Use champion mastery requirements to benefit ranked play
Now that champion mastery has been established, use it to benefit ranked play.
Ranked eligibility is currently tied to champion ownership, and that's it. You have to own 16 champions. You don't have to have played those champions ever, only own them. They don't have to be different types of champions. As so many other aspects of the LoL game have changed over the seasons, this requirement has not changed. Draft eligibility is long overdue for an update.
The playerbase has been asking for an increase in bans for some time now. An increase in bans is necessary to accomodate the champion pool increases since the bans were first implemented. However, an increase in bans would also require a change in the requirement to join a draft lobby, ranked or unranked, as the 16 champion requirement was put in place to ensure a player could still have a champion to select even after 6 bans and 9 other players picking first.
Champion mastery has been a successful implementation. Is this debatable? I don't think so. I have seen players as for more levels of mastery. I have seen players asking for individualized rewards for mastery: icons, skins, etc.
How could Riot glamorize the idea of champion mastery? **Tie champion mastery into a ranked lobby requirement, especially at higher tiers of play. **Here's an example requirement system:
Bronze - Need to own 16 champions. Silver - Need to own 16 champions (Minimum of 1 Assassin, Fighter, Mage, Marksman, Support, Tank) Gold - Need to own 16 champions (Minimum of 1 Rank 5 Assassin, Fighter, Mage, Marksman, Support, Tank) Platinum - Minimum of 1 Rank 5 Assassin, Fighter, Mage, Marksman, Support, Tank, Minimum of 2 other owned Assassin, Fighter, Mage, Marksman, Support, Tank (18 Total) Diamond - Minimum of 1 Rank 5 Assassin, Fighter, Mage, Marksman, Support, Tank, 1 Rank 4 Assassin, Fighter, Mage, Marksman, Support, Tank, 1 owned Assassin, Fighter, Mage, Marksman, Support, Tank (18 Total)
And so forth. Certainly this is adaptable, but it's an idea. The thought behind the idea is greater equity and balance of skill at all levels of play. If a player is promoted into a higher tier without meeting the next requirement, he'll get a penalty free ranked freeze until he can qualify to play at that level.
The thing is, most players within each tier would already qualify for something like this simply through experience. How would this type of progress based system change ranked play? It would eliminate the "I CAN ONLY PLAY X" (Mid or feed) at higher levels of play. It would allow solo players some faith that their teammates have at least some level of competency in all roles and styles of play. It would encourage aspiring new players to learn more than one champion or lane.
Because you're only as good as your weakest role.
Bring on the downvotes from Riven only players.
(AND WHILE WE'RE AT IT, TIE LP GAINS INTO CHAMPION MASTERY TOO. IF YOU GET AN S+ PERFORMANCE BUT LOSE THE GAME, LOSE LESS LP. IF YOU GET A C- PERFORMANCE BUT WIN THE GAME, WIN LESS LP. RIOT HAS FINALLY STARTED TO QUANTIFY PERFORMANCE WITHIN A GAME BEYOND THE WIN/LOSS... USE IT FOR RANKED PROGRESSION)
