

So with the recent announcement of a Taric rework eventually coming, I thought I'd do a bit of thinking and put forth my own Rework concept. I wanted to keep in mind what Riot had said before about Auras being invisible spots of power that didn't feel good to have or to use. I also wanted to really work Taric into something with a lot of play and counter-play opportunities while still keeping to his stated identity, as well as some iconic parts of his kit.

> **Passive: Gem Touch: **Units affected by any of Taric's abilities become "Gem touched" for a few seconds. For every gem touched ally Taric gains AP and AD, for every gem touched enemy Taric gains Armor and MR.

I really took inspiration from Taric's desire to be a protector here. I wanted to make sure that when his ally was in trouble, he'd have the power to fight back, and when his enemies need punished, he'd have the bulk to be able to do it. The nice part about this, is that since I moved the bonus armor he gets to here instead of just passively on one of his other abilities, he is a little more vulnerable to poke now. I don't want Taric to sit in the back just healing his ally away, I want to encourage him to be aggressive where needed, and not be afraid of it.

> Q: Infusion: Taric brings forth earthen energy to heal an ally and himself. This heal is more potent when Taric heals only himself. Taric heals his target for more for every nearby Gem-Touched unit.

Basically the same as his old heal, but with a bonus reward for being actively in fights. In lane this will let him provide a little more heal after engaging, and in a team fight it will let him keep someone alive where, without giving him inappropriately more stats in lane. Basically, Taric gets to heal better when there are more enemies around to cause him to need to heal.

>** W: Gem Quake:** Taric causes the earthen crystals in the ground at target location (maokai sappling size) to erupt, dealing damage to enemies and reducing their armor. Affected allies are granted bonus crystal armor. Gem touched units also have their MR affected in the same way.

Taric's old ability allowed him to shatter his own passive armor to do effectively the same thing, but I removed that passive armor (because it wasn't engaging), and felt that if it still shattered his armor, it would discourage engaging after using the ability. This also gives Taric an ok poke, and in the spirit of his old ability, this one should scale with armor. By also affecting MR this ability is more useful in team fights. It affecting allies also makes placement of the ability very important, and by keeping the area small we emphasize the choice of where to put it. To put it in Riot's words "This will separate the good Tarics from the great Tarics."

> E: Dazzle: Taric sends a quick beam of light from his shield to a target enemy champion. The enemy is stunned for X seconds. If the enemy is gem touched the light refracts off of them to all other nearby valid targets, gem touched targets are stunned for part of the original time.

An Aoe stun? Yes. But only under the right conditions, otherwise its just a good way to get his passive out onto the enemies. Aoe stuns do exist in the game, but typically they're reserved for ultimates. I didn't do so here, and I still made it targeted, because I removed the more complicated damage mechanic that used to exist. While I also think this ability should deal damage (but not much) I think that the gating that is done, making the stun harder to get should make it more balanced. Not to mention that the stun can be shortened to a reasonable degree.

> R: Gem Ascension: > **Passive: Taric gains bonus movement speed for every gem touched enemy nearby. ** Active: Taric purges all Gem-Touched marks. For every purged mark Taric gains a shield, movement speed, and the stats appropriate from his passive before the marks were purged. Allies that had their marks consumed also gain movement speed, and enemies that had their marks purged are slowed.

This ability is really designed to get Taric and his team in there. Old Taric was missing an engage. With the trade off of other abilities losing strength due to the lack of his passive marks, we can pump up the power of this ability while its active. It also gives him a shield so that he can be at the forefront, doing his job as a shield.

Thanks for reading this far, and be sure to let me know what you think, and if it fits with who you think Taric should be. I'm super excited for the eventual rework that Riot does. I hope our Gem Knight remains just as silly in voice and character!