Streamers say, "This game isn't as fun"

Aweshumness··5 votes·1,280 views

I think maybe they're right.

But hear me out(or don't. It's the internet.) they're tired of something not being as fun as it used to be. And I've gotta say, sometimes its the moments with friends that make a game truly enjoyable. And sometimes it's hard working around Riot to have this kind of fun.

It's hard working around patches that make some kinds of play broken. Sometimes it's hard to play against the toxicity of members in the community. It's the same for any game. And I was thinking, maybe the game needs a game changer that isn't just quality of life.

With champion mastery and being able to select your role before a game starts is fun. But we could think of expanding that idea to more types of play. Like maybe making IP farming more fun? Skins can motivate people, reduce the cost of runes and runepages maybe.

Maybe instead of buffing and nerfing and adding new items, try removing so much fat from the item builds and streamline the experience a tiny bit. Or make certain builds more obvious for the champions. OR maybe even champion specific builds. I know it makes champions seem less versatile, but it still gives the player a lot of agency when they level up their character. What happens is you don't have to nerf items, but individual character upgrade paths.

And that's just a few ideas. But I'm not recomending these ideas in any way. I just think the barrier between gameplay and fun should be fixed or adjusted somehow.

EDIT: I think it's also important to mention that you should try to spitball some ideas that are generally fun outside of summoners rift. Something that could make the minute you open up League to be, "what do I wanna do today?" Without having to think, "What am I sacrificing if I play something more casual than ranked or normals?"

22 Comments

ArcticWolf242 votes

Riots going to make no items and make it like Heroes of the Storm D:

Aweshumness1 votes

I was worried about the similarity after I posted this. But there's some benefits to seeing specific upgrades for your character in that you know exactly how you want to upgrade them and where they can possibly go.

But again, just spitballing ideas.

Big Lincoln2 votes

I would say we need more items with different build paths and uses (namely utility like what many Black Market items offered)

Right now there's a handful of champions who build the same items so it boils down to who uses it best.

Aweshumness1 votes

Thats actually really interesting. With more utility based items, you don't benefit the stats of a character so much which could seem like a problem for some players.

But the advantage is when you notice that a certain champion is building a specific item that champion uses a lot in the current meta, buying a utility item could keep your team going in spite of the fact.

An example would be the wand from DOTA 2. It creates a tornado that lifts target friendly or enemy character, which includes yourself. In a moment where you can't seem to escape Lux or Ryze, you could use the items ability to life you into the air and dodge the damage.

Or in situations where you need an enemy to get locked into a combo, using this sort of tool would make it so that you don't have to have a Jarvin/Gnar combo or something like it. You could simply have your support lift the target while the rest of the team gets their skillshots and delayed abilities coordinated.

So, again. I really think this idea is very cool and would definitely change a lot of the gameplay.

AdderTude1 votes

{quoted}

An example would be the wand from DOTA 2. It creates a tornado that lifts target friendly or enemy character, which includes yourself. In a moment where you can't seem to escape Lux or Ryze, you could use the items ability to life you into the air and dodge the damage.

I take it you're referring to Eul's Scepter of Divinity? There's also Scythe of Vyse which is like Lulu's Whimsy but the hex is for a full 3.5 seconds.

Aweshumness1 votes

I didn't think about that, but I should've. Thanks for bringing that up. But It makes me think of the support characters who have kits built with hella utility. And Lulu is a character I feel has probably the most interesting utility in the game. While the utility in some champions like Soraka, Thresh, and Braum have some limited abilities in either initiating or peeling. Lulu is the only support I've seen maintain top lane for a while. I'd add Annie, but she's more of a mage and her utility comes at the cost of dealing out aggressive abilities.

I'm digressing, but I'm really thankful for your input on the matter.

killd0zer1 votes

As a long time player, the game is nothing like what older players would hoped it would be.

Champion creativity is at an all time low. Meta roles are cemented and enforced. Riot STILL tries to tell its players what they want instead of listening. 0 features, despite being the largest game in the world.

AdderTude2 votes

{quoted}

As a long time player, the game is nothing like what older players would hoped it would be.

Champion creativity is at an all time low. Meta roles are cemented and enforced. Riot STILL tries to tell its players what they want instead of listening. 0 features, despite being the largest game in the world.

Riot Games is like the Big Government of the MOBA world: tell its people what it thinks they want instead of paying attention to their constituents. And the pros are like the Congressmen, the only people the devs ever cater/listen to.

With the amount of money that Riot pulls in per year, you'd think they should sit down and develop a new game altogether. As the Honest Game Trailer said about them: "From the studio whose name would have you believe they made more than one game..."

Krigjer3 votes

Riot Games is like the Big Government of the MOBA world: tell its people what it thinks they want instead of paying attention to their constituents. And the pros are like the Congressmen, the only people the devs ever cater/listen to.

Have you SEEN the boards? If Riot caved into every desire of every player, we'd have one mess of a game.

How about people stop expecting a game to conform to their every whim?

Aweshumness1 votes

True, a game with nothing but community feedback would look like puke. But the bigger issue is whether the game is loosing focus and thus loosing its fun or flow.

AdderTude1 votes

Because it seems like the devs don't listen/don't care. The Reddit thread where they demanded to have a NA East server was largely given a non-answer. I mean the Rioter for Reddit tried to assuage player concerns over the issue, but it was otherwise a vague response. A couple people pointed out that the LAN server isn't even in Latin America; it's in Florida. Another Redditer said one of the EU servers is based in NY.

Long story short, the devs said NA East basically wouldn't happen, all while giving the all-too-familiar "soon (TM)" response.

killd0zer1 votes

Instead Riot caters to the desire of exactly 0 players.

Aweshumness2 votes

I like the joke at the end, but I understand where you're coming from. The pro's do have a lot of say because they are a big part of the community. Albeit, somewhat temporary. Same could be said about YouTubers.

But the community does have a say. It's just that the pro's tend to find glaring issues much quicker.

AdderTude1 votes

{quoted}

I like the joke at the end, but I understand where you're coming from. The pro's do have a lot of say because they are a big part of the community. Albeit, somewhat temporary. Same could be said about YouTubers.

But the community does have a say. It's just that the pro's tend to find glaring issues much quicker.

I tend to find such glaring issues fairly quickly myself, but the community at large tends to dangle my rank above my head and shout me down whenever I point 'em out. Either that or the typical "get gud scrub" type of comments. The community here is mainly why I've kept my distance this season and I'm not nearly as active with the Game as I used to. There's that and the all-time favorites that everyone picks match after match. Now every other MOBA I play that has people like that, I usually refer to it as the "League Syndrome" of toxicity. I've been around and lately the Game has the worst online community. Defense of the Ancients 2 and Heroes of Newerth are fairly up there, but it's surprising to me that League has become worse than both of 'em.

Aweshumness1 votes

True, I wont lie that if you check out my profile I only play bots. I love the characters I bought. I love learning them. And I love getting better at them. Co-Op is really chill. I enjoy helping out folks learning champs(without yelling at them), picking up their slack and just making jokes with strangers. I play the way I think I wanna play. I love it that way.

I got tired of the stress of hoping my team doesn't get upset at me or anyone else. It's hard to keep playing PvP in a MOBA period. And I tried playing others. But I know myself, and I know I came to play with other humans. I know I came for the awesome character design. I know I'm a big fan of Cloud 9 and Team Solo Mid(that C9 pentakill FTW tho!). I've sunk well over 200 bucks since 2012. I love this game. But I refuse to play in a game mode that gives me anxiety I usually only feel during Midterms.

I say, play the modes you like and blow your IP on champions and whatever else. The community is rough, but don't let them tell you how to play. Ignore them. And if you enjoy PvP with your friends, do it. If you enjoy Co-op vs bots, do it. If you enjoy ranked, do it. But do it because you accept the pitfalls of each mode. Accept the crushing defeat of the ranked climb. The annoying matchmaking(fighting smurfs) and terrible trolling in normals. The incredibly less skilled or bots that cant help but feed.

AdderTude1 votes

{quoted}

True, I wont lie that if you check out my profile I only play bots. I love the characters I bought. I love learning them. And I love getting better at them. Co-Op is really chill. I enjoy helping out folks learning champs(without yelling at them), picking up their slack and just making jokes with strangers. I play the way I think I wanna play. I love it that way.

I got tired of the stress of hoping my team doesn't get upset at me or anyone else. It's hard to keep playing PvP in a MOBA period. And I tried playing others. But I know myself, and I know I came to play with other humans. I know I came for the awesome character design. I know I'm a big fan of Cloud 9 and Team Solo Mid(that C9 pentakill FTW tho!). I've sunk well over 200 bucks since 2012. I love this game. But I refuse to play in a game mode that gives me anxiety I usually only feel during Midterms.

I say, play the modes you like and blow your IP on champions and whatever else. The community is rough, but don't let them tell you how to play. Ignore them. And if you enjoy PvP with your friends, do it. If you enjoy Co-op vs bots, do it. If you enjoy ranked, do it. But do it because you accept the pitfalls of each mode. Accept the crushing defeat of the ranked climb. The annoying matchmaking(fighting smurfs) and terrible trolling in normals. The incredibly less skilled or bots that cant help but feed.

Thing is, with the way the punishment system is automated now, all it takes is roughly two or more reports for LeaverBuster to slap you with punishments that you otherwise don't deserve. Did you lose your lane pretty bad? Get punished for "intentionally" feeding. Did you talk back in defense of your poor play without using offensive language? Too bad, LeaverBuster doesn't care and slaps you with a chat restriction. I'm not saying these happened to me, but the automated system is incredibly broken and unfair to many players. Additionally, the devs keep saying they'll bring out a new Tribunal system "soon" but it's basically them saying that they're fine leaving punishments up to the system where the community decided on the vote to punish or pardon a player. Back when we actually had a Tribunal instead of the farce we have now, I helped ban at least four players, one of whom was permabanned.

Krigjer1 votes

I'm still having fun.

But if I'm honest, it's enough to have to adapt to every new champion that comes out. All these item changes are starting to stress me out, and now there's a Marksman and item update on the horizon? I know games have to change and adapt, but I feel like a lot of their recent changes are arbitrary, just because they can.

Aweshumness1 votes

I totally understand. Like in one corner, I like playing because of what I like to play. But when something I like is on the discussion board for the month I get worried. I play casually, but things like the changes you mentioned can affect me in game.

For example, I love Aatrox and Azir. And they've either recieved significant nerfs by the devs or by the nature of the game cannot sustain a single role(I'm looking at you Aatrox).

But I agree that I continue on and play anyway. Because I play them now because I prefer them over other champions. And while I'm not Azir or Aatrox pro, I'm still enjoying their in-game dialogue. "You need not follow, but you must witness" - Azir "This battle will be my masterpiece" - Aatrox

But sooner or later we'll be old farts laughing at this post as LOL2 or something happens and we'll be all, "Remember when they'd have 19 patches by October?! Crazy!"

Aweshumness1 votes

I totally understand. Like in one corner, I like playing because of what I like to play. But when something I like is on the discussion board for the month I get worried. I play casually, but things like the changes you mentioned can affect me in game.

For example, I love Aatrox and Azir. And they've either received significant nerfs by the devs or by the nature of the game cannot sustain a single role(I'm looking at you Aatrox).

But I agree that I continue on and play anyway. Because I play them now because I prefer them over other champions. And while I'm not Azir or Aatrox pro, I'm still enjoying their in-game dialogue. "You need not follow, but you must witness" - Azir "This battle will be my masterpiece" - Aatrox

But sooner or later we'll be old farts laughing at this post as LOL2 or something happens and we'll be all, "Remember when they'd have 19 patches by October?! Crazy!"

EDIT: Real talk, Item re-balancing and character re-balancing kills me sometimes. Because I'm like, how did nobody catch these problems? Or I'm thinking about why even have so many items to keep track of and instead make the item builds sorta uniform across the board, while also making them effective. (sorry, just... got a little amped up lol)

Meep Man1 votes

To be honest, the day approaches where Riot is going to NEED to release either a new engine and new everything for LoL or just make a LoL 2. The current engine limits EVERYTHING! They have to play around it SO MUCH! And due to that, the game suffers and is eventually going to feel old and broken by these other greater companies (Blizzard, Valve, etc.) updating MOBAs with new and better engines and technology that lets them truly explore the limits of the genre.

Aweshumness1 votes

That would definitely change a lot of the game if we had a different engine maybe.

I agree that maybe we should focus more on different, more permanent game modes.

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