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Riot's Orwellian doublespeak on Zed, and why LoL takes place in 1984.

LegitBusinessman··4 votes·452 views

In the recent interview posted about the new Duskblade item given by Axes, I read some things that made me feel bewildered and confused.

Let's start with the statement that AD assassins currently feel that they aren't being 'supported' with their item options. Zed currently has a respectable winrate of 52.75, Talon even higher at 53.53. Where did the conclusion come from that these champions are being 'supported'?

What does it mean for a player to feel that they are not being supported? How does playing Zed, and assassinating a squishy, feel different whether I do it with a youmuu's first or a duskblade?

Now this is where I feel that Axes has suddenly morphed into Big Brother. He then goes on to say "We understand that AD assassins offer low counterplay and significant frustration playing against."

Um. What? You're talking me in circles Riot. If these champions, that Meddler (I believe it was) stated not long ago were 'in a bad spot', shouldn't their winrates reflect that? Is a champion's winrate not a reflection of how well game itemization is 'supporting' them?

How do you justify making an item that turns your auto attacks into a zed-ult esque execute, a MASSIVE buff in terms of itemization, while simultaneously admitting these champions offer low counterplay and significant frustration to play against? The issue is clearly not in itemization, but inherent issues in the kits of these champions.

[zombie-brand-mindblown]

8 Comments

1374347 votes

I don't think you understand 1984 or the term "Big Brother".

Dominick Destine1 votes

{quoted}

I don't think you understand 1984 or the term "Big Brother".

+1

Weathered1 votes

This

DevilishMetal4 votes

The way they explained it WAS a bit odd, but made sense to me. Here's what I got:

-AD Items are currently designed for either Juggernauts or Marksmen. -AD itemization does not take AD Assassins into consideration -Because of this, whoever works well with the Juggernaut/Marksman items at the time will be the better assassin. This is why Zed and Talon have become so dominant. -Riot's theory is that by creating a NEW class of items for AD assassins, assassins can be balanced as a group rather than nerfing/buffing them in and out of favor with item changes.

Just because they are in a "bad spot" doesn't mean the CHAMPIONS are BAD, per se, rather that they feed on the changes to items not meant for them. Make more sense?

Also, I really don't think Big Brother fits into this context, man.

5050BS2 votes

it is because those at Riot have lost their minds. The game is in a state that it may never recover from. It will take riot making the right choices over the next year or so to bring the game back to a good place. But riots track record as of late shows this will most likely not happen because they are not making the right choices.

MisterHealYoGirl2 votes

If you read Axes' posts, what he's saying about 'not being supported' is not that AD assassins are weak. it's that since they mix and match items intended for fighters (Hydra, Cleaver, etc.) with items intended for ADCs (Bloodthirster, Last Whisper, etc.), there's no real subset of items that truly support them, as a class. Since so little of their power budget is in their items, their kits have to be fundamentally strong to make up for that, meaning that they either have an obnoxiously strong laning phase (Zed) or will eventually become lategame monsters no matter what you do (Talon). These issues are the 'no counterplay and significant frustration' that Axes was talking about.

That brings us the the new AD assassin item, Duskblade of Draktharr. By starting to give AD assassins a coherent set of items that support their goals better than their current hodgepodge, the balance team can start to leach power from these unhealthily leveraged kits and give all assassins a healthier power curve.

LegitBusinessman1 votes

Pretty sure I do. Doublespeak is believing two things that contradict themselves at the same time.

It's believing that AD assassins are in a bad spot and in need of an item that will make them significantly more capable of snowballing, while simultaneously acknowledging their winrates are above average, offer little counterplay, and are frustrating to play against.

1374344 votes

That is not what double speak means. Doublespeak is saying one thing while actually meaning something else (usually worse). Doublespeak also wasn't the primary point of 1984 and not what "Big Brother" is.

You are confusing doublespeak with doublethink.

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