Where does the feedback come from? Also just because a player likes plants doesn't mean they dislike the smite buffs. Actually, want to make everyone happy? Add both. There's no reason not to.
The jungle feels less rewarding and interactive.
Before, it had depth. Raptors were a go-to. Clear early wards after first clear. Gank after B. If the enemy jungler was a bully, pick up wolf ward. If I needed to kite early because the lanes looked to scary to gank early I'd pick up krugs. If I picked Sej, gromp was a good starter. If I was counter-jungling I could feel confident doing it with raptor buff and get out if I was seen. This was really useful with Kindred and Shyvana.
Now the jungle is boring and uninteresting. There's no strategic engagement. There's no thought. What's the point in jungling now? It doesn't feel like I'm jungling. I'm just laning in the woodline. I say this as someone who started playing in season 3. Jungling back then was boring too. Things got a bit interesting when double jungle was a thing. Rek'Sai got released and she made the jungle interesting. Then we get the jungle buffs -the holy grail of jungle satisfaction. We were holding down our side of the map. We secured resources. We had control of an entire half of the field -or all of it if you were good. It was something you could feel protective of and shout on allchat "gtfo MY jungle!" "My jungle now." "Try again bby." "My jungle."
You were the curator of everything your side of the river. And as a jungler, that's what made it awesome whether we utilized it to max effect or not. Denying us that because not everyone does maximize its potential is fucked up.
I don't like the role of jungling anymore. I like my champions still, but I can't take Kindred into lane. I can't take Shyvana top reliably. I can't take Sejuani into lane. My only other jungler is Diana.
The plants don't offer engaging gameplay of any kind. I've only found them useful as support bot when a low-hanging honeyfruit is there for sustain. I typically blow up blast cones and sight plants so they can't be used against me in a situation I can't control. Even then, using the sight plant in your own jungle signals your location. There's no strategic use for that unless you're using on the fly to invade and escape. Wait, I have a plant in my jungle that's most reliable used against me? Blast cones? What if I'm using Kindred who can't 1v1 and they have a Shaco or Vi? I get bulldozed and they escape if I manage to outplay them with the plants in my jungle? You can't always control the positioning. You can't control your jungle. Controlling the jungle is what makes jungling gratifying. My jungle should be void of creatures. I should be decked in buffs. And the map should be lit like Madison Square Garden. I don't feel any sense of satisfaction with these uninteractive, unreliable, and boring plants.
Please hear this Riot. The jungle is our sanctuary. You had it right. No one bitched about the buff jungle. We love it. Keep it. Stop trying to change what already works and is loved by the junglers in the community. Why is it fair to ask a mid-laner or a top-laner or a bot-laner if they like the new jungle? They're not junglers. Do you ask a motorcyclist whether he like the concept design for the BMW M1? No. You ask the car enthusiast. He's the one that matters. Laners don't care about the jungle as long they're fed and get buffs and objectives. It's our job to handle that and you've stripped all the enjoyment in doing it from the game. Buff jungle wasn't broken. Stop trying to fix it. We love it. And just because some people like plants does not mean they dislike the buff jungle.
You said you would consider bringing the buff jungle back. I hope that's still on the table.
As a player who's been here since S3 I've been a part of many other gaming communities as well. By far, this community is filled with the most discontent in company decision-making that I've seen. Discontent, I know this isn't lost on you guys. I still remember all the nerfs and reworks and these boards lit up like a riot fire. The Sona rework holds particular significance in my mind. Even calm posters turned toxic with that fiasco. Here though, you had something you're praised for. You had a jungle we love. You had a jungle that's interesting and engaging. Go back to the buff jungle. It's untrue that if you like plants you don't like buff jungle and you're about to essentially go back on a groundbreaking LoL innovation and take us back to the dark ages. The choices we made defined us as junglers. If Lee Sin wanted to save his red smite to bully me as Kindred. He was well within his rights to take the risk. He could've used it elsewhere. He didn't. He manages to kill me and it pays off. I decide to keep my smite as Sejuani and bring down the red buff for extra health. I could save it for the laner I'm about to gank or in case the enemy Shaco invades, but I decide health would serve me better. I gank bot and survive with 10hp. My adc gets a double kill and my decision pays off.
Plants kill the magic that makes our decisions worth something.
