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Before I get into any real detail on my next champion, Phennig, I'd like to discuss mechanics.
For my inspiration, I am looking at Melia from Xenoblade Chronicles. She uses a unique spellcasting mechanic where she has multiple elements that she can "invoke", granting her passive bonuses. She can invoke up to 3 elements at one time and they have no duration. She then has an ability that allows her to "release" the last element she invoked. The "release" usually results in damage to an enemy or healing Melia. Each element has a cooldown on "invoking", but there is no cooldown on "releasing". She also has other spells that don't follow this mechanic (e.g. an AoE Sleep spell). Each character in Xenoblade Chronicles also has a "talent" ability, and Melia's is that she charges up power with every "release" and when she maxes it out, her subsequent "releases" deal additional damage and this effect lasts a certain number of casts.
For example, Melia invokes Lightning. This procs a 15 second cooldown on the invoke and grants her 1 stack of Lightning, increasing her damage by 10%. She waits 15 seconds and casts it again, granting her an additional stack of Lightning. She then immediately invokes Fire, granting her a stack of Fire. She then waits out the cooldown on invoke Lightning and begins to engage an opponent. She releases fire for AoE damage then immediately invokes Lightning, and begins to release all three charges of lightning for massive single target damage. An alternative would have been to keep the 20% damage bonus from the stacks of Lightning and cycle through the other elements (fire earth water).
There were 2 things I was debating over in order to accomplish a similar style of play to Melia:
A) Q W E become different elements (not necessarily the classic elements, I can very well change the demographic to something more unique) each with 6 ranks (like Karma). Ranking up a spell would increase its passive bonus while invoked and damage on release. Invoking a spell would cost mana and put that invocation on cooldown. R would be available at all times and would perform the function of "releasing" a spell, having no cost and being on a 0.5 sec cd. "Release" would perform the spell based on what element was last invoked, consuming that invocation. The passive would align with Melia's "talent", causing Phennig to stack up to 5 charges (that grant no bonus) and on the 6th, he gains a buff that causes him to deal increased damage for 10 seconds or 1-4 uses of "release". He won't be able to charge up his passive while in this effect.
The main problem with this style is that you only have 3 spells with unique effects and the only depth you can get is from having different spells invoked for their unique bonuses. The playstyle would revolve solely around the passive charging and the order in which you casts spells. You can have 3 invoked elements ready for the start of a fight and all 3 invocations off cooldown. You release the first element, invoke another, release it, invoke a 2nd, release it, then invoke the last and release all three. I had an idea of having each element put a debuff on the affected units that stacked, granting a unique reward for different spell combinations. Upon reaching 3 or 4 stacks of a unique debuff, there would be an additional triggered effect, such as a stun or additional damage. The other type of debuff would affect the other subsequent spells cast on the affected targets (e.g. Release fire on champ A, he gets a debuff that causes subsequent spells to have additional effect in an AoE).
Another problem is the recharge time on invoking spells and being able to react quickly to a fight. Melia's elements are on 15+ second cooldowns, some with 30 second cooldowns. You'd have to run around charging you elements outside of combat for a while in order to be ready for combat with a full set of elements invoked. There are different ways to set up the elements in this kit in order to fit it into a fast paced environment: 1) Have shorter cooldowns (~8 seconds) on all the elements, 2) Utilize an ammo mechanic which can be done in two ways: A) Each element generates ammo every 10-15 seconds, stacking up to 2 or 3 times, and can only be invoked if a charge is present. The problem with this is that you can cast too many spells if they're all fully charged. B) Create a single ammo system that every element pulls from, have it charge up a stack every 6-10 seconds and cap at 3 or 4. This way, if you need a certain passive bonus from elements, you can dump your current elements and invoke new ones and this allows you to invoke the same element 3 times in a row quickly. The problem with this is that it gives a potential of casting the same element 6 times in a row.
The other idea I had was this:
B) Q becomes the release spell, W becomes a "Pick-an-Element" like TF's W, E becomes a silence/snare, and R becomes a massive AoE burst that decreases targets' Magic Resist. Ranking up Q increases the damage of the release, W increases the passive buffs, E increases the duration, and R increases the damage and shred. W would function with no cooldown to cast it, but selecting an element would put that element on cooldown, preventing it from being selected for the cd. You can still select the other elements. The pro for this method is a larger skillset. The cons are having Q be independent from W but still have synergy (since you can't level them both at level 1), most of the same problems with the 3 invoked elements, and providing a unique feel to each element without allowing the champion to do too much.
I am leaning towards the first idea (QWE elements, R release). Please let me know your thoughts and feel free to ask any questions in order to better understand my ideas for this concept.
Before I get into any real detail on my next champion, Phennig, I'd like to discuss mechanics.
For my inspiration, I am looking at Melia from Xenoblade Chronicles. She uses a unique spellcasting mechanic where she has multiple elements that she can "invoke", granting her passive bonuses. She can invoke up to 3 elements at one time and they have no duration. She then has an ability that allows her to "release" the last element she invoked. The "release" usually results in damage to an enemy or healing Melia. Each element has a cooldown on "invoking", but there is no cooldown on "releasing". She also has other spells that don't follow this mechanic (e.g. an AoE Sleep spell). Each character in Xenoblade Chronicles also has a "talent" ability, and Melia's is that she charges up power with every "release" and when she maxes it out, her subsequent "releases" deal additional damage and this effect lasts a certain number of casts.
For example, Melia invokes Lightning. This procs a 15 second cooldown on the invoke and grants her 1 stack of Lightning, increasing her damage by 10%. She waits 15 seconds and casts it again, granting her an additional stack of Lightning. She then immediately invokes Fire, granting her a stack of Fire. She then waits out the cooldown on invoke Lightning and begins to engage an opponent. She releases fire for AoE damage then immediately invokes Lightning, and begins to release all three charges of lightning for massive single target damage. An alternative would have been to keep the 20% damage bonus from the stacks of Lightning and cycle through the other elements (fire earth water).
There were 2 things I was debating over in order to accomplish a similar style of play to Melia:
A) Q W E become different elements (not necessarily the classic elements, I can very well change the demographic to something more unique) each with 6 ranks (like Karma). Ranking up a spell would increase its passive bonus while invoked and damage on release. Invoking a spell would cost mana and put that invocation on cooldown. R would be available at all times and would perform the function of "releasing" a spell, having no cost and being on a 0.5 sec cd. "Release" would perform the spell based on what element was last invoked, consuming that invocation. The passive would align with Melia's "talent", causing Phennig to stack up to 5 charges (that grant no bonus) and on the 6th, he gains a buff that causes him to deal increased damage for 10 seconds or 1-4 uses of "release". He won't be able to charge up his passive while in this effect.
The main problem with this style is that you only have 3 spells with unique effects and the only depth you can get is from having different spells invoked for their unique bonuses. The playstyle would revolve solely around the passive charging and the order in which you casts spells. You can have 3 invoked elements ready for the start of a fight and all 3 invocations off cooldown. You release the first element, invoke another, release it, invoke a 2nd, release it, then invoke the last and release all three. I had an idea of having each element put a debuff on the affected units that stacked, granting a unique reward for different spell combinations. Upon reaching 3 or 4 stacks of a unique debuff, there would be an additional triggered effect, such as a stun or additional damage. The other type of debuff would affect the other subsequent spells cast on the affected targets (e.g. Release fire on champ A, he gets a debuff that causes subsequent spells to have additional effect in an AoE).
Another problem is the recharge time on invoking spells and being able to react quickly to a fight. Melia's elements are on 15+ second cooldowns, some with 30 second cooldowns. You'd have to run around charging you elements outside of combat for a while in order to be ready for combat with a full set of elements invoked. There are different ways to set up the elements in this kit in order to fit it into a fast paced environment: 1) Have shorter cooldowns (~8 seconds) on all the elements, 2) Utilize an ammo mechanic which can be done in two ways: A) Each element generates ammo every 10-15 seconds, stacking up to 2 or 3 times, and can only be invoked if a charge is present. The problem with this is that you can cast too many spells if they're all fully charged. B) Create a single ammo system that every element pulls from, have it charge up a stack every 6-10 seconds and cap at 3 or 4. This way, if you need a certain passive bonus from elements, you can dump your current elements and invoke new ones and this allows you to invoke the same element 3 times in a row quickly. The problem with this is that it gives a potential of casting the same element 6 times in a row.
The other idea I had was this:
B) Q becomes the release spell, W becomes a "Pick-an-Element" like TF's W, E becomes a silence/snare, and R becomes a massive AoE burst that decreases targets' Magic Resist. Ranking up Q increases the damage of the release, W increases the passive buffs, E increases the duration, and R increases the damage and shred. W would function with no cooldown to cast it, but selecting an element would put that element on cooldown, preventing it from being selected for the cd. You can still select the other elements. The pro for this method is a larger skillset. The cons are having Q be independent from W but still have synergy (since you can't level them both at level 1), most of the same problems with the 3 invoked elements, and providing a unique feel to each element without allowing the champion to do too much.
I am leaning towards the first idea (QWE elements, R release). Please let me know your thoughts and feel free to ask any questions in order to better understand my ideas for this concept.