Rune/Rune Page Prices
Rune pages really need to be streamlined. Only providing 2 free pages, then making new ones the same price as the most expensive champions (plus the prices of new runes to fill those pages) seems like it's promoting one (or more) of three things:
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Limit yourself to the few champions who can make use of the 2 pages you were able to create--which seems counter-intuitive to a game that promotes experiencing and being ready to play multiple roles with over 120 very different characters to choose from.
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Spend absurd amounts of time playing the game in order to expand possibilities and have the same edge as other players. If a match on LoL provides roughly 150 IP per game (being generous here), and games last half an hour, it would take ~21 hours of time to get ONE rune page. Add that to the cost of a full page of T3 runes (8685min - 25215max)which adds ~29 - ~84 hours of playtime, giving a grand total of ~50 - ~105 hours of playtime in order to afford just ONE completely new page. That is 2 - 4 DAYS of PLAYTIME to afford a single, completely new page!! If you don't think that is absurd...
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Spend real-life money. I'm certain Riot Games could function just fine off just the revenue it generates from skins, let alone the money it pulls in from rune pages, champions, wards, icons, etc.
Maybe when the game first came out, when there was far less to buy overall, it made sense to have such high RP and IP prices to provide players with things to look forward to, something to strive for. But now that there is so much to buy, it's nearly impossible for middle-class kids just picking up the game to ever catch up to veterans; there is now more than enough for any player to strive for without having to worry about runes and rune pages. I feel like Riot has reached the point where runes and rune pages should be likened to masteries: either free, or very inexpensive. Runes are supposed to provide a little bit of an edge depending on the champion and your playstyle, but that edge should not only be provided to kids who have endless amounts of time to grind IP or are affluent enough to purchase everything they want; the edge provided by runes, like masteries, should be available to everyone for a reasonable price, or free, to provide a better balance for new and casual players.
tl;dr Runes and rune pages cost too much for new and casual players. Reduce the prices or make them free like Masteries to improve balance.
