User blog comment:Telaruhn/Aldric, The Elder Guardian/@comment-4773210-20140409044820/@comment-4773210-20140410031131

Based on the optional part, you're saying he should need to hit an ally before the shield procs on himself? Interesting...

Protect's ability to apply Guardian's Seal regardless of cooldown makes it so a champion could have two shields in a short duration. This was the original intent with one iteration of his ability - v1.4, when it had the single-target cleanse. I may have just worded it weird...

In any case, if I allow Protect to trigger Guardian's Seal on both Aldric and his target, regardless of cooldown, and remove the defensive steroids, what would incentivize a player to max Protect at all, other than a lowered cooldown?