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The psychological effect of URF mode

Weeb Guardian·12/22/2017, 9:23:40 AM·1 votes·733 views

In riot's recent 'ask riot' (which can be found here: https://nexus.leagueoflegends.com/en-us/2017/12/ask-riot-urf/ ) they explained why normal urf isn't coming back.

If you want a shortened explanation scroll to the bottom.

Apparently it causes players to leave the game when the mode is gone, for which they do not know the reason although they guess the reasons are:

 - A hangover effect (binge playing into a burnout)

  • Seeing the same champions every time
  • The normal game feeling too slow after URF
  • Feeling like you're playing a cheat mode, after which normal games feel boring

There are some issues with this way of thinking though as the bingeplaying stays, the feeling of slow/boring games stays and even seeing the same champs isn't fully foxed as they limit champ pools/give rerolls.

Riot also openly admitted that they did not find the perfect solutions yet, but that they will keep on trying to find a 'perfect recipe' for URF.

My issue with this line of thinking however is that the source of people leaving remains that URF is just generally more fun (if you can read between the lines the given reasons really imply that).

So how is it a bad thing? Some people don't play URF mode to play op stuff, but just to have fun with champions they like. Some don't even care about winning or losing as long as they have their fun.

I honestly believe that RIOT should run a test period in which they give us normal URF for an extended duration (like a month), if the mode is really that unhealthy for player activity it either will start dropping players during the month as well, as it would eventually have to get boring to play urf.

If that is not the case then not giving us URF is a mistake altogether, if people keep playing URF that would mean normal URF is the perfect recipe and it should be in rotation more often, as it makes people want to play.

Dropping the playerbase after the rotation is a nasty side effect for them, but it can be put on hold by giving people a reason to return.

Yes, i know riot said that the playerbase does not grow back to what it was before URF, but is that really an URF issue? If you cannot get your playerbase to stagnate doesn't that just mean that people move on? I mean you can blame a sudden loss of numbers on URF, but if the playerbase continually decreases (what is implied by the way the 'ask riot' answer is said, as they litteraly state the active base does not grow back to what it was before) then that is just a natural effect of people moving on because of less reasons to play.

Another important factor to the decrease of players is the fact that a huge part of your playerbase at the start were teens, they are growing up, getting jobs and families, of course they would play less.

Long story short: RIOT says their playerbase decreases after URF and does not grow back to what it was before, but is that an URF effect? As implying the community does not 'grow back' cannot be explained by a single mode, it is more of a natural cycle of games, where people come and go. Blaming this on URF will not change that.

I would like more opinions, so please post what you think.

1 Comments

GeminiRune12/22/2017, 10:41:16 AM1 votes

Taking Riot's transparency into factor and referring to one of Cactopus's recent responses, the point that's being made is that URF specifically has this kind of negative impact for what was originally meant to be novelty gag; the days where it was considered "The Next Evolution of League of Legends" or something like that got plunged into such toxicity in the form of a ultimatum simulation: "Give this to me and more or I quit" basically. And even then, it's both during and after the matter.

Here's my take on the four points:

A hangover effect (binge playing into a burnout)

That happens. Happened to me back in the first (and second) times but didn't make me really want to quit or bark for more.

Seeing the same champions every time

That feels more like a community outcry than it is Riot stating to be a problem. In fact, Riot did enforce the opinion out of the players. It won't be unanimous and it never will be however. Even bans - if it ever needed to have been added - would just skew the tiers of Champs.

The normal game feeling too slow after URF Feeling like you're playing a cheat mode, after which normal games feel boring

I've been calling URF a "Glorified Practice Tool" for quite a while now. You can basically pick up any Champion on a low CD and play it too limits out of the norm. This becomes an obsession however because you could get IP off of countless games; there was always some innate reward for playing it and there still kind of is now. But it's not the game! It's not meant to be the game! It was an April Fools joke practically gone viral.

On that mention, the following year in 2015 they tried to pitch NURF! People were on board with how ridiculous that would be but were grateful nonetheless to get URF back from the popular demand. It wasn't exactly being fooled twice but more just being rewarded at the expense of Riot's playerbase.

Honestly, if Riot were to declare URF or any version of it to not return for quite some time, I would understand after having read their AR Response. It shouldn't be about giving more and longer because then it only takes more away. Over the last few days, I saw at least 3 friends log back on just to play a game or two and log right back off for who knows how long (they might play out the period - they might not. If that's the lingering effect, I'd say let the April Fools joke be what it was and move on.