quick explainer on the valo init changes from the pro perspective
40s recharge = util at 1:40, 1:00, 0:20 = you had two waves of ability into an exec on 3rd, sometimes you could even fake with 3rd wave
60s recharge = util at 1:40, 0:40, -0:20. if you use your 2nd wave just for some map stuff then you're basically not getting it back before the dying seconds of postplant, if that
riot's intent here, coupled with the senti changes, was clearly that teams would basically have two big fights per round essentially instead of smaller fights/util trading/etc. earlier in the round. speed up the game a bit, splashier spectator experience, etc.. what actually happened was:
yoru DD meta = teams took huge amounts of map space so that the second fight would suck for the team that didn't do that, hence everyone just played yoru+1 and ended the round at 1:35 either way
non-yoru DD meta = this time, the first fight stopped happening as a default (depends on map etc.). teams took space, sat in space, walked around a bit into safe areas, then had one big fight later in the clock. this was lower variance than yoru DD meta and more interesting overall, helped IGLs who were good at making those reads etc. (bounceback of valyn, boo, ethan, etc. not coincidental imo), still not great
so now we have:
50s recharge = util at 1:40, 0:50, 0:00. you are keeping the same intent here with two fights per round, but you're now making it so that you're basically guaranteed to get your util back at an useable point in the postplant (20 seconds earlier in a sense, not just 10)
key thing here is that initiator util as a rule is less useful over time in a postplant because you're not whipping out a reveal in a clutch situation unless you want to get domed. so this changes significantly how teams are able to play postplants, and therefore how they're able to play defense in general. stuff like e.g. breach/tejo was viable on attack in these metas, the bigger problem was that it did nothing on defense - this kinda does change that
this is a pretty natural change for them to try, i might have said this on an ep of the podcast but i'm not 100% on that. i don't imagine that it'll shift the overall meta dramatically from where it's been going (which was to neon-raze/phoenix, which either stays the same or just becomes full raze/phoenix/jett on 12.09) but there's some room for some stuff to be tried and it's probably positive overall, even if i still disagree with the overarching philosophy that they appear to have