Boards›Gameplay

@Riot - What is League's current player target?

GraćSięNieDa·11/15/2017, 3:55:57 AM·2 votes·396 views

Like, who is it meant for?

Hello, my name's Chris and I've been playing and loving this game since the peak of season 2. Right now, all I can feel is some irrational attachment rather than love.

Over the course of the last year I haven't had a single game worth remembering, let alone providing any entertainment. And no, this isn't due to my approach nor is this due to bad luck. This is due to League's current standards which are, mildly speaking, confusing.

What I used to love about this game was the skill and decision-making involved. Over the span of 40-60 minutes back in the days, I could always learn a few new things, work on my duelling prowess, objective control etc. Games were kinda slow paced but I enjoyed that. If we were losing early, there were always mid and late awaiting us, promising a chance of fair competitive play and encouraging teamwork - just to try. A great balance of defence and offence was there, so I actually had to think about what I'm building. There wasn't a single item path to follow and always reach my goal. There were crossroads, new paths revealed every ten minutes. Champions had real counterplay simply because they weren't overloaded with utility tools coupled with ToD fiesta.

I haven't felt any of that in ages.

These days, champions burst on touch as if soap bubbles. Winning a duel or a teamfight is much more about sheer numbers where your stats are concerned rather than actually thinking. I have tried every role, and it all felt the same - I get ahead, so I blow them up. They get ahead - nothing I can do. Offence has overcome defence, and I mean completely. I love playing duelist champions such as Fiora, Kat or Shyv. It hurts that the old champions are simply cannon fodder that I slash or scratch right through, while the newer ones are packed with play deniers, particularly the God abhorrent invulnerability and untargetability (Evelynn , Xayah , Kayn , I'm looking at ya). It's either I'm matched against someone I can walk all over, or against someone who can shove his finger right up my play arsenal. Then we got the new runes which are solely damage focused. Funniest part would be the Gathering Storm... you know why, right? Games last 15-25 minutes approximately. Snowballing champions are nearly impossible to shut down, games cannot be stalled because of absolutely forsaken Turret concept - they melt like butter. One, firm push at 15th minute mark gets you to the inhibitor turret, sometimes beyond. From there on out, there's not much more to do except throwing yourselves head first at a much stronger enemy team in hopes you can tap out enough damage before they do.

Warding has become obsolete with the introduction of item 3147 - further adding to the pile of out-of-control assassins (those are the main reason games are so short-lived these days). Scalling lategame cherries e.g. Karthus , Nasus and even Vayne reach their powerspikes way too soon, and even then there's not much point in declaring such picks, as the game isn't gonna wait for you to get your third item before at least one lane is utterly ravaged.

I can't see newbs anymore. People asking things like: "I'm losing, can't farm, what do I do?" - met just one over the course of this year and he was the one who convinced me I should let it all out here, on the forums. Newbs have no place in the League; there's no room to improve where instagib culture rules. League has become hostile to newcomers. It has become hostile to old-timers as well, as we... well, I feel that you at @Riot are taking the dish I used to savor, forcing it down my throat and, stopwatch in hand, press me to release it as soon as digestively possible.

Who, then, is this game meant for? Do you at @Riot have any intent of actually listening to the masses who complain, instead of further reducing qualities and game span to meet your LCS standards? Numbers aren't what matters - millions playing at this very moment don't mean there's nothing to worry about. Those millions can only decline. Numbers shouldn't be all this game is about. It is broken and not even fun to pretend it's enjoyable.

Let me ask one more time: who is this game meant for? I feel that after all these years together you just made me realize that it isn't for me.

~CB

2 Comments

Chad Chadlainn11/15/2017, 4:23:40 AM3 votes

Calling these nostalgia goggles out.

What do you mean there were "new crossroads every ten minutes"? League has never had great build diversity once a champion has been figured out. Except in the case of learning the game, or a new champion, there has, and always will be, a meta build that is simply superior in most situations than others. This is not the fault of League or Riot, I feel. There's simply no way to entire ensure that each item on every champion is equally effective. But Riot has definitely tried. They've added other items over the course of the game's life to try to spice things up, but there's still a meta build path.

Warding is absolutely not obsolete, but I do dislike how blind you can get while behind because of duskblade and red trinket. I wouldn't mind another rework of warding, hopefully one that gives you a new slot for pink wards, too.

I don't understand how you can say you play Fiora, then complain about "play deniers". Kayn and Eve don't compare to Fiora in that regard.

Also, runes give quite excellent defensive capabilities. Tenacity is insane now. You can heal an upwards of 3k health in-game from Second Wind alone, and there's also that new keystone that gives you, what, like 20 percent increases in defensive stats before exploding? You need to play actual tanks if you want to tank. Sion can become unkillable by anybody who isn't Vayne and Kog, and Orn is a spooky blacksmith.

velraptured11/15/2017, 4:15:59 AM1 votes

Very well said!