Fiddlesticks Rework Concept

We all know who Fiddlesticks is, but nowadays we rarely see him around.

League's favourite scarecrow has aged quite horribly, but he still remains one of the most iconic characters of the older LoL era. I have come up with a rework that aims to retain the features that make Fiddle unique, while modernizing his playstyle, allowing Fiddle players more skill expression, and giving him a niche that emphasizes his creepy nature .

Passive – Terrify Whenever a champion comes within 500 range from Fiddlesticks without having sight of him beforehand, they flee from him for 1-2s (scaling with level).

_Targeted hard CC is a thing of the past that has no place in modern League. By moving his fear to his passive, and placing an actual requirement that needs to be fulfilled before the fear can kick in, it is possible to make Fiddle's playstyle more thematic and unique while also adding counterplay and skill expression. This kind of change somewhat forces him to jungle, but synergizes quite well with the rest of his kit, especially his ultimate. _

Q – Dread CD: 12/11/10/9/8s Range: 900 Fiddlesticks floods the minds of all enemy champions in a 120° arc facing towards him with horrifying visions, dealing 80/120/160/200/240(+65% AP) magic damage and reducing the damage they deal to Fiddlesticks by 10/12.5/15/17.5/20%(+5% per 100 AP) for 4 seconds.

This ability furtherly cements Fiddle's nature of an horrible otherwordly being that chills his opponent to the bone. If the enemy is not careful, it will now be extremely hard to outmatch his Drain's DPS in a straight 1v1. Since Fiddle lacks actual CC outside of his passive, once an enemy is caught up by Dread they have a simple choice: run from the horrible creature or stay and die.

W – Drain CD: 6/5.5/5/4.5/4s Cast Range: 500 Fiddlesticks begins draining away the life force of a target enemy unit. As long as they remain within 550 range from him, he deals magic damage equal to 1/1.25/1.5/1.75/2 (+1% per 100 AP) of their maximum health every half-second, healing for 55/60/65/70/75% of damage dealt. Damage dealt increases by 10% each second if the tether is not broken, up to a maximum increase of +100% damage. Fiddlesticks can move freely while casting Drain, but if the enemy target exits the tether’s range the ability ends immediately. Cooldown starts on cast. Fiddlesticks cannot use basic attacks while this ability is in effect.

Let's face it: forcing Fiddlesticks to stand still while using Drain was not engaging for Fiddle's player and neither it was for his opponent. It created patterns of play in which you'd either kill someone because he's being stunlocked in place or he'd simply walk away from you. This new version of drain becomes increasingly stronger and is %dmg based, as to allow Fiddlesticks to deal considerable damage to the enemy frontline. I like to imagine this new Drain's animation with Fiddlesticks ravenously moving his stick-like hands towards his mouth, redirecting the flow of energy towards his head as he gorges on it and chases down the terrified enemy.

E – Distress CD: 40/37/34/31/28s Cast Range: 1500/2000/2500/3000/3500 Fiddlesticks channels for 2s before teleporting himself to a location the enemy team does not have vision of. While channeling, Fiddlesticks envisions all the spots the enemy team can’t see within the ability’s range. Once Fiddlesticks teleports, the enemy team receives an audio cue that he has teleported, but can’t actually see where. Passive: Fiddlesticks obtains +10/15/20/25/30% bonus movement speed while chasing an enemy champion.

_Fiddlesticks is now the unknown terror that stalks the unseen places of the map. The enemy team will become paranoid and start warding everywhere just to make sure Fiddlesticks is not skulking around in the dark. This new ability grants no damage, but it's a powerful roaming and repositioning tool with the added tactical bonus of pointing out where the enemy team lacks vision. This makes playing Fiddlesticks more skill-expressive, while again highlighting his theme and making him an actual threat. It also synergizes nicely with his ultimate, which has always required Fiddle players to make use of the enemy team's lack of vision to wreak havoc. The ability's passive is extremely similar to Vayne's, and is there to ensure people can't simply run away from Fiddlesticks at mach speed while he's left in the dust, unable to do anything. Once again, it synergizes with his passive and R very nicely, while balancing out the feeling of being useless if the enemy is not facing you and you can't use your Q. _

R – Crowstorm CD: 160/140/120s Cast Range: 800, Width: 600 After channeling for 1.5s, Fiddlesticks blinks to the target location with a murder of crows flocking wildly around him for 4 seconds. The crows converge on the target closest to Fiddlesticks, dealing 100/200/300(+50% AP) magic damage each second before passing onto the next target. When an enemy champion is killed by this ability, its duration is refreshed.

His ultimate has remained the same, except its damage has been changed from AoE to single-target DPS that refreshes upon kills.

Despite the changes, Fiddle's itemization is not very different from his live version: Rylai's Crystal Scepter is an obvious choice that allows Fiddle to stick to Drained targets more easily and grants him additional survivability that comes in handy considering how often he will be in the thick of the fight. Zhonya's Hourglass remains of course a very safe and smart choice. Liandry's Torment synergizes nicely with his W and R, granting even more tank-shredding power. Fiddlesticks lacks any form of magic penetration or true damage: fill up this weakness with a Void Staff. Repositioning and roaming have become extremely important to Fiddle; Boots of Mobility will make lurking from the dark even easier.

Let me know what you think. Is it too strong? too weak? situational? boring? What is it that Fiddlesticks players enjoy the most about the champion? What is it that they hate the most? I'd love to hear what you people have to say about this concept, so don't be afraid to speak up.