Modernizing Teemo
Teemo is my favorite character in league, but he's an old champ in a new game, no question about it. His models are old, animations stiff and lackluster, and his kit suffers from the same problem that most of the oldest champions do; that being "useless" abilities. Despite all this, Teemo is a pseudo-mascot for League (or he used to be, at least) and is somewhat popular champion despite his outdated status. Modernizing Teemo is essentially an impossible task to accomplish because of a number of factors that arise when dealing with a popular champion who has too many bad or unbalanceable things as part of their identity- see Azir, who is still being left in the trash bin until a solution for his kit can be created.
What is Teemo? He's annoying, he's got actually lethal poison, he makes laning for melee's a living hell. His title is "The Swift Scout", but that's not actually what he does in game at all, leading to a big clash of identity. When reworking Teemo, do you keep him as the annoying poison kinda stealthy guy, or do you make him the swift scout he was originally meant to be? Below, the plan I've outlined will hopefully do both in a rework that is
Warwick Scale.
Thematically speaking, the three things this modernization should present Teemo as are:
- Agile
- Poisonous
- Scouty
This rework aims to balance Teemo as a Jungle/Top, Ranged Laner/Scout.
Part 1: Visual Design
Part of modernizing Teemo's kit also includes modernizing him as a character; since a character whose design doesn't utilize their unique looks or features usually comes across as uninteresting.
Visuals:
-Changing the red neck fur to a bandana emblazoned with the crest of Bandle City's Finest.
- Removing Teemo's safari hat (but keeping the goggles) allows for a more expressive facial design that isn't always being blocked by the brim of the hat. Compare the levels of expressiveness that Poppy's face can create with Teemo's unchanging blob face that he currently has to see the reasoning for this change. -Changing Teemo's bowl-bag filled with scrolls to a more modern rucksack that looks like something a "scout" might actually use goes a long way towards improving his visual appeal. -Giving Teemo a fashionable cape/ghillie with big baggy sleeves and an open front lends itself not only to the same scout vibe mentioned before, but it also still lets you emphasize the fact that he's still a yordle through the exposed fur. Ideally, this cape would just cover his back and arms.
-Lastly, replacing the blowgun with a slingshot is the final step on the modern visuals. Teemo will still keep the blowgun tied to his rucksack, but the addition of a slingshot allows for not only a more dynamic auto-attack animation, but also some new tie-ins for abilities that will be discussed later.
[A quick doodle was attached to the post, detailing what this might look like.]
Part 2: Current Detrimental Gameplay
As stated before, Teemo suffers from the same problem that many older champions from the first seasons do: "useless" abilities. For an example of a champion that has been repeatedly changed recently to alleviate uninteresting or "useless" abilities that has happened very recently, see the changes to Cho'Gath's E in our most recent patch. In much the same vein as Cho'Gath's E (Vorpal Spikes), Teemo has two abilities that have almost zero impact for the player themselves; those being his passive and his W, Move Quick.
-Teemo's passive ability is not only an ability that has an extremely niche use and doesn't present real opportunities for the player, it's also an ability harmful to the player environment. The ability is used to hide in a bush while an unsuspecting opponent walks by, then surprise and delete them with the bonus attack speed when revealed. For this passive to be used to its fullest extent however, a Teemo player has to already have accrued a lead for themselves and then delegate time to instantly assassinating the weakest members of the enemy team. Repeatedly. It's also a passive that-while iconic- has almost no use in a real game asides from the aforementioned surprise deletion a la old Rengar.
-Teemo's W is an extremely mild speed boost that almost never feels like it gives you anything. You may use the ability far more than your passive, but because this ability is always maxed last it still doesn't feel like it "does" anything for you. (This is speaking from experience, as I've got a not insignificant number of games on Teemo.)
. Two useless abilities means that all the power of Teemo's kit is shoved into three abilities, all of which are either point-and-click or do an extreme amount of damage, sometimes both. Put simply, having all the power concentrated in three abilities means that Teemo can never be balanced properly- if you buff the numbers on one of the three, he becomes too oppressive. But you can't exactly buff the useless abilities without significantly changing them, either.
The goal of this rework is to give Teemo his full five functioning abilities and shift power around on his kit to allow for a much easier time balancing, hopefully allowing this champion to be picked in a more meaningful capacity for teams in the future.
Part 3: Modernized Kit
Passive; Scout's Honor: Teemo's damaging spells apply Poison, dealing additional damage over four seconds. Poison damage is greatly increased against movement impaired targets.
Usage: Shifting Teemo's poison from his E to his passive not only gets rid of the AA-based AD Teemo with Bork/Runaan build, but it also frees up an entirely uninteractive ability for new effects. It also makes for much easier tuning, as it is not applied to every single auto attack. (Yes, the name is ironic) .
Q; Blinding Dart: Teemo draws out his trusty blowgun and fires a special dart that blinds and nearsights the target. If the target is already afflicted by Poison, this ability slows the target by 50% for .5s.
Usage: Teemo's iconic ability is still around, and now it packs a situational amount of crowd control, giving the scout a chance to corral his targets outside of his ultimate. Much like Warwick's Infinite Duress, there's no reason to get rid of such an iconic move. .
W; Agility: Leap onto a piece of terrain or a Large ally, gaining increased vision range. Teemo can walk around the "edge" of the terrain, but is knocked down when attacking or when attacked.
Usage: Keeping the theme of a mobility ability on the W that doesn't deal damage, this new move for Teemo doesn't just let him fulfill the role of a scout by perching on a wall to scout out the jungle- it also allows him to cross a wall by jumping and dismounting the other side. If a player is willing to take their time, they can walk around the edge of a wall to find a better position to jump off.
Note: A large ally is an ally of not insignificant size, such as the target of Lulu's R-Polymorph, a Cho'Gath with stacks, Mega Gnar, etc. .
E; Forage: Passive: Teemo forages for food while roaming the jungle and not in combat, periodically healing himself when he finds shrooms to munch on. Active: Teemo scoops up new rocks for his slingshot. Autoattacks deal bonus damage and shatter over an area on hit for the next 3/+ seconds.
Usage: This ability gives Teemo some much needed ways to clear the jungle faster. Healing periodically while roaming allows the scout to survive encounters with subsequent camps after his leash, and the active gives him some much needed AoE damage to clear those tougher camps. .
R; Scout's Beacon: Deploy a pressure pad, alerting Teemo when an enemy or neutral monster steps on it, much like a vision plant. The pads remain in place for 5/7/10 minutes after being placed, and are not removed or turned visible when triggered.
If an enemy steps on a pad while affected by Poison, the pad detonates and slows in an area around it.
Usage: The iconic shrooms are an interesting trap that is unique to the game, but they don't help fulfill the "scout" fantasy at all. This new ability gives Teemo even stronger control of areas he has filled with pressure pads, allowing him to keep a close eye on enemy movements in the fog of war, but they're solely for scouting purposes. On the plus side, they are not removed when stepped on, which greatly increases longevity and scouting potential.
But even so, the battle damage potential of the shrooms would be sorely missed. Thus, the addendum to the ability that allows the pads to be used in combat, though not as easily as a shroom. Proper setup of pads to secure entry points near objectives, combined with used of E: Forage to poison several members of the enemy team and thereby allow the pads to detonate is what will separate good Teemos from great Teemos.
Part 4: Conclusion
This ends my attempt to create a more modern Teemo, one more open to balancing but also more conducive to pro play and fulfilling not only the stealthy poison gameplay, but also the real role of being a "swift scout". A character that can explore new areas quickly, set up ways to be alerted of enemy movements in the jungle, and be a real controller of the battlefield- all while still maintaining the some characteristics that current Teemo has.
Feedback, thoughts on the kit, Teemo mains who happen to work for Riot, any responses are welcome!