League Analysis: Summoner Clairvoyance

Summoner spell removal isn't anything new. Season(s) ago, other summoner spells existed within the game until they were removed, with Surge as the most recent with the Season 3 changes. More recently, the summoner Revive was slated for removal when Season 4 came along. The result of this was an uproar stating that it reduced creative play, so while it may have been removed for a time a few months before, it is back with a new icon to boot. However, given some recent changes, I find there may be a problem with another summoner that is barely ever used. As the title may suggest, I am referring to Clairvoyance.

The current icon for Clarivoyance, as found on the wiki.

The Problem(s)

It's strange that Clairvoyance hasn't particularly seen a lot of use. I remember back in the days of Season 2 when supports ran it very frequently for on-demand vision. Given the recent changes in Season 4 where vision is a little more difficult to come by in the beginning (because of tank masteries for support, for instance), Clairvoyance could've had a niche for usage, though it would've fallen off later when supports got their Sightstones and the population of Stealth Wards on the map reach an all-time high. However, there are some other recent changes that hold Clarivoyance back from being a useful summoner besides ones that have existed for a while (i.e. combat summoners enhance combat potential and are thus more desirable).

• Eleisa's Miracle reduced the cooldown of Clairvoyance, but was removed. While this was probably the right move anyways, it is effectively a nerf to Clairvoyance.
• All masteries that improved summoner spells were removed. The bonus effect for Clairvoyance greatly increased its usefulness in Season 3 by giving vision on champions revealed by the effect for a time.
• However, it is worth pointing out all summoner spells effectively got "nerfed" by this change.
• The Scrying Orb trinket is a limited version of the Clarivoyance summoner spell, which makes it an alternative to the summoner spell. Furthermore, as if to add insult to injury, the Scrying Orb and its upgrades grant vision of champions revealed by the effect for a time.

Solution(s)

With all these issues, Clarivoyance seems to be an old, out of date summoner in need of some change. There are a couple of ways to handle the problems, in my opinion.

• Firstly, Clarivoyance could be removed and the power of the Scrying Orb could be increased, such as by giving it dramatic range increases with subsequent upgrades and/or increasing the duration of the vision granted.
• Alternatively, Scrying Orb could be removed and Clairvoyance could grant vision of enemy champions for a time by default, giving the summoner spell some future potential.

Hopefully, some change is on the horizon. To be honest I don't know why Clairvoyance wasn't considered for removal given the Season 4 changes and the apparent need to try to remove Revive.