Taric Rework Concept
I was bored and, in the middle of working on a new concept, I had an idea that I thought would also work well on a Taric rework. When I designed this new kit, I wanted to keep Taric as a viable top laner as well as a strong, aura-based support. I also had the idea of making him far more attack focused than other supports, who may only use one AA effectively during trades.
P: Gemcraft - Whenever Taric uses a basic ability, his basic attacks have a bonus effect based on what ability was used. Using another ability replaces the current bonus. Taric loses this bonus if he doesn't use an ability within X seconds.
Q: Imbue - Taric heals both himself and an ally over 3 seconds. If they remain within a short distance of each other, the heal is increased by 40%. If Taric targets himself, he gets the full 40% increase. Gemcraft: Taric restores a small amount of health on hit.
W: Shatter (unchanged) - Taric passively gains flat armor and an armor aura for allies, and can activate to lose his flat bonus, deal damage, and lower the enemy's armor. Gemcraft: Enemies hit by Taric take a small % more damage.
E: Dazzle - Taric shoots out a wide but slow skillshot that stuns and damages the first champion hit, ignoring minions. The shot continues to it's max distance, slowing but not damaging champions hit. Gemcraft: Taric slows enemies by a small percent on hit.
R: Radiance - Taric slams his hammer into the ground, dealing damage to nearby opponents. Then all nearby allies gain Taric's passive bonus at the time of the cast, as long as they remain in range. If Taric uses another ability during this time, his allies' buff is unaffected.
I don't have exact numbers because I don't know what would be balanced, but they'd be pretty close to his current numbers. Cooldowns would be lower to compensate for the loss of a CD reducing passive as well as making it possible to maintain the new one. Mana costs would be slightly reduced for the same reason, and his heal would be reduced to keep it from being oppressive. Damage on his W, E, and R would remain about the same, or slightly higher. Range on his E and R aura would also be increased.
The changes to his abilities were mainly to add more interesting play while keeping his old strengths. His Q requires him to stay near his healing ally for the full effect, which may not always be a good thing. His E trades reliability for range, and can also use positioning to increase it's power. R now gives more than flat stats, and makes him think a little before using it.
SCRAPPED PASSIVES:
Gemcraft stacks up to three times, and combines the effects with each attack. Was slightly inspired by DotA Invoker. Scrapped because it would require extremely low CDs on abilities, or be difficult to use anything but a QWE combination.
Gemcraft has a larger bonus, but only applies on the next attack, similar to Sheen. Scrapped due to inability to work well with Radiance.
So, what do you think? Does it stay true to Taric's current theme? Would one of the scrapped passives work better? Would any of these abilities need to be changed, or outright replaced? Feedback is greatly appreciated.