Botany, the fourth Inspiration Keystone
Given the ever-growing selection of Keystone in League of Legends and the need for a fourth Sorcery, Resolve, and Inspiration Keystone, I saw it as a fun idea to brainstorm some ideas for the most creative of the three, and try to design the fourth Inspiration keystone.
Introducing Botany
Botany is a unique take on the Inspiration tree Keystones that aims towards the goal of utilizing the current existing plants across the rift allowing players to plant there own wherever they wish. This idea perfectly fits the rule-bending theme of the Inspiration tree as it enables players to make decisions in advance which will grant them utility in the future. Plants like Blast Cones would allow for aggressive engages whereas Honeyfruits would allow for defensive sustain.
When taking the Botany Keystone the player would be granted the ability to buy up to three seeds at a time in the shop located under the consumables tab. Following their purchase, the player would then be able to place/plant the seed similar to placing a ward. After a designated amount of time (scaling down with game time), the plant would fully grow and act identically to its counterpart in the jungle.
I have personally created a visual representation of a rune page which uses Botany. Botany's icon was made from scratch by me with the goal of suiting the theme riots already existing Keystone icons.
Numbers and Balancing
Seed prices
As I see it it would be fair to price seeds around 51-100 gold with a 40% sell value.
It is important to have the price at a point in which the seeds are not better than health potions but still are reasonably priced enough to be useful at all stages of the game.
Time to Grow
Regarding the time needed for a plant to grow into its adult form, I think it would be fair to have the plant take 1 min to grow at <10 minutes, 30 sec to grow at 20-30minutes and 15 sec to grow at >30 minutes.
It is important that plants are not able to be used in times of panic as the goal of this keystone is to reward foresight.
Enemy Interaction
Although you planted the seed it doesn't always mean you will be the one benefiting from it. Enemy players will be able to see opposing players plants if in vision. Even when just growing. Once the plant is fully grown any player will be able to use them just like normal jungle plants. Counterplay like this promotes smart warding as your opponent's plants will be much less useful if you are able to see what they're planning.
Conclusion
To conclude Botany would be an amazing addition to League of Legends due to its unique design and ability to reward a player with foresight. In addition, I would love to hear any feedback or criticisms and strongly promote discussion of the numbers chosen for seed price and grow time.
Much love
-ItsStiggs
Useful Links
http://leagueoflegends.wikia.com/wiki/Consumable_item
