Low Pick Champions Viability

Wolfram Oxford·Sep 17, 2016·1 votes·779 views

People feel like if a champion isn't played it's because that champion is weak. Well, that's not always the case. It can be because they don't have a play style that caters to a large portion of the community, or they just serve very niche roles. Galio is a good example, he is viable, doesn't have a large player base, and is the primary counter to a lot of mages. Rammus is good too, he doesn't get played a lot, he is viable, and he serves as a counter to auto attack heavy teams.

2 Comments

WoodakoodashoodaSep 17, 20163 votes

Riot, despite stating they don't want to dictate the meta for players, often do just that whenever a champion is played in a way that contradicts their intentions for that champion.

They reserve and maintain creative and artistic control over their champions, a right that they often abuse simply because they can.

Not always for the purpose of balance either. They do it just because they feel champions aren't filling their intended theme.

Imagine if a company produced a razor meant for a close and smooth shave, but then consumers used it to shave against the grain. The company then changes the razor so that anyone who attempts to do that as is their preference, the razor's effectiveness is halved.

That's how riot deals with champions that are played outside their intended purpose.

ABlueQuakerSep 17, 20161 votes

Thing is, Riot isn't happy with those champions when they're viable. If something makes them meta, they get spammed for a patch and subsequently re-gutted by Riot.