I'm so glad that a champ being picked in LCS doesn't mean they're OP anymore.

Desiderium·Feb 27, 2016·3 votes·298 views

Because of the way Riot is shifting the balance of the game into "what can be viable in what situations" rather than "these things are stronger than other things indisputably."

In seasons 1-4, all LCS champs were picked because they were OP in their role, while paying no heed to tactical or strategic depth, because they were that powerful. Nowadays, a champ being picked in LCS doesn't automatically mean they're unbalanced anymore. And I'm proud of Riot's balance team for that. LCS is now a showcase of top tier teams rather than a display of OP champs against other OP champs.

5 Comments

TheDeviceFeb 27, 20163 votes

When you see champs like Aatrox Sion Galio etc in pro play then I'll start feeling the love...

Maybe they're trying to work towards that goal.. but they still leave some champions in the pits of despair who are all clearly out classed in their respective roles.

XeynidFeb 27, 20161 votes

Aatrox and Galio are kinda proof of Riot working towards making champions viable because they fit a specific strategic Niche. Galio and Aatrox... don't.

Aatrox has a pretty poor teamfight due to having no damage if he builds tanky, being insanely squishy if he builds damage, and his knockup being interruptable, and split-pushing all game isn't an effective strategy. In what situation does Aatrox's kit do something nobody else's kit can do? Being able to outsustain someone really isn't helpful in any meaningful way. The only possible usage could be as a counter to poke comps, since theoretically he'd be able to shrug off poke, but realistically, the fact that his sustain is tied to auto attacking means that doesn't really happen.

Galio is similar. He's a burst mage with huge AoE teamfight potential but doesn't have the mobility to get there, like amumu without bandage toss or lux without range. He's only a good pick if you want a strong team fight and can reliably get far enough ahead of the enemy team that Galio can just waltz right up into the middle of them to drop his ult. He could potentially be useful as a counter-initiation-initiation champion, but if you're building your team to win team fights only after the enemy team engages on your team... you're gonna have a bad time.

The only reason those champions don't see competitive play is because they're not OP. They don't have anything to offer in their kit that would make them a strategic pick if your rationale for picking them wasn't "They're really fucking strong so might as well"

WoonStruckFeb 27, 20162 votes

{quoted}

Aatrox and Galio are kinda proof of Riot working towards making champions viable because they fit a specific strategic Niche. Galio and Aatrox... don't.

Aatrox has a pretty poor teamfight due to having no damage if he builds tanky, being insanely squishy if he builds damage, and his knockup being interruptable, and split-pushing all game isn't an effective strategy. In what situation does Aatrox's kit do something nobody else's kit can do? Being able to outsustain someone really isn't helpful in any meaningful way. The only possible usage could be as a counter to poke comps, since theoretically he'd be able to shrug off poke, but realistically, the fact that his sustain is tied to auto attacking means that doesn't really happen.

Galio is similar. He's a burst mage with huge AoE teamfight potential but doesn't have the mobility to get there, like amumu without bandage toss or lux without range. He's only a good pick if you want a strong team fight and can reliably get far enough ahead of the enemy team that Galio can just waltz right up into the middle of them to drop his ult. He could potentially be useful as a counter-initiation-initiation champion, but if you're building your team to win team fights only after the enemy team engages on your team... you're gonna have a bad time.

The only reason those champions don't see competitive play is because they're not OP. They don't have anything to offer in their kit that would make them a strategic pick if your rationale for picking them wasn't "They're really fucking strong so might as well"

The problem with champions 'fitting into a certain niche' is that Riot doesn't allow many of those niches to be powerful.

Riot snuffs out any meta that doesn't keep the current over-arching one adamant, and they do this any time a new strategy arises that doesn't revolve around all-in #LC$BigPlays-style teamfighting and picks.

XeynidFeb 27, 20161 votes

Like when? The only times riot has really specifically nerfed playstyles that I can remember is them nerfing wet-noodle fights of full tank battles and them nerfing the split-push steamroll, both of which are widely considered to be boring to play and watch.

Just because it is an alternate strategy doesn't mean it necessarily deserves to be viable.

WoonStruckFeb 27, 20161 votes

{quoted}

Like when? The only times riot has really specifically nerfed playstyles that I can remember is them nerfing wet-noodle fights of full tank battles and them nerfing the split-push steamroll, both of which are widely considered to be boring to play and watch.

Just because it is an alternate strategy doesn't mean it necessarily deserves to be viable.

If the game doesn't 100% revolve around specifically ranged ADCs, ADCs get buffs or whoever's on top gets nerfs.

If the game turns to gank-heavy metas where junglers are the carries, nerfed.

If tanks are too hard to kill solely for ADCs, nerfed, or ADCs get huge itemization buffs.

If the game is in a stall-type meta, all poke and waveclear gets nerfed. After all, what fun is a game if ADCs can't melt towers right away?

And heaven forbid a melee ADC becomes viable in lane. Can't have them competing with ranged ADCs. No, Yasuo doesn't count. He doesn't have any of the weaknesses other melee champions have.

Game has more burst than glass-cannon ADC builds can handle? Guess what gets nerfed. The itemization of the class that's effectively dealing with ADCs, rather than shield supports, disengage, or an ADC like Graves being encouraged.

ADCs build more than just glass cannon? Guess what gets nerfed. The tank items, rather than them finding a way to nerf ADCs directly so they aren't still a giant damage threat while building tanky. Its a win-win for ADCs because bruisers and tanks are now weaker while they just build more damage instead.

Riot's been cornering the meta for years, and its starting to fall apart with the extreme ranged ADC focus they've been moving it towards.

Let's not forget the ADC power creep. Perfectly fine ADCs get reworked to compete with ADCs that are currently too strong, rather than the outliers getting nerfed. Look where it's gotten us now. Perfectly fine ADC itemization gets reworked and all ADCs generally build basically the same thing now even after the new itemization came in. Now they're all over-loaded due to itemization while every other class gets screwed.