Quote:
Originally Posted by RiotAmes
Sion definitely needs some love. What would your expectation for an update be? His current (typical) gameplay doesn't really lend itself to 'beefy guy with axe'. Do you think we'd need to change the kit or visuals in order to get something cohesive, or would you be satisfied with a straight improvement of his looks with his current abilities?
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I don't really think his kit works anymore. With the synergy that most kits bring to the table now, and the fact that all infinite scale champs (nasus + veigar) are out of the spotlight due to the requirement of farm, his kit becomes even more outdated.
If you want to stick with a similar visual effect (which is cool, Sion is unique and relate-able in the sense that we are already familiar with his appearance) I'd be all for it. As for abilities, I love these opportunities to throw out some new kit ideas.
Now, I see Sion as a
beefy tank champion.
I mean, he has an arrow in his shoulder blade!
Passive: Feel No Pain - I like Sion's passive for a tanky champion personally, however it could possibly
go further and
advance that passive to his teammates to a smaller degree (giving them, say, a 20% chance to resist 20/30/40 damage).
Q: Cryptic Gaze - Sion's most well known ability, and the passion (or lack thereof) of the LoL Community. As a tanky champ, this becomes a
key initiation and peel skill which would create real viability for Sion.
Now, since I've always found a
key issue with Sion is
mana costs. He doesn't have the mana necessary to do his job when he needs it most, so this may be a good reason to try out
adding a new resource to Sion (be it the Fury System where his skills become more potent based on the Fury Stored, an Energy System such as Shen's. Through use of one of these systems Sion can use his abilities WHENEVER he has them up, making him a strong peeler AND initiator as he can do his job when he needs to.
W: Death's Caress - Fun if you're building AP, but if you're building AP, it seems to defeat its own purpose based on the fact that you are risking your squishy-ness (from lack of tank items) to blow up your only defense to deal damage. While it may present some interesting trade offs as far as damage vs survivability goes, it doesn't seem to fit. A possible better fit for a tank styled champion such as what I am proposing would be to utilize his Axe.
It's that big for a reason right? Thinking defensively in terms of "big axe", the first thing that comes to mind would be
a shield. Picture Sion
spinning his Axe in front of him (like Jax does with his lantern over his head). Now with his Axe, he
creates a wind field (or force field) that can be used to
deflect/absorb enemy skills and becomes impassable by enemies as well.
Example: Ezreal uses his ulti, your ADC is low, you as the tank run in front of them, activate your shield and are able to block the skill, saving your ADC.
Example 2: Sion sees blitzcrank lining up a pull. To avoid blitz pulling his teammate and this fight likely becoming a 4v5, Sion pops his shield and flashes in the path of the grab, blocking it and ending the shield, saving his team from a probable wipe.
Reason this is Balanced: Since the shield would break after one deflected skill, it can't block too many cc's to be deemed overly OP. It can be popped by any skill, including something like Ez's Mystic Shot. Additionally, with the skill only effecting the area in front of Sion (and possibly his sides as well), the lack of proper placement (aka, back turned) will render the skill useless.
E: Enrage - As I mentioned before, infinite cap farm abilities have fallen out in League due to the length of time it takes for a player to achieve the farm necessary for it to make enough of a difference in the game. Sometimes, the game may be over before this point is even reached, and the entire game was spent farming.
While the addition of damage to this skill while on is great for AD Sion, the question becomes, what is Sion supposed to be currently? AD? Great, His Q+E+R Have pretty decent synergy for AD, but if he's AP, Sion's ulti and E become virtually useless, which isn't fun for the player to limit themselves to what is essentially a 2 skill kit.
In order to
solidify Sion's kit as a
tank champion, I would continue to look in the direction of
peel and initiation as they are deemed two of the key elements in a good tank character (see Leona, Taric, Singed for examples). Continuing with the theme of Sion's large Axe, consider replacing Sion's E with a Darius/XinZhao element. Sion spins around, swinging his axe, and pulling anyone caught inwards towards him.
This provides a necessary
peel element to his kit that really solidifies Sion as a fierce tank champion, as well as adding another
small level of initiation should he find an
enemy is straying too far from his team.
Last but not least..
R: Cannibalism - An interesting and fun skill, but with his current kit,
not much synergy when built anyway other than AD. So I suggest a
full replace of this skill.
My idea for Sion's
ultimate would be to
share the power of his Axe, granting it to target
ally providing them with
bonus AD or AP (grants one or the other based on which is higher on target ally), a
small slow (cripples from how big and powerful the axe is), and
bonus lifesteal or spell vamp (based on whether the ally receives AD or AP, which is then split between Sion and his target ally), thus making this skill
usable on any member of his team and still
benefiting them with their
most beneficial resource (AD or AP) while
not providing both to make hybrids overly powerful, and providing some small healing and defenses for that character (be it a carry, or yourself charging into battle giving yourself the buffs).
As far as
visually, I can see
Sion's Axe, floating over the target's head, glowing red and empowering the target with a red aura of power.
Edit: By the way, I'm a college student studying Game Design, so any feedback is really appreciated. Thinking about applying for an internship at Riot over the summer! 
