Patch 6.18 isn't for you. It's for the pros.

Leonerdo·9/8/2016, 7:35:53 PM·212 votes·10,152 views

Just a reminder that Patch 6.18 was focused entirely on balance tuning for the World Championship. For this patch, Riot didn't give a shit about the balance of Ranked or normal games. So yeah, changes like the Shen nerf that seem unwarranted were because he's strong in pro play, not because Riot is clueless or hates Shen.

Next patch, things will go back to normal where Riot balances around normal people (roughly focused around Plat skill level). Just chill for a bit people. All shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well.

Edit: It's been pointed out, but I wanna mention it up here: Despite the focus of this patch on the Pro scene, the rest of us plebs haven't been forgotten. We got a new Yorick (also not forgotten).

Also Edit: I like this guy's comment, but it came late to the discussion, so I'm giving it a bump here

216 Comments

Weathered9/8/2016, 7:59:23 PM62 votes

People still have the right to complain since the game changes for everyone and people will have to wait till next patch. Personally the patch doesn't affect me but people are still allowed to be mad.

Astôlfo9/8/2016, 8:07:59 PM45 votes

Because everyone knows Riot has a great history of reverting pro-stage nerfs.

Bultz9/8/2016, 8:07:26 PM31 votes

Fuck the Pros.

Teridax689/9/2016, 4:24:54 AM25 votes

{quoted}

Next patch, things will go back to normal where Riot balances around normal people (roughly focused around Plat skill level).

I think it's acceptable for this specific patch to balance around pros, since that will create a competitive environment in Worlds that will ultimately be more entertaining for everyone: we'll be able to see at least slightly more diverse pro picks, and if Season 5 was anything to go by, it's a wise decision to hold off on the most recent reworks and sweeping balance updates for just a few more weeks (or else we end up in the same kind of situation as pick-or-ban Mordekaiser/Gangplank during that time).

However, what this also means is that it acknowledges some implicit degree of failure in making certain champions balanced both in pro play and in the "real" game everyone plays. It's disheartening to see that specifically happen to Shen, who was only recently reworked, and whose more controversial changes were accepted with the promise that he'd be easier to balance overall. This is definitely not unique to Shen, and it's become pretty clear that the game has, in many ways, fractured into two: there's the League of Legends for top-ranked players, with its own meta, its own Ranked queue and its own balance changes, and then there's the League of Legends played by the vast majority of the playerbase, where champions who should normally feel good end up feeling unsatisfying due to changes that are not immediately obvious (Rek'Sai having her damage slashed in favor of her knockup and utility is one of the biggest examples), and where some particularly irritating champions or builds don't receive as much attention as they should (Heimerdinger, Master Yi and Tryndamere don't feel particularly great to play against, for example, but aren't prioritized for kit changes because they're extremely easy to counter at higher ranks).

One of the issues behind this is that Riot has, as they've mentioned a few times, mostly given up on balancing for lower ranks. To a certain extent, this is fair, because most changes that seem minor at below Plat (e.g. a difference in 3 base AD) tend to disproportionately affect higher-level play. However, what this fails to acknowledge is the feel of these champions: putting aside how some champions are essentially near-unplayable at lower levels of mastery, like Azir or Kalista, a great deal many "easy" champions, like Alistar, Lulu and Rek'Sai, have often been the target of nerfs to features that only became truly relevant in high-level play (e.g. Ali's minion pushing power, solo lane Lulu's safe utility or Rek'Sai's vision) without much done to lighten the impact of those changes at lower tiers. As a result, these champions ended up feeling weaker than they should be and, often, more difficult to use properly, particularly since many of those changes didn't fully solve their high-end issues (Rek'Sai's still getting nerfed, for example). Balancing purely for Plat and above, and sometimes even higher, has effectively created an environment where many parts of the game just don't feel right for most players: no matter how you decide to present it, i.e. it being a problem of game knowledge, mastery or team cooperation, there's an innate failure on Riot's part in making the game feel as good as it can be to everyone.

What's disappointing about this is that balancing for below Plat can work, and Riot's done it successfully a few times before, such as with the changes to Lee Sin that made his passive and ult more rewarding in situations that didn't really affect pro play (kicking the tank into the carry felt better, and that was fine because most of Lee Sin's kicks at higher tiers were either to peel, disable lone targets or Insec the carry to his own team). The changes Aurelion Sol's receiving right now, while mostly a nerf, also include a buff to his E that will make the ability easier to use. These are the kind of changes we need to see much more in the game, and Riot needs to look specifically into ways of buffing or nerfing champions at lower tiers without having too much impact on pro play. Basically, a lot more champions need to be made easier to use, or at least more rewarding to start with, while scaling up to similar levels at higher tiers.

Tychusfindlay9199/8/2016, 8:10:14 PM19 votes

Even then the shen nerfs make no sense.

What makes shen such an incredibly strong pick in pro play is his global presence, especially because, unlike other champions with a global presence (twisted fate), shen's global TP ALSO gives a shield to an ally.

His lane phase before this nerf was a piece of shit. His base stats are ass and a huge plethora of champs can easily bully or otherwise at least zone him just by stat checking alone.

Logically, you would nerf his global presence and keep his lane phase the same/give it a little bit of love (please god give shen a small boost in base stats because he has the bases of a legit squishy).

They could have added a small increase on ult cd, or lower the shield amount base and maybe increase scaling off of his tank stats. Anything really that has to do with his global presence.. Instead they nerf his lane even more.

So now we have a champion who still has amazing global presence, but his already shit lane was made even shitter. Eventually, pros are going to stop picking shen because even though he has good global his bases and lane phase are going to be too shitty to justify. The story of Shen will be a sad one if stuff like this continues. I already fear he may not get any picks in the LCS at this rate.

The Deckowner9/8/2016, 9:49:47 PM8 votes

I promise you Ashe Jhin Ekko Gangplank Gnar Shen RekSai still gonna be pick ban in worlds.

Attticus Finch9/9/2016, 12:02:13 AM7 votes

{quoted}

Just a reminder that Patch 6.18 was focused entirely on balance tuning for the World Championship. For this patch, Riot didn't give a shit about the balance of Ranked or normal games. So yeah, changes like the Shen nerf that seem unwarranted were because he's strong in pro play, not because Riot is clueless or hates Shen.

Then it shouldn't have gone live for the entire game. Riot already has the PBE, which is a separate server from the main game- if they want to implement mechanics that aren't for the main game then the patch should have only come into play for whatever private server Worlds is taking place on.

genya039/8/2016, 10:32:24 PM6 votes

eSport is one of the reasons why this game isn't fun.

AkabaneKun9/8/2016, 11:15:20 PM5 votes

4AD will remove Ekko from worlds?!?! LMAO

Morticianjohn9/9/2016, 4:03:40 AM5 votes

I honestly think every patch should be balanced for pro play. Not every champ needs to be viable in bronze-plat. Even if you make it the goal for every champ to be viable it's not a realistic goal. People will find the champions that make the most sense for them and/or are the most fun for them as a player. It's ok if no one plays urgot or yorick or shen.

Balance the game for pro play and everyone else will fall in line. If there is something that becomes too opressive for bronze players (like 80% or higher pick/ban) then maybe throw a bone in the way of balance towards that but if there is variety in pro play then likely variety will be there for everyone else too.

The example I use is Magic the Gathering another game I play. Yes it is a CCG so very different but they balance everything for pro play and really it makes the game better all the way to the lowest levels.

WrÆth9/8/2016, 8:39:00 PM5 votes

I can't tell whether you are passive aggressively complaining about riot's balance decisions or actually are fine with a patch being taylored around 5 percent of the playerbase.

Yordle Xayah9/10/2016, 9:14:45 AM4 votes

I read...

"Patch 6.18 isn't for you. It's for the poros."

[zombie-nunu-bummed]

9kPluzZ9/8/2016, 11:19:12 PM1 votes

Not true, they nerfed Yasuo specifically for the whinny masses.