A Discussion on How to Make New Content Release More Enjoyable

Recently I came across a post which was a target specific thread about banning the brand new champion (as of current patch that means Kayn). The thread is very low on the totem in the forums and that's fine, but I want to start a hopefully larger, and civil, conversation with fellow summoner's about their views on new champions and their ban rates at release.

Here's most of my thoughts, quoted from my response on the other thread:

{quoted}

In ranked I can see not wanting a new, un practiced with or versus champ in the mix, but people who ban the new champs in normal draft simply because they don't want to deal with the new champ is unfair to players who are just trying to have fun enjoying new content. You know, fun. The purpose of a game.

By insta-banning a brand new champ, especially from someone on your side hovering it, you are letting your over competitive attitude rob someone of a new experience to enjoy. You don't want your teammate to practice a champ they don't know? Think it'll lower your odds of victory? Go to ranked.

However players are not going to change. There will always be the people who insta-ban new camps because they don't want to deal with changes to the game they've desperately struggled to get a little better at. What needs to change is on Riot's side.

New champions should NOT be put in the Normal Draft ban queue for at least the 1st 24 hours of release, if not more, purely from a business standpoint. (To clarify before people scream at that, yes they should immediately go into the ranked ban queue.) A good portion of people who get hyped about a new champ will go out and buy the on sale champ and skin pack day 1. You know how they're rewarded? With people on their own teams banning away the champ to avoid change for a couple weeks. Having to wait one or two WEEKS to play a champ you buy for 1800RP ($15) (Using Kayn pricing as example.) is an aweful feeling, and not a good incentive to buy new champs going forward.

Hopefully Riot will find a way to make champ release feel exciting and fun again, instead of half the players dreading chamge, and forcing the other half to be denied the new content for awhile.

I'd like to follow that up by saying I am not blaming Riot for the player bases response to new content, or that their content is the problem. Riot has been making champs for a long time now. To cry "They're releasing a broken champion" EVERY time a new champ comes out is absurd. Occasionally does a champ come out the gates very strong? Absolutely. Does that mean Riot is consistently releasing game braking content? No. That's false. I'd love to blame all my losses on broken mechanics (and sometimes I do say that) but it's not true. Some of us just need to improve our game knowledge. I'm simply saying maybe there are solutions that could be implemented on Riot's side.

I would also like to hear other people's opinions (hopefully respectfully and not raging toxic responses) on my idea to remove new champions from the Normal Draft ban list for their release day or possibly few days. Keep in mind I also still support them immediately going into Ranked ban list, as the Ranked playlists focus should be focused on balance, whereas the Normal playlist should be more focused toward testing new champs and casual enjoyment of new content.

If you disagree with me or my idea (I'm sure there will be many) awesome. Please respectfully disagree. I would also love to hear your counter argument, and even your own ideas on how to improve people's out the gates experience of new content.

Thanks for reading, I look forward to discussion.

~ Sparky