Yet another Normal Draft Removal topic => Isn't FlexQ the root of problem?

Velzard of Koz··4 votes·609 views

When DynaQ was released, despite being promised, SoloQ was removed from game. The reasoning was Riot was afraid how queue times would be affected with two separated queues. Despite we were told SoloQ players are minority and most people prefer DynaQ, obviously that small fraction of SoloQers was supposed to endanger the precious child that Dynaq was. Now we learnt that we are not that small minority when Riot decided to reconsider it and will bring SoloQ back next season.

Now, according to this:

In the regions where Normal Draft was disabled, it had very low participation. Our concern going into the launch of Flex is that having many similar queue options will result in a lot of low quality experiences rather than a few good quality ones.

They will remove Normal Draft for the sole purpose of promoting FlexQ. Afraid FlexQ will be unpopular, they artifically force players to play it. And history repeats itself.

  1. Riot removes a queue in order to stream its "low population" into DynaQ
  2. Riot puts argument that Normal Draft had low population, yet it seems this low population will matter for FexQ
  3. Riot assumes most of the low population will move to FlexQ and not ARAM or Normal Blind just for lolz
  4. Half posts on front of Boards is people being concerned I suppose next step is that at the end of Season 7 they will say they are confident with all three queues working perfectly at once... Until few weeks later they'll (out of blue without discussion in advance) announce they are removing ARAM because it suddenly has low population.

Also, note that FlexQ will have special initial IP bonus for the players there. Is anyone actually taking this seriously? Second year now we are going to be forced to eat this shit just because Riot is so desperately trying to hold DynaQ alive. Which queue will they try to gut next just because DynaQ is their precious child and they will make their entire game burn just so that it works? If people so prefer FlexQ, why does it need such special treatment to be held alive? I've no problem If someone wants to play premade Ranked as long as others are not forced to it. It's another play style and I feel happy for these that find their fun here. However imagine If they removed Normal Blind because of its "low population" in order to make Normal Draft more prefered choice, because it's more prefered, despite having problems with survival. Would that seem logical? Well, it seems only DynaQ has the right to supress other modes to promote itself.

Finally, it's funny how Riot was trying to "learn from their mistakes" and be "more transparent" and now they are removing entire queue out of blue, saying it clear and decided, without discussion in advance.

So, I am speaking to all those of you who are going to play FlexQ in second-world servers seriously to climb - have fun having your experience ruined by first-timers and experimentators because these people now have no other place to go. It's possible SoloQ will be stroke, too.

5 Comments

LightIsMyPath3 votes

Imho this will actually kill the flex Q. It will become the practice - mode (especially for solo players) creative competitiveness problems even worse than the ones dynQ had. I'm pretty sad, I liked the queue idea and even as a solo player mainly I was thinking of ranking in flex too sometimes to contribute to maintain the queue alive ( as I hope others will do, flexing some games has no cost for solos after all and it would help filling the premades, allowing both queues to live ). But if they ever remove draft in euw I would be sad for serious premades but it would just become my place for first timing champions / practicing off roles or to have those relaxing trollish games ( for example when I 'm tilted hard I use to enter draft and selecting mid/top and I'll either play some Nami midlane or some tanky on hit Lulu. Now, I don't think anyone would want a midlane Nami on their ranked game..but if draft should go I'd have no choice). So the queue would be dead in a matter of time just like happened to dynQ (now, I go from high bronze to high silver as mmr, it's not so unlikely I can find an opponent so bad he loose vs my nami mid, or that doesn't realize I'm on a champion I can't use and doesn't profit it.. But imagine an higher elo game with a first timer into it, or with a troll pick... )

DrCyanide2 votes

Great minds think alike! I really don't see a longer queue time for Flex Queue being the problem for it so much as people treating it like Normal Draft will be.

Oglaf1 votes

It is like they assume people who played Normal Draft will play Ranked Flex. Not at all.

Don't they understand that the draw to Normal Draft was, y'know, the fact that it wasn't Ranked?

Seriously Rito....

Erockandroll2 votes

{quoted}

It is like they assume people who played Normal Draft will play Ranked Flex. Not at all.

Don't they understand that the draw to Normal Draft was, y'know, the fact that it wasn't Ranked?

Seriously Rito....

My main concern would be for the Ranked Q. (In the event that it works perfectly) If Normal draft is viewed as a practice for ranked, ranked would see an influx on inexperienced players. (At least in experienced to the selection process) Or worse, you get people who don't care about ranked, entering your ranked games ONLY because they want to play draft.

But if they went to other game modes, Riot won't see that as a bad thing, they are just retiring a mode so small they can't retain it. And besides, if those Q's are as small as they say they are, the effects would be minimal.

Oglaf2 votes

{quoted}

My main concern would be for the Ranked Q. (In the event that it works perfectly) If Normal draft is viewed as a practice for ranked, ranked would see an influx on inexperienced players. (At least in experienced to the selection process) Or worse, you get people who don't care about ranked, entering your ranked games ONLY because they want to play draft.

But if they went to other game modes, Riot won't see that as a bad thing, they are just retiring a mode so small they can't retain it. And besides, if those Q's are as small as they say they are, the effects would be minimal.

My first (and until Riot get their shit together, only) Flex game was a "First time Katarina". Look at my match history for how that went...!

So yes, ranked will be worse on EUNE than those servers that still have Normal Draft. Much, muuuuuuuuch worse.

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