User blog comment:ArtMaster7/Stilerion the Dragon Breeder/@comment-3391671-20170909182626/@comment-3391671-20170918014141

''Warning: Wall of text. Summary of my gripes do come at the bottom few paragraphs. So if you don't have time, and don't mind blunt comments off the bat, then refer to the last portion of this reply.''

I'm well aware that not everyone is a good storyteller. Even if they are good storytellers, there are parts of story writing that is subjective to each person's preference. Thus, I find that there is always a flexibility to writing, and if there is anything I find that isn't appealing, it is not always "wrong" but a dissonance in the approach.

Surely, since the last time I have read Stilerion's backstory, there have been some expansions. However, if you do not mind me being blunt, the improvements seem to be minimal in comparison to the amount of content added. Some questions remained unaswered, or new ones have appeared. You did say yourself that the changes were not that large, but even then, plot holes still remain.


 * The portrayal of creatures and beings will differ per person, and will have differences depending on what culture you are from. You portray dragons as terrifying creatures, for example. Yet, I find that dragons are more than "terrifying" as they can be much more noble or magnificent. They are not some or large beast, but one of the many mythical species that is more than their fangs. I think of them in the same tier as magical golems and high spirits. However, you happen to reduce their roles into being terrible bad guys. The reasoning of "the portrayal of them should follow this template" is more or less a scapegoat than a valid reason, since I can say "X champion can be portrayed as a typical gallant knight because that's how they are popularly portrayed" if I follow that reasoning. But you might agree, that would just make another  when I could try to make something more distinct out of it


 * A well written story adds something more distinct to even the villains, adding that extra layer under the surface. Why didn't these dragons kill the Drakumen until now? Why didn't the Drakumens have any way to retaliate against the dragons who were visibly displeased with their presence? Don't just use dragons as a tool to fuel villainy; let them be live characters in a way with their own train of thought.

So Dragon Sorceress inspired this concept? That's not a bad place to start. However, while I too agree that RITO has listened to fan ideas before, I find that this concept has some shortcomings by making this tie. If you had kept it as a simply "I was influenced," there is more to what you can do with Stilerion. But from my understanding and observance, you seem to mimic some of the things done in 's kit, with obvious differences. Story wise, there is no more legitimacy in Stilerion ever meeting Zyra beyond "the author wanted it to"; I don't get any strong need of a "dragon vs plant" fight. Plus, I don't think you should simplify the breeding process of a creature to the growing process of a plant; they have enough differences that the comparison seems to be more ideal than realistic.

This does lead into an issue in the kit. Likely because you drew parallels between Stilerion and, the breeding process of dragons has an issue. You trivialize the process by making them being spawned like a bird egg. Then they become these, as you say, tower-like presence that can move. Xyclone may have not realized that you did make these dragons powerful enough, although I find them too powerful to be in this kind of kit. Why? Because Stilerion is much like old with all the issues his kit had, with buffed QWE units.


 * The had both thematic and mechanical issues by having unit-summoning being bound to his QWE keys. First, these units could not be strong; if they did become strong, they had to be gated in some way, which is what you did to the dragons. Gating something for a powerful effect is alright on paper, but in application, it can create some wonky or unbalanced dynamics. As I mentioned before, Stilerion relies too much on the jungle and would not be suited for any other map than Summoner's Rift; even on SR, Stilerion is too easily counter jungled, and would likely be displeasing to play with his eggs destroyed over and over.


 * Thematically, having a "unique" unit tied to each basic ability key devalues the main champion's presence. Even though you've attempted to create basic abilities that need to be cast prior to summoning dragons... they don't create enough identity than making Stilerion some kind of bland "dragon tamer." The summoned dragons create a balance off-set for Stilerion, essentially. This is why most champions who have a pet use anonymous pets ( and current ) or more identifiable partners ( and ). fits in the first category, since her plants are nothing more than faceless plants; however, you cannot say so much for dragons which have too much thematic presence to be made into an army of minions.

In regards to jungling, I find that you miss the point of what I question. Yes, you can protect your jungle, but in most cases, it's not you defending the camps but you killing the attacker. Sometimes, this doesn't guarantee that the camp remains unharmed, and if eggs are fragile enough, Stilerion will not have eggs around. The "risk & reward" system here is a bit too much, in that it feels like Stilerion risks a lot of gameplay (tied strictly to jungles, eggs are vulnerable and can cause clear times to be readily reduced) to have these "towers of " rewards.


 * Enemies may surely seek out eggs. It's not like they are hidden, neither would it be a hindrance if they are counter-junglers in the first place. Plus, the reward is reducing Stilerion's power budget in the game by removing dragons. FYI, Stilerion's base abilities have some rather unbalanced aspects (on-click and on-cast stealh detection), and will likely have a nerf to it, making it a poor base-kit without his dragons for balance purposes.

Having a summoner who can summon a creature like much a dragon sounds cool for sure. But as long as there are dragons on the rift, and champions like who are already dragon in kin, Stilerion's unique dwindles if you stop at "dragon summoner." You need to do more.


 * As of now, mechanically, Stilerion is a gated summoner, whose kit lacks any outright unique capabilities, with vague ties to being a dragon-kin (his dragon breath E deals physical damage? wut?). Due to how much tie there is for dragons, Stilerion's ult doesn't shine as much due to being a repositioning tool of an existing dragon unit. As a kit, it does not inspire deep into the dragon-breeder fantasy due to limitations in making Stilerion take care of these three dragon types.


 * Thematically, as mentioned before, the backstory does not explain certain questions, such as about the dragons or Stilerion's background (also, as asked, was it intended that Stilerion, a male, can lay eggs, or am I unaware that in other cultures, male dragons can lay eggs too?). Stilerion himself feels unnatural as he moves from being a "random Drakumen" to being a vengeful one, to them forgiving dragons because he saw dragon eggs. It may be because of how the lore is nothing more than a summary, but nonetheless makes Stilerion shallow, nothing more than a puppet on the author's story string.