Am I the only one who doesn't like backdoors?

IncrediPhiLL·Jun 4, 2017·1 votes·707 views

I feel like it's a big middle finger to the viewer. Watching really tense games where anything can happen and everything relies on a single team fight where mechanics and outplays shine and some of the best plays can be made and... oh... wait... one/two of their members is running it down mid and simply gonna take the nexus while everyone else team fights. There just isn't anything exciting about that strategy. I understand that the strategy is a great win condition for teams that can't win fights, but a backdoor game is equivalent to a football game being tied at halftime and one team forfeiting from the locker room. It takes a potentially super exciting situation and kicks fans right in the nuts with a huge anticlimactic ending. At least make it a base race or something.

8 Comments

GankedByWindowsJun 4, 20173 votes

I love watching backdoors. Especially when the enemy team is aware and trying to prevent it. It adds a layer of strategy to the game.

With that said, I think your analogy is off. A successful backdoor in league requires you to catch your opponents with their guard lowered. It would be more like a football team kicking a surprise onside kick and the enemy team wasn't set up to recieve an onside kick. They didn't forfeit, they got surprised and outplayed.

IncrediPhiLLJun 4, 20172 votes

{quoted}

I love watching backdoors. Especially when the enemy team is aware and trying to prevent it. It adds a layer of strategy to the game.

With that said, I think your analogy is off. A successful backdoor in league requires you to catch your opponents with their guard lowered. It would be more like a football team kicking a surprise onside kick and the enemy team wasn't set up to recieve an onside kick. They didn't forfeit, they got surprised and outplayed.

I don't consider yesterday's TSM backdoor as an outplay... Everyone was in mid and Bjergson made a B-Line for the Nexus while his team stopped people from backing... That's not outplaying... that's simply taking advantage of RIOT'S poor base defense mechanics. 8 Seconds to back is too long during the late game and inhibitors and Nexus should have much much higher defenses (impossible to solo) when there are no minions present, like turrets. C9 defended their base over and over again but lost on a backdoor when they left their base during the late game? That's just dumb and a really bad ending to an otherwise really good match.

GankedByWindowsJun 5, 20173 votes

It is an outplay. The enemy team knows it is a possibility, and didn't defend it. They could've had a man back defending the base so that wasn't possible, they could've been far enough back to not get interrupted, they could've outplayed and won the fight while one was backing, so they can win the game after it.

They had a lot of options. They got outplayed and caught by Bjergsen.

Maybe this analogy will sit better with you:

TSM faked a field goal, and tried for the win instead. They had nobody covering the possible fake, so TSM threw it to a wide open reciever and won the game.

IabusemyminionsJun 4, 20172 votes

I find it hilarious and enjoyable.

I'm speaking as someone who's pretty unhappy the big match yesterday ended with a backdoor shutout, we missed out on two more games because there was no competition, BUT I love watching these "professional" players get destroyed by basic strategy.

It pretty much shows they are unprepared and might not be as good as I am. It's like watching Gandalf die to some goblin scrub.

EDIT: Ironically strengthening the team fighting meta will always enable backdooring since the only thing that can stop a backdoor now is an entire team showing up to fight.

GeminiRuneJun 4, 20171 votes

Well think of the scenario as an actual game you would play, particularly in a splitpush or distraction sub role. Your goal is to win. If a team is failing to cover their bases and there's an opening to reach your goal what do you do: run to your group and fight a potentially late arrived fight or apply pressure where the enemy team should have constructed some form of retaliation to it?

All and all, it is just you. And it was a legitimate tactic for Seraph to pull that off. On the other side of the coin P1 receives criticism for keeping themselves unable to respond effectively

IncrediPhiLLJun 4, 20171 votes

{quoted}

Well think of the scenario as an actual game you would play, particularly in a splitpush or distraction sub role. Your goal is to win. If a team is failing to cover their bases and there's an opening to reach your goal what do you do: run to your group and fight a potentially late arrived fight or apply pressure where the enemy team should have constructed some form of retaliation to it?

All and all, it is just you. And it was a legitimate tactic for Seraph to pull that off. On the other side of the coin P1 receives criticism for keeping themselves unable to respond effectively

I don't discount it as a bad strategy. It's definitely a strategy that works. It's the only way Seraph wins that game and the only way TSM wins game 2 against C9 yesterday, but as a fan who is excited to watch good and exciting league of legends... well... that's just not good and exciting league of legends XD

LauchmelderJun 4, 20171 votes

I like to watch the splitpushing game but hate playing against it. Most of the times I have to go to that sidelane and waveclear because as midlaner I got decent waveclear (and my team is ignoring it)

And more often than not I will spend the rest of the game just trying to stop the splitpush while I watch as my team crumbles.