Fixing the community (A how to guide for Riot)
Hey guys, after playing this game for around 2 years (liss was new when i joined) i have fallen in love with every aspect of this game. However, it kills me inside to see how horrible this community is. I think there are a bunch of ways to fix the community, but seeing how liberal use of the banhammer, and a must install virus that blows up toxic people's computers are frowned upon, (keep that on the back burner though, just in case) i figured i would just list and briefly explain a couple of ideas that would improve community a whole lot. (note: almost none of these are my ideas, but i figured if i laid the communities voiced opinions in one, non-angry post, that maybe they would be better received).
First, i think a rule book on balance should be created. For example, "rule #1: if champion x has a winrate about 75%, then a number's tweak will be enforced on the next pbe cycle." I think if something simple like this were created it would hold you guys at riot to a stricter code of balance, but more importantly, it would give the community a definitive explanation for champion buffs and nerfs. A lot of the outrage i see on forums is champions nerfed, or buffed, or champions not nerfed or buffed. If there was a rule book that the community could refer to, it would make much more sense and calm down the zed op forum onslaught.
Second is an idea i came up with a little while ago and i have no proof that it would work, but i think it may be worth a second thought. Create a new permanent game mode on summoner's rift either blind or draft or both. Same exact game, just different game mode titled "trolling and non-meta picks". Just make a game mode specifically for trolls and people who hate the meta to have their own domain. Also make stricter penalties and a more liberal use of the ban hammer for trolls in normals and ranked, since they have their own kingdom now. There would be no excuse for someone to troll in a ranked, when they have their own game mode where they can't be punished for it. And if somebody complains about too many trolls in the trolling game mode, then tell them to play normals.
Third is pretty minor, but i think it would be an amazing and easy feature to implement if we could team chat during loading screen. Especially in some games where two people accidentally picked the same role and need to discuss who's going where. I think all-chat isn't necessary because its pretty much just used for trash-talking anyway.
Pick diversity is a huge argument right now about LCS. Why is lee sin picked 116% of the time, while Wukong hasn't seen the light of day in ages, etc. etc. blah blah blah. Add more bans to draft mode. Simple fix. 3 bans per team made sense in season 1 and possibly season 2 when there were about half as many champions. Now, three bans does nothing but screw over ex-TSM Amazing (albeit temporarily), and a few champions that neither team want to deal with (
). i think 5 bans per team is the right amount. And also as a side note, i personally am enjoying the amount of diversity i've seen recently. Especially in the top lane after the extremely interesting mega tank farm fest. (just kidding, i slept through that.)
A possible solution to the whole mobility crisis that exists i feel would be to highlight the strengths of mobility, and to highlight the strengths of immobility. Ill use ezreal and old xerath for example, because i feel they embody the point i'm trying to get across. Ezreal is extremely mobile. he can dodge skillshots pretty easily, and can dish out a few (thousand) of his own. However, they don't really hit that hard. And by that i mean, if i had a nid spear coming at me and an ezreal q, and i had to get hit by one. I'm taking the ez q every time, probably regardless of how fed either is. That is how i feel all mobility centered champions should be. Old xerath for example, literally had a skill that snared himself. In today's mid lane, that sounds like a death sentence. But, since he couldn't move, his damage output and range were insane. Xerath had a very high amount of damage output to cover his lack of mobility. That's all i want and i'd be happy, and i think that most of the community would too. Immobile champions do high damage, or have above average utility to cover their lack of movement. Mobile champions do less damage, but are fine because they can be faster, and ezreal can still run circles around xerath all he wants, but instead of xerath just keeling over, he has an actual shot at still winning.
Finally, i must address the problem of flamers, afkers. ragequitters, etc. We all know them, we all know the signs, and we are all helpless to someone getting angry and leaving a game in progress. It ruins games, it ruins lives, it shouldn't happen... but it does. I think that a separate que should be implemented. a "drop-in" que, where players que up and given a limited choice over which game they want to drop in. a game that previously was a lost cause 4v5 suddenly has hope again. To compensate for a player willingly doing this, give them the full ip value of the game and maybe a bit extra. If say sivir rages at the 30 minute mark, and new sivir drops in, and they win 15 minutes later. Give the drop in the full 100ish ip and maybe a bit more. Or perhaps a a random chance at a strongbox (patented by g00blypls as of this minute, because i think i struck gold). A strongbox, or summoner's cache, w/e the name, but a box that you have a chance of getting after you drop-in and it has either a mystery skin, rune, ip boost, or a random amount of ip or rp. If i had a chance at a summoner's cache (going to officially name it that) every time i did a drop in, i would seriously consider only queing up for drop-in.
Just a few ideas that i've seen around the community, or thought of after bouncing ideas around with friends. But i feel that if all of these were put into the game, or a polished version, then the community may just calm down. Also as a final side note rito please summoner's cache. even if its the solution to how to reward behaving players, rito plz. I wantz it, i needz it.
