SHEN
The Eye of Twilight
In his current form, Shen doesn’t feel much like a ninja. His gameplay is slow paced and lacks skill expression. Also, the whole “floating sword following him around” thing, isn’t very action-packed. With this new kit there is much more room for fast-paced, skill expressive gameplay, making him feel like the defensive ninja we all want him to be.
Abilities
Ki Barrier
Passive
After completing an ability's effects, Shen shields himself for 50 − 101 (based on level) (+ 14% bonus health) for 2.5 seconds. If the triggering ability successfully affected at least one champion, Ki Barrier's cooldown is reduced by 4 − 7.5 (based on level) seconds. Base cooldown = 10 seconds. Dealing damage with abilities restores energy.
Notes: I have removed the reference to his floating spirit blade which he controls using his abilities as I have done away with that concept in this rework due to the fact that it made Shen feel less like the buff, tanky, action-packed ninja we know and love and more like a soft and gentle sage. I have added the "Dealing damage with abilities restores energy" effect to the passive as it was pointlessly cluttered to have it appear as an extra passive on both his Q and E.
Twilight Assault
Q
If holding his spirit blade, Shen throws it to a target location up to a moderate range away, slowing and dealing minor magic damage to enemies hit along the way. The blade will then stay at that location until picked up or recalled. If Shen walks over the spirit blade then he will pick it back up. If Shen is not holding his spirit blade then casting this ability will recall it to his hand from its current location, hitting all enemies along its way. Picking up or recalling spirit blade empowers Shen’s next 3 basic attacks, granting them increased attack speed and causing them to deal bonus magic damage scaling with the target’s maximum health and Shen's Ability Power. This attack speed and bonus damage increases based on the number of enemies hit by the blade since it was last in Shen’s hand.
Notes: As mentioned in the design notes on the passive, I have removed the floating spirit blade mechanic from Shen's kit and so his Q, which previously move the blade to him, had to be drastically changed. This new Q retains the idea of a spirit blade but makes it far more kinetic and satisfying to use as Shen now throws it at enemies and then yanks it back through them (potentially from across the map), dealing damage to them rather than just slowing them down. This makes this ability feel far more impactful and better fulfils the fantasy of being a tough Ninja Master. This retains the interesting gameplay of managing where your spirit blade is on the map and in-fact makes it even more vital for both you and your opponents to pay attention to due to the fact that Q is now a damaging ability. The skill ceiling of this ability has also been raised as you are rewarded for every enemy you hit with your Q rather than for just hitting 1, allowing skilled players who are able to constantly hit multiple enemies to reap greater rewards. This also harkens back to Shen's original Q, with which he would throw a katana at a single target, so that should be pleasing to veteran players who remember that classic iteration of Shen's kit.
Spirit's Refuge
W
Shen primes his Spirit Blade, creating an area around it. If Shen or an allied champion enter or are within the area, or after 2 seconds, the Spirit Blade creates a protective zone around it for 1.75 seconds, blocking all non-turret basic attacks that hit Shen or allied champions in the area.
Notes: This ability remains unchanged from its current iteration as it does a good job of giving Shen some defensive and supportive power while providing him a niche as an anti-basic-attack champion. The usability of this ability is changed somewhat though by the overhaul to his Q as now, due to the fact that he can wield the spirit blade rather than just have it float around, he is able to carry the Spirit's Refuge around with him rather than only direct its position with his Q.
Shadow Dash
E
Shen dashes to the target location, dealing physical damage to all enemy champions and monsters in his path and taunting them for 1.5 seconds.
Notes: Shadow Dash remain unchanged from its previous incarnation due to its iconic status. Any major changes would not be appreciated by the player-base as they would be very detrimental to Shen's identity as a champion.
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Stand United
R
channels for 3 seconds, shielding the target allied champion at the time of cast for up to 5 seconds, increased by 0% − 60% (based on target's missing health). Upon completing the channel, Shen blinks to the target ally's location, placing himself between them and the nearest enemy champion. Shen also destroys any projectiles targeting him at the time of completion.
Notes: This is another super iconic ability for Shen, its probably what he is best known for, and so I didn't feel the need to make too many alterations. I have however removed the fact that his spirit blade blinks with him I believe some interesting gameplay could be found in Shen using his Q to throw his spirit blade, then using his R to blink across the map and then using his Q again to pull his spirit blade back to him from the other side of the map, allowing it to potentially strike enemies from a surprising angle and letting it strike lots of targets along the way, granting Shen a very powerful version of the Twilight Assault buff as its effectiveness now scales with the number of targets the blade has hit since Shen last held it.