Pros and Cons of Solo Que vs. Team Ranked vs. Dynamic Que (Discussion)
WARNING LONG POST - I APPRECIATE ANYONE WHO TAKES THE TIME TO READ THIS THOROUGHLY AND RESPOND
I realize there are countless threads about Solo Que vs. Dynamic Que and how everyone wants Solo Que back. However, rather than a big complaint thread, I'd like to open up some meaningful discussion about the pros and cons of the various que types, particularly Dynamic Que (yes there are pros), RIOT's thought process and why they are pushing this so hard.
Now certaily I'm not a RIOTER, This post is merely my own conclusions and opinions. I'm obviously going to miss some pros and cons of each que and you may very likely agree or disagree with me, if so please feel free to comment below. However I request you be respectful of my opinions, other posters as well as RIOT. This point of this thread is meaningful, respectful discussion, not a place to simply vent.
First let's take a look at the state of the game before Dynamic que... we had Solo/Duo Que, and Team Ranked.
Solo/Duo Que: Solo/Duo que was great for those who really just wanted to "test their own strength" against the world. Fighting both against the enemy and to have their individual skill shine. This was reflected in it's own performance ladder and in a way your rank was your "individual skill level rating"; A badge of honor or success if you will.
However this also came at a cost, while you got to measure your own success this also meant that game experiences varied EXTREMELY from game to game. When everyone is fighting for/against themselves, they tend to be more greedy, less team-oriented, rage easily and not care about the experience/penalties of a loss towards the other players. This creates a more toxic community and for those who really wanted to succeed and win, it was important to take the game more seriously and get into higher ranks where there were more like-minded individuals who wanted to win, aka communicate and play as a team. (even then, there is toxicity)
Solo/Duo certainly has its pros and cons but it is a team game after all, and playing for and by yourself is not necessarily the optimal way for you (or others) to experience the game. That being said it was still a place for those who didn't want to (or couldn't) play with friends to really shine. And that is something many feel is missing from the game right now.
Solo/Duo Que Pros: Always matched against other Solo/Duo players (never teams), Individual success platform, place for newer players with minimal friends to play with.
Solo/Duo Que Cons: Less teamwork & communication, less than optimal game experience, more toxic community
Team Ranked: This brings us to Team Ranked. By queing as a 5 man team you naturally (and drastically) increased your communication, teamwork, and overall chances of winning. Your teams success was measured in it own performance ladder. The overall game quality was better because there were far more teams who actively tried to work together and win, despite their individual level of skill. Obviously, Riot considers this the optimal way to play and experience the game. However, this also had a draw back: It doesn't allow solo players and Not everyone is able to put together 5 people to play with, leaving no options for those who wanted to que with 2 or 3 friends rather than 4; leaving a decent portion of the community stuck with Solo/Duo.
Team Ranked Pros: Always matched against teams, Improved teamwork, improved communication, better average game experience, team success platform. Less toxic community (overall)
Team Ranked Cons: Doesn't allow solo players or 2/3/4 man teams.
**So here is RIOT issue: **
- They've got a Solo/Duo que that allows players to shine individually, but creates a less than optimal experience playing the game overall.
- They've got a que that increases chances of players working together for a better game experience, but leaves out a portion of the community and doesn't measure or highlight personal performance.
RIOT conclusion: Playing with friends = improved communication = better team work = better average game quality = healthier community
**RIOT asks themselves: ** 1: How do we encourage the community to play more with friends? 2: How do we improve the average game experience (teamwork) for those queing by themselves? 3: How do we introduce a way for 2, 3, and 4 man teams to be able to play together in a 5 man game?
Dynamic Que: This still allows individuals to que by themselves and allows 2, 3, 4, and 5 man teams to que as well. At a top level view this solves the primary pain points the individual ques were previously having. Let's dive into the pros and cons.
Dynamic Pros: Still allows players to que solo (and be ranked accordingly), allows teams of any size (including players who want to que 2,3 or 4 man teams), improves average game quality for players (greater chances of teamwork by being paired with other teams), encourages people to play more with friends, hones the focus of the game towards team-oriented, rather than individual skill.
Dynamic Cons: Potential for a group of Solo players to get placed against teams (allthough unlikely). Solo players can potentially get placed with teams that do not cooperate with them. When matched with a team - Solo players become the scape goat if anything goes wrong and receive a lot of verbal abuse (whether their fault or not), Teams can get placed with solo players who afk or rage (potentially costing them the game). Does not provide a true "Individual Success Platform" for those who want to test their own skill against the community. Those who play in teams will likely consume the majority of the higher-elo tiers leaving a larger barrier for solo players to get into higher elo ranks.
Taking all of this into consideration and objectively looking at the problems RIOT faced - I still think Dynamic Que was a smart decision. It is a logical, and viable answer to creating a healthier game and community. Looking at the big picture however, I think what's holding Dynamic Que back more than anything and the root cause of most of people's frustrations is the community itself. There are too many impatient, toxic, selfish people who create a poor environment for everyone else in a game that already can be frustrating (snowball).
It is easy to blame RIOT for placing you or your team with toxic or players, or placing you with a toxic team, but in reality RIOT cannot control the toxicity of players. RIOT does have a small effect the toxicity of some by the current game balance, however the nature of the game is to get stronger and stronger the more you succeed. This snowball type game will always create frustrating situations, and too often people cannot handle it in a decent respectful (or humble) manner. Ultimately you decide your own attitude and how you treat others in the game whether they deserve it or not. All RIOT can do is identify patterns in player behaviors they consider unacceptable via the report system (which arguably could be improved) and remove them in order to mitigate this as much as possible for the community. No matter what riot does, or what que they introduce, you will always at some point be placed with someone who is toxic, plays poorly or frustrates you. That is not your fault, nor RIOT's. Overall I think a lot more people would be satisfied with Dynamic que if they got placed with good teammates to try hard and are respectful. Unfortunately that's not something you can expect in every game nor something RIOT can guarantee, but you can set the example for others.
TL;DR: Dynamic is a good solution, but toxic players easily ruin it. It's a game, stop being so damn salty!
Phew! If you've gotten this far, Thank you for reading my wall of text! Feel free to comment below! Any and all input is appreciated! (so long as it's respectful)
Cheers!
[slayer-jinx-catface]
