Season 7 should be about attracting new players

Blood Magicks·Jul 16, 2016·101 votes·5,292 views

I, for one, am perfectly happy with season 6 going down in history as a season of uncertainty and experimentation. Hopefully by the end of it Riot will resolve the soloq/dynq issues and come up with a good blend of the two, so they can focus on a different, but very important issue:

League can benefit from an influx of fresh blood. As it is, old players are becoming burned out on league, starting to quit it and even hate on it. And that's perfectly okay. Few games, if any, can boast keeping a player's interest for so long, and renewing it with every major update.

Keeping old players is a good pursuit, but sometimes there just isn't anything a company can do. The 2k games diamond 4 player who uninstalled sometimes just wants to play something else for a while, or maybe forever. Doesn't matter. There just needs to be an eager newbie taking his place in order for the game to stay fresh and alive.

As it stands, League is very unwelcoming to new players. I don't even think smurfs are as problematic as the sheer amount of stuff to learn and the little to no assistance provided by Riot to new players. It's all an outdated, confusing mess. I think in the season to come, Riot should focus on reeling new players in through intriguing stories, champions and thorough introductions to the gameplay of League.

Thanks for reading and best of luck in your games![slayer-jinx-catface]

118 Comments

Sahn UzalJul 16, 201638 votes

League can benefit from an influx of fresh blood.

Vladimir Intensifies

TFBaamJul 16, 201612 votes

Annie (insert fresh blood joke here)

Jet SettJul 16, 201626 votes

{quoted}

(insert fresh blood joke here)

http://reactiongifs.me/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/enough-internet-Dean-Winchester-supernatural.gif

Mistress MadokaJul 17, 201612 votes

http://codeforces.com/userphoto/title/pedobear/photo.jpg

WyrmbladeJul 16, 201626 votes

Coming from a former WoW player "Attracting new players" sounds a lot like "let's just nuke the game and pretend it didn't happen" but I would be interested in seeing stuff like in depth tutorials and a sandbox for people to develop their skills.

D3m37r1Jul 17, 201612 votes

The tutorial is awesome. Ashe with thornmail is legit. The minions don't stand a chance

redfeenixJul 17, 20163 votes

And the new Ryze. Hes a great beginner champ.

SukishooJul 17, 20163 votes

Oh he's only a difficultly of 7 in Riots eyes... is not like they started people off with Cassiopeia at difficulty of 10! XD

DænariusKhølerinJul 17, 20168 votes

Seriously Thornmail OP on Ashe. That level 4 Trundle with no items at the end of it didn't stand a chance!

LoborosJul 16, 201623 votes

What a horrible season... I hope season 7 gets better, and I might play it again. I think riot should stop fucking around with the lore also, just keep expanding instead of retconning everything.

chipndip1Jul 16, 20162 votes

{quoted}

What a horrible season... I hope season 7 gets better, and I might play it again. I think riot should stop fucking around with the lore also, just keep expanding instead of retconning everything.

They HAVE to retcon it all though. A shit ton of lore is still tied to the rift.

WoonStruckJul 17, 201617 votes

Maybe they shouldn't have made shit-tier retcons and just worked with what they had?

With how ambiguous most of the lores were, they could have easily expanded upon what was already there. For example, look at the bilgewater event.

It didn't massively change anyone's lore, but it expanded upon the characters' lores that were already there.

Seriously, what was the point of removing summoners? The only excuse I can see is because they wouldn't have an excuse to put fucking true-neutral gods (who could decimate anyone by glancing at them) on the rift. AurelionSol Kindred Why would beings uninterested in the affairs of mortals give a shit about the League? They don't have a reason for existing in the game.

They'd have to retcon the retconned lore in order for anyone to make sense of it.

Making over-powered characters that don't fit in is the first step to bad storytelling, and you can tell Riot took that step as of late.

Taliyah is a breath of fresh air as far as that goes. As far as humans go, she's still far too strong of a character with no reason for that strength, and the only drawback is 'hurr inexperience', despite being far, far older than Annie, who wields a far more chaotic and destructive element.

At least Annie is just 'talented', and not 'I accidentally blow up cities' if you want to make a parallel. I think a child with a gift would be far more likely to lead to destruction, and fire is far more chaotic, if that provides any perspective.

Finally, I'm going to mention the main thing that made old League's lore better.

Each and every one of the older champions had distinct goals. Personality. Reasons for being. Reasons for being there. Except Rammus. But that's kinda what makes Rammus, Rammus.

This made it much easier for players to get attached to champions.

League just doesn't have the same appeal anymore.

All Riot's managing to do now is make a casual DotA rip-off with inferior balance and general theme.

Mistress MadokaJul 17, 201614 votes

{quoted}

Why would beings uninterested in the affairs of mortals give a shit about the League? They don't have a reason for existing in the game.

This is why, with the Shurima event, they announced the Total retcon of the old lore

Each and every one of the older champions had distinct goals. Personality. Reasons for being. Reasons for being there. Except Rammus. But that's kinda what makes Rammus, Rammus.

Except they still do. Looking all over the updated lores, you have:

SHURIMA

Azir Revive his Empire and create an everlasting utopia Rammus Ok Nasus Bring his brother back to the light of Sanity and Destroy Xerath Renekton Kill Nasus Xerath Destroy Everything Azir hoped to accomplish and take his place ruling over everyone. Amumu Friends! Taliyah Protect her family, prevent enslavement Sivir Fuck bitches, get money Skarner Retrieve the Stolen Life Crystals of his Bretheren

The Shadow Isles

Mordekaiser Build up his forces to take back the Immortal Bastion, currently the capital of Noxus. From there, likely World Conquest. Thresh A Madman who wants to witness the delicious suffering of every living thing. Karthus Twisted to believe that the Black mist and Undeath of the Shadow Isles is the only true salvation for mankind. He wishes to save all mankind by turning them all undead. Hecarim He simply loves war, and would do anything to continue fighting. Kalista A Spirit of Vengeance. She wishes to rid the world of the Treacherous and deceitful.

Bilgewater

Reclaim his rule over Bilgewater after being brought down by Miss Fortune MissFortune Unite Bilgewater under her own views, and punish those who would serve under Gangplank. Graves TwistedFate Not gonna lie, their stories seem to have been tied up pretty neatly. It was hinted they'd be heading to Piltover next to Replace Graves's Gun, possibly knock over a few banks, but that has yet to be elaborated. Illaoi Spread teachings of Nagakabouros, Crush anyone that refuses to move. (Possibly wants to hook up with Braum, if In-game quotes are canon)

Targon

Now an embodiment of the Violent will of the Ancient Targonians, Pantheon serves to Fight the Void and other enemies of Targon Leona A Devout Paladin of the Sun, A Solari Warrior, Her Goal is the Protection of the lesser Villages and the obvious praising of the sun. She also seeks Diana, after having Witnessed the Truth of the sun and moon from her Ascension of Mt. Targon. Diana COnsidered a Heretic by her former Solari bretheren, Diana seeks to cleanse the world of the Void and other threats to Targon, and Spread the truth about the sun and moon she learned from her ascent to Targon's peak. Taric A Disgraced Demacian soldier, he Climbed Mt. Targon, and returned as the Guardian of Life. He no Longer answers to nations. He will stop at nothing to preserve life in it's purest of forms, and will fight to extinguish anything that would threaten it. AurelionSol The Creator of the Stars in the Heavens above, the Ancient Targonians managed to Deceive him into wearing a Potent magic Crown, that Manipulates him into serving their will. He Strives to Rebel against Targon and Destroy them as punishment for Humiliating and Using him.

WoonStruckJul 17, 20166 votes

This is why, with the Shurima event, they announced the Total retcon of the old lore

Still doesn't explain why these beings are interacting commonly with mere mortals. The old lore had more things to make work than nothing, which is the current lore. Nothing. There is no reason for anything. They fight on the rift because programmers made them. Nothing in their life story has any legitimate justification for them being here so often.

Except they still do. Looking all over the updated lores, you have:

SHURIMA

Still doesn't say why they're fighting in the League. It says their life story. Nothing else. What is the League accomplishing for them?

The Shadow Isles

They should be trying to take over the world. Why would they even THINK about dealing with the League at all unless something is keeping them there (summoners maybe?).

Bilgewater

Doesn't give them reason to be fighting in the League. They're just kinda there because its there.

Targon

If they're trying to protect anything, why are they fighting in a diplomatic arena that won't save ANY small communities or people that actually need protection in that moment?

If Pantheon is trying to fight void creatures, why is he wasting time fighting in a diplomatic arena?

For that matter, why are void creatures even bothering with the League if summoners aren't a thing.

Every single champion you mentioned has a goal in life. Not a goal in the League.

The entire concept of the game completely and totally falls apart without summoners or something to function in their stead. Simply removing them was a negative direction for the game's lore.

AtanchanJul 17, 20168 votes

{quoted}

Still doesn't say why they're fighting in the League. It says their life story. Nothing else. What is the League accomplishing for them?

That's exactly what the retcon is for. They aren't fighting in the League. The games we play are basically literally games, bloodsports conducted with summoners ( yes, they still exist, they're just not part of Runeterra anymore ) that call forth what are basically phantoms of the "legends" or otherwise notable people of Valoran and beyond. Certain things may hint at lore events, but just like they are OOCly, they're basically set dressing to make the world of the "game" seem more alive.

It's exactly the same deal as with, say, DOTA or Overwatch, just without the actual "justification." Yes, with DOTA, there is this whole "battle of the Ancients" going on in the lore, but it's comically always sometime in the future, a conflict put on the heroes' schedules ( literally, in the case of Rylai ) but not one to ever come. That's because the actual gameplay does not suit the lore at all, and trying to do so would raise way more questions than it would answer or just flat-out break the game. Overwatch may have locations and missions that'll end up being important to the characters, and they may interact in ways that would be true to how they'd interact in the situation they're in, but they're still absolutely no reason for Tracer to help Widowmaker push an EMP device onto a camp of Omnics in her hometown, much less Bastion or Zenyatta who would also be killed in the blast - and Zenyatta is flat-out a monk of peace that promotes human-Omnic equality! Hell, Blizzard has flat-out stated that the gameplay of Overwatch is completely out of the story, because there's just really no making sense of it.

WoonStruckJul 17, 20165 votes

But OW still has Overwatch (the organization) to tie all of the characters together. Even if lore and gameplay don't mix, its silly to say that none of the characters have a reason for being there. They specifically describe each and every hero's reason for joining Overwatch.

DotA was a custom map for an RTS that just grew and grew and grew. Them not having any ties means nothing because there isn't any story for DotA, in actuality. They're just a bunch of new units tossed into a custom game, essentially. DotA 2 is just a prettier version of it.

Also, all of the heroes are on the same level, power-wise. They're all beings, not gods. Even Zues, a literal god, reduced himself to being mortal due to an argument with his wife.

League, like Overwatch, had an organization that tied everything together, gave champions a purpose for being there. Not anymore.

But Riot's still trying to flesh out the world like anything makes sense anymore?

Then you have different champions in League, many of which are irrefutably much, much stronger or larger than others in lore, but they're all magically on the same playing field/unit of measurement? **Why do we have a giant star dragon, that literally forges massive celestial stars, that's barely bigger than Gragas? ** There's no fixing that. Riot fucked up. Aurelion Sol is a massive failure simply because of that small fact. He will never deliver as a character because he is not the character in lore. That's just a similarly themed character, not the character that lore describes.

I'm sorry but if you take a game like League without completely re-doing all the lore all at once, you're left with nothing. It doesn't matter how much they flesh out certain regions. The lore of the game is forever broken because so much of it just doesn't keep up with the rest.

It also doesn't help that Riot made a bad habit of including power in lore, rather than primarily characterization.

LimrickJul 17, 20161 votes

That last sentence makes no sense, Aurelion Sol is a very well written character with a clear personality and set of goals. The Ascended are extremely enticing characters, they are still relatable despite their power, which is a sign of extremely good storytelling.

The game we play has nothing to do with the story. The champions are exactly as the name of the game implies: Legends from the world of Runeterra. You're thinking about it all wrong, the game and the lore are separate, Summoner's Rift is like Final Destination in Smash, it's just where characters go to fight. Going on the Smash analogy, think of League as a bunch of toys, some shaped like dragons AurelionSol , some like ordinary people Caitlyn . The Summoners are the child that plays with the toys. One of the toys may be of a great and powerful being Nasus , but it's still just the same as a figure with a shotgun Graves : a toy. That's what Riot is going for, the characters have a backstory so you know who exactly you're commanding in game, but the backstory may have nothing to do with the game at all.

WoonStruckJul 17, 20163 votes

The Smash analogy falls apart when you consider the fact that, unlike smash, Riot is trying to build the world that they lived in behind the game, and apparently they were all during relatively similar time periods within the world.

Not some false arena some omnipotent god-finger created for them to fight in. That would make more sense than what Riot's trying to do now.

In the sense of Lore, Riot got out of one cage because they felt it was for the better...then spearheaded right into another.

DemoGuideJul 17, 20162 votes

I actually believe lore retcon was a good thing, but they still fucked up.

Yes, before all the characters had a reason to fight in league. But that actually limited pool of new champions they were adding. Not gonna lie, i wasn't reading lore that much, but i don't believe champions like Annie or Nidalee had a real reason to fight in League. I remember i read someone's lore once and thought "This reason to join league is sucked out of the finger". I also thought maybe lore retcon will allow to add more "protector" type of champions - who don't really want to fight, but do so only to protect what they love. These characters would need some stupid reason to join league like "He believes that in league arena he can do more for his family than anywhere else". Third reason you said already - powerful beings. They don't have a place in league, so they only can be mentioned through something not entirely game related.

So, i think removing Institute of War was a good thing. BUT the way they done it is stupid. Just saying "Summoners are no longer canon" is terrible idea. I was hoping they will make a whole universe now. They kinda done that... but only kinda. So i know there are a lot of locations in the world, but I'm not sure how they are tied together. I see Braum - i know that guy is from Freljord. I see Azir - i know he is from Shurima. While i know they are from the same universe, i still don't feel like they are from the same universe. They can be from completely different worlds, because nothing really ties them together.

Institute of War was connecting different characters together. Now this connection is broken. and nothing replaced it. I wanted Riot to create a new world, a whole universe of interesting characters, something global, something even bigger than "Wheel of Time" book series. But they failed miserably. Instead, they created a bunch of small groups, which are not connected to each other at all.

WoonStruckJul 17, 20161 votes

So, i think removing Institute of War was a good thing. BUT the way they done it is stupid. Just saying "Summoners are no longer canon" is terrible idea. I was hoping they will make a whole universe now. They kinda done that... but only kinda. So i know there are a lot of locations in the world, but I'm not sure how they are tied together. I see Braum - i know that guy is from Freljord. I see Azir - i know he is from Shurima. While i know they are from the same universe, i still don't feel like they are from the same universe. They can be from completely different worlds, because nothing really ties them together.

I never said it didn't need changes, just that it was done very poorly; on that note I agree. Things did need changes if they wanted to get out of the cage they built, but expanding it would have made a lot more sense than dismantling it. There's literally no reason for the demi-gods to associate with the mortals in this game anymore...yet there they are. They're still trying to build the world even though there's no reason for the game to be taking place in it now?

They would have been better off making the summoners' magic more and more powerful. Essentially force people to take part in their conflicts. Make it so the Institute literally was a part of everyone's lives...unnaturally so. That would give reason for these gods and demi-gods being there, even outside of imprisonment. It also would have moved the scope of the game's lore from the Institute of war to the entire world they were trying to build. Maybe even beyond, not even including those from beyond that would flock to Runeterra for glory, conquest, curiosity, or, like bard, to prevent calamity.

Power attracts power, even if there's a wide variety of intentions associated with it.

DemoGuideJul 17, 20162 votes

Well, now when you said it, I really feel they should have done it your way. Current state of the Runeterra is like Bahamas - couple of lore made islands, without deep connections between them. I've never been a big fun of this game's lore, but i am definitely a fan of alternative universes, which are big and consist of different nations, races and, of course, have magic involved! (I have to mention Wheel of Time again, heh). Sad thing i dont really feel league has it right now. If one day they provide me with a complete map of Runeterra, i may get hooked up again. Their current attemts to make lore looks like a fanfiction to me: lots of words, little to no use.

AtanchanJul 17, 20165 votes

Actually, the organization of Overwatch explains less than you might think, based on the title. Are there characters in Overwatch, in-universe? Well, yeah. But what about Widowmaker and Reaper, who work for Overwatch's enemies? Well, I guess you can say they're "meant" to be on the other team from the Overwatch heroes ... even though they're basically the only ones. But what about Hanzo? Pharah? Bastion? Junkrat? D.Va? Roadhog? Zarya? Lucio? Symmetra? Zenyatta? Maybe you can claim they're all people that the members of Overwatch could've picked up as teammates as part of the scenario of the mission, or that some of them would flat-out join the organization ... but there's another thing: Overwatch, in-universe, is basically dismantled. Agents of Overwatch were "recalled," but overall most of the stuff for Overwatch agents are likely unusable, because Overwatch activity is illegal.

There's ... actually really nothing Overwatch provides the actual in-game stuff, besides the background of quite a few characters and explanations of why they interact with each other the way that they do, and also I guess it provided a reason why one stage looks like it does.

Also, the heroes of DOTA definitely aren't the same power level. Sure, there's nothing to the level of, say, Teemo vs. Aurelion Sol ... because it's even worse. You've got Techies, three goblin-esque things that are based around explosives and nothing else, facing off against the fundamental forces of the universe, including gravity, electromagnetic force, and weak and strong nuclear force. No, not someone that channels the forces for their powers, not some god that has power over those forces, the embodiment of those forces themselves.

And, yes, the Techies can lay down some land mines and blow them to smitheroons, no problem. Hell, they can blow themselves up and commit suicide and then proceed to come back to life sooner than a fundamental force of the universe.

And that's not all. Funny that you mentioned Aurelion Sol, because in DOTA a really, really angry troll with a lot of tomahawks is actually one of the best heroes to kill and destroy another hero that is literally a star. A random kobold-goblin thing that is flat-out posed as an underdog and really only has cloning to his name - a skill that many other heroes have, anyway - can curbstomp the heat death of the universe itself with a shovel. And last but not least, a yellow guy riding a bat ... can douse the creator of the world itself in napalm and burn him to death.

So ... yeah, DOTA definitely has the same problems as League, if not worse, in terms of heroes being of the same power level and said power level be represented in-game.

Velzard of KozJul 17, 20162 votes

Build up his forces to take back the Immortal Bastion, currently the capital of Noxus. From there, likely World Conquest.

Likely? It's like ,,I might conquer the world right now. Or maybe I'll go on vacation? Hmm... A cup of tea also sounds inetresting."

Mistress MadokaJul 17, 20162 votes

Hey man, don't mess with an Evil Overlord's beverages. He conquered several kingdoms for that tea.

Velzard of KozJul 17, 20161 votes

So the one country he truly wants to conquer is Ionia #worthdaeffort

Mistress MadokaJul 18, 20162 votes

He wants to try the beverages of every Kingdom!

Freljordian Ale Piltovian... HexTea? Zaunite Sludge! Kumungu Spirit Journey (Datura is some wacky shit yo) Shadow Isles Blood Wine Shurima... uh... sand

hsumis1oveJul 16, 201619 votes

Too many smurfs to introduce new players.

TimewinderJul 16, 201611 votes

No it should be about competitive integrity. Dynamic queue was an attempt at community building and attracting new players.

MrBuffingtonJul 16, 201610 votes

Tutorial where? :3

I agree though; also focus on player retention and community building

grokoJul 16, 20164 votes

{quoted}

Tutorial where? :3

I agree though; also focus on player retention and community building

no tutorial can replace a friend teaching you id say the majority of players where taught by friends and were kept interested in the game by friends

MrBuffingtonJul 16, 201614 votes

An "adopt-a-noob" program would be kind of cool

The Yetii RiderJul 17, 20161 votes

{quoted}

no tutorial can replace a friend teaching you id say the majority of players where taught by friends and were kept interested in the game by friends

That's why Dynamic Queue is important.

grokoJul 17, 20163 votes

[{quoted}](name=The Yetii Rider,realm=NA,application-id=3ErqAdtq,discussion-id=9JlgAaZV,comment-id=000100000003,timestamp=2016-07-17T15:57:02.198+0000)

That's why Dynamic Queue is important.

when ur first starting to play once your 30 its all on you ranked shouldnt be about playing with your friends thats why theres normals

Akali is SO HOTJul 16, 20168 votes

There is no possible way at this point to make League of Legends noob friendly. There are too many champions, too many smurfs, too many things to learn, and Riot constantly screwing up makes it that much harder to learn.

EvewynnJul 16, 20168 votes

Please work on an extensive new player experience. I tried to get my GF into league but as someone who has never played an RTS or action RPG she is struggling to get past even basic concepts. My entire group of friends have had to help explain so much to her including item builds, the cadence of laning, common game terms, and all that.

If she didn't have outside help I doubt she would ever get into the game.

Asuna KitadeJul 16, 20161 votes

Lol i didnt know about league until the beginning of season 5 and i started playing it and learning everything on my own. My bf never helped me altho hes in masters elo, and i was too shy to ask him for help. Some people can learn stuff on their own. Not everyone is like your gf

EvewynnJul 16, 20164 votes

Not everyone is you either. Some people need the extra help, and even those who catch on more quickly would benefit from an improved new player experience.

xXMrPeanutXxJul 16, 20166 votes

Season 6 is already about introducing new players. I can't post on my main since the acc got hacked but if anyone remembers Aegon the Dragon - that's me.

(It got hacked but has been permabanned for 2 years prior so I don't really care to get it back just for the sole reason of showing off how I'm Diamond 3 on a boards of a game that I don't play anymore)

I don't play this game anymore, since I promised I would quit.

I did quit but I still read the boards all the time. It's actually funny to see what is happening. People are complaining about things and giving advice for things that was never an issue for the old playerbase ( that has now moved onto Overwatch).

Buying a sighstone really a question for supports? Well it shouldn't be, at least every single players past Bronze should know this.

Extreme toxicity of Dynamic Q? Weird ratio's of Silver/Bronze/Gold because of Dynamic Q boosting? - Even some Streamer advertise Dynamic Q boosting for SUBS without any consequences up until this day.

These are the reasons old players have left, you guys probably won't notice in game because new players are replacing the old players.

The only issue is, it's a younger group, people are more sensitive, they have no yet reached the mechanical or cognitive thinking level of people playing for 4+ years (which is only natural).

If you want to see where it's hurting them it's extremely obvious on Twitch. I've watched League on Twitch for YEARS and this season it's been the lowest numbers i've EVER seen for LCS matches and streaming in general. 100K for a C9 vs CLG match which what used to be a 300K thing.

I guess we will see what the numbers look like when Worlds hit, but I remember last year it was around a solid 500k topping at 700k at one point.

The game isn't dying, but the older players are being replaced by new and younger players, be prepared for whatever follow (so far i've been snickering at some of the things being discussed and done in League, it's almost like they want to repeat history buffing Vayne for the sake of causing on outcry)

A LiberalJul 16, 20166 votes

They NEEEEEEEEED TO MAKE TUTORIALS. LIKE ACTUAL, REAL, TUTORIALS.

I almost quit because I had no clue what I was doing, but that didn't stop me because i'm okay with being trash, but a lot of people I imagine get turned off by that.

Mistress MadokaJul 17, 20162 votes

Ashe item 3075

NilokJul 17, 20162 votes

They need to make a single player game for league to teach people and drop the clunky and crappy leveling system.

This not only solves the problem that the current system forces a negative handicap on new players, but actually let's Riot make a game about the actual lore they are producing.

Currently, it is like reading a short synopsis about Thrall from Warranty III,, then only being able to play him in multiplayer. Without singleplayer to not only show you the ropes, but also allow you to connect with the character more.

The EcdysiastJul 17, 20166 votes

The current ranked changes are exactly what you're asking for. They appeal to new players while hurting everyone who isn't a professional.

The Bearded BardJul 17, 20164 votes

I've been playing this game a long time, damn near since the beginning and I've got to say it's largely the new players that are ruining the game, and by new players I'm mostly referring to anyone that joined around S4-now.

People take the game too seriously now. It's all about abusing what's powerful and copy pasting whatever the pros are doing. No one thinks for themselves anymore, no one plays to have fun. Competitive drive is great and all, but not at the expense of fun. I'm sure I'm not the only one that's been more frustrated with a win than happy from time to time.

AlddurenJul 17, 20163 votes

As a fellow veteran i partly agree - on one hand, you are right people have been going full copy pasta since halfway through Season 4. On the other hand, i find the experienced players create more problems in the game - mainly through smurfing. Sure, smurfs quickly end up getting matched only against each other, which of course is nice - but this also breeds more toxicity, which in turn results in more smurfs for various reasons. The community has been on a steady decline ever since Season 5 begun, and then it jumped off a cliff with Season 6.

We can only hope Riot learns from their massive mistake this season, instead of taking it to another next level in half a year's time.

On the bright side, at this rate we might soon be back to the good old days with a small, concentrated playerbase.

The Bearded BardJul 17, 20162 votes

Smurfs have always been a huge problem. Thinking back to when I first started, nearly every game I was in had one person just dumpstering everyone on the enemy team. I don't think that's an exclusively veteran player problem though. On the contrary, I definitely know more new players with multiple accounts than I do old players. I don't know if this is the case for all veterans, but I see no reason to make a new account when this one has everything unlocked.

Also, the problem with smurfing is that it's not against the rules. Back in the day, it was against the rules to abuse the refer a friend thing, but the account itself wasn't breaking a rule, just referring yourself was. Another thing that's sort of amplifying the problem is how popular smurfing has become. It's gotten to the point where people watch streams of master tier people absolutely demolishing silver players in an effort to show that elo hell doesn't exist is very popular, as well as 'racing' to see how fast you can get your smurf where your main is.

As for getting back to the small playerbase of the good ol' days, I fear that's no longer an option. Even if the game dies out to that point, as long as there are pros to copy, that's what people will do. The birth of LoL as an eSport has killed originality.

MonkeyMadnessJul 17, 20163 votes

I think season 7 should be about fixing the clusterfuck that is season 6. If DQ lasts for another full season, this game will be dead by season 8. In addition to obvious problems brought on by DQ, the balance issues this season seem to be absolutely horrible compared to previous seasons. Nearly every game I play is a stomp, one way or the other, and I really don't see any champion variety anymore, as players feel obligated to choose from the short list of currently opaf champs.

l Red lJul 17, 20163 votes

It would be cool if the game was more understandable for newbies but please, for the love of god, don't make it easier to make it more welcoming. It would hunt away all the veteran players.

DarkRitualJul 17, 20162 votes

Actual tutorials and retuned bot AI would do wonders without actually changing things for existing players.

CerealBoxOfDoomJul 16, 20161 votes

more like season six PROBABLY WILL BE about new players

they are already working on stuff for new players. In the f2p business older customers.. are not necessarily the best assets.

WoonStruckJul 17, 20169 votes

That's not true. Repeat customers will always be your best asset. That's why retail focuses on the shopping experience so much.

There is definitely something to say about getting new customers, but retaining customers should be any company's primary concern.

Relying on new players for revenue is an unstable business model that will lead to League's downfall if they neglect the other players like they are.

For short-term profit, yes, mass influx of 1 time buys will always yield the most profit. However, this case should only be made if you have a temporary business model.

Long term, you want to hold onto the customers who frequent your business the most and utilize events to draw in new people...not shaft your most loyal customers with over-arching changes to something people already liked and now like much less as a result.

Unless you want League to die in the next year or two, you should not be supporting the direction of the game.