What's the problem with Garen?[]
As everyone who plays Garen a bit (or looks at his kit and thinks about it for a moment) knows, he only has like one main strategy when dealing with enemys:
- run up to the enemy
- spin
- try to do a 
finishing blow or back off
This includes a few decisions by the player:
- do I 
Q just to be faster or do i wait for a slow to cleanse?
- do I need to activate 
W ?
- where to position while 
spinning
The problem is, as soon as a part of his strategy doesn't work (e.g. Garen gets outtraded while spinning or he can't back off) he has only little to no options left to deal with the situation.
How to improve Garen?[]
Garen needs changes to his kit that allow more decisions and more options in a fight.
With the Juggernaut Update Riot already tried to include some more decisions Garen has to make:
- do I spin on a single enemy to deal bonus damage or do I spin on multiple enemys?
- do I do the whole spin or do i cancel it early to get the reduced CD?
- do I try to Ult the villian or is there another more valuable/reachable target?
So my idea is not to give Garen more raw power, but some new mechanics the player can use when doing it right or reward him for certain decisions.
My ideas:[]
Idea 1:
Q
new effect: Upon hitting an enemy champion, who is not "already quiet", with Q, its CD gets reduced by 0.5 sec OR 1-CDR sec per nearby enemy champion
new effect: Hitting an enemy champion (except the villian) with Q debuffs them with "already quiet" for Q CD sec.
My intention: This allows Garen to be either a disrupter and repeatedly silence different enemys or the villian, or he does his normal combo on one enemy and may use Q on his target again, if he manages to stick to it.
Idea 2: Q
new effect: Also breaks free from roots
new effect: Successfully removing a root or a slow greater than 70%, Q gives an additional 15% movementspeed when facing towards an enemy champion
My intention: Rewards right timing or patience. The decision is: do I need the Q damage and CC, or do I wait to cleanse some strong slow and endure weak slows?
Idea 3: W
new effect: While active, reduces slows by an absolute 10/15/20/25/30%
e.g., Garen may be able to ignore slows that are weaker than 30%
My intention: Giving W the power to remove Garens weakness of getting kited by spammable slows for some seconds. As this only works lategame, choosing the right situation to use it will allow you to get in/out, but choosing wrong lets you vulnerable for several seconds.
Idea 4: W
new effect: While active, a single CC can't affect Garen for longer than 1 sec
My intention: Well, thats actually just adding power. Maybe not that great for interactivity.
Idea 5: W
new effect: On activating, gain an additional 1 sec buff that reduces incoming damage by 30%
My intention: Rewards right timing when facing burst damage.
Idea 6: E
new effect: Upon finishing/canceling the spin, Garen gains bonus movementspeed based on how many ticks hit atleast one enemy champion
OR
new effect: Upon finishing a complete spin with every tick hitting atleast one enemy champion, Garen gains bonus movementspeed
My intention: Garens main combo is Q-E-R/getting out. This helps him at the getting out part, if he risks doing a full spin. For teamfights, this would also help at repositioning.
Idea 7: E
new effect: Upon finishing a complete spin, both Q CD and W CD get reduced by 0.5 and 1 sec respectively per spin-tick that hit an enemy champion
OR
new effect: Upon finishing a complete spin with every tick hitting atleast one enemy champion, Q CD and W CD get reduced by 0.5*#spinticks and 1*#spinticks sec respectively
My intention: Risking a full spin may allow Garen to do another Q and have W up again for the next trade. Keep in mind that the enemy had 3 seconds of moving and 1.5 seconds of using abilities to fight back/reposition, so getting the reward is a great risk.
Idea 8: E
new effect: Enemys not hit by the inner circle take bonus damage
My intention: Just an idea to encourage keeping an eye on Garens positioning
For those concerned about buffing Garen[]
I don't want to straight out buff Garen. If he gets some new options, his current power could be split up for those. If Q-E-R isn't his only option anymore, his damage could be nerfed so Q-E-R won't kill any squishy (who hasn't got a shild, lifesteal or 1 defensive item) anymore.
So, what do you think about my ideas, or do you got some ideas of your own? Feel free to comment and share your thoughts.