On the Subject of Runes Refunds
Some people have made complaints about rune refunds, because the refunds are only partial. As well, some summoners are upset that extra rune pages won't be refunded, even though they won't be necessary anymore (because they will be available to change during champ select).
There has been anger, because all that effort grinding for new runes, has "gone to waste", because runes will be free now.
Even though I only started in season 5, I completely empathize with the people making these complaints. Nobody likes to see all their hard work made irrelevant. But, in this post, I hope to explain why Runes Reforged is a necessary change to League for Legends, and that the final draft of the refunds will be a good compromise.
There will be a TL;DR for each section, and a mega summary at the end, if you just want to jump to my conclusions.
##Why must we reforge runes?
There has already been an explanation by Riot as to why they are undertaking this project:
"Runes and Masteries have problems. These systems are complicated, hard to balance, and don't give you enough room to customize your playstyle or adapt to the situation in champ select. Recently, we've been talking about our plans for preseason and why we're combining Runes and Masteries into one streamlined pre-game system." (Taken from the first paragraph of the Runes Reforged announcement.) click here to check it out
The article delves a bit deeper into the subject, but the gist is that runes are supposed to be pre-game ways to pick stats that fit your playstyle, but there are so many things that aren't actually options for those who want to be competitive (you can't take +0.25 gold/10s seals, because your champ is balanced around having 9 extra armor from seals).
Champions are balanced around having a full set of runes, because the majority of players have a full set. This means that someone without the full set is at a disadvantage, so if they want to improve their competitiveness, they have to grind out IP for runes. But a new player should be allowed to explore the game, to find what they like to play, without having to grind to try out a playstyle (some roles, like the jungle, and some champions, like Riven, need those base stats to succeed).
The idea when these systems were made, was that they would create a path of progression, where you slowly advanced the complexity of your pre-game decision making, until you reached level 30, and the unlocked the ability to try out ranked. In practice, new players have to balance between buying new champions and getting runes to make those champions viable, because runes and champions are bought with the same currency. XP is a better system, because it doesn't limit a player's ability to get new champions, so they can focus on finding their preferred playstyle. By moving runes to XP, new players will have a more enjoyable progression into a strong champion pool and full set of pre-game stats.
TL;DR---Runes and masteries are supposed to be choices that help you decide your gameplay, but in practice are a lot of work for new players just to get onto an even playing field with the experienced players. As well, old runes use up the precious IP that should be going towards new champions.
##Why combine runes and masteries?
Both systems are trying to do the same thing, just in different ways. Runes are purely numbers: they increase one pre-existing stat, or another. Masteries are more complex, and usually create effects that aren't found outside the system. In the Runes Reforged announcement, Riot included an explanation as to why they are combining runes and masteries click here to read. They point out that there is a lot of impact from runes and masteries, but it is spread out over so many slots that no one decision feels really important (except for some of the keystones). As well, by removing the pure stat buffs provided by old runes, we can focus on the unique effects provided by the mastery system.
There has been some worry expressed about how well everything will be brought over to the new system. Like every other major update, it is going to be rocky, and there are going to be some OP rune-abusers, and stat-dependant champions left by the wayside. But, like every other major update, we will arrive on the other side with a fresh meta, at least some level of balance, and an improved game.
TL;DR---We will bring down the total number of decisions pre-game from 60ish, to 6. Each one will feel significant, and we can have unique effects that allow for new playstyles. There will be a period of instability, but that's what preseason is.
##What about all that effort I put into my runes? I should get fully reimbursed!
I understand this sentiment, because all that IP and RP you used on runes (and pages) could've been spent somewhere else. Only getting a portion of your money and time investment back, may seem like a slap in the face, but it is the right thing to do.
It may appear that all your IP and RP payments are being made pointless, and you only get a portion of them back. But they weren't pointless, and you did get a benefit out of them, so the unrefunded currency is the payment for that benefit. Because people were expecting more use out of their runes, they thought that the payment was fair. Riot is reducing the period of time that we could've used those runes, so they are reimbursing us for the use that we were expecting, but won't be getting.
I am not going to use the defence of "Riot doesn't have to do anything, its their game", because that's not true. All companies should be held accountable by their customers, and all companies should do their best to serve customers while still remaining successful. But, people complaining that this is some kind of theft of their money, should know that Riot expects to lose money from the rune rework click here to read a pvplive.net article on the topic.
They are doing this, because it will improve league, and make it easier for new people to join. But veterans won't be left out, because this will also improve the competitiveness of League, and allow for new options for all the theorycrafters and experimenters out there. Because these decisions will matter more, you can make a bigger impact by making good rune decisions, rather than the old system of finding the objectively best rune page on MOBAfire (which any player new or old can do).
I don't agree with a lack of refunds for IP rune pages, because their importance has been changed. Just as rune investment was refunded because the promised product has been changed (shorter lifetime than expected), rune page investment should be refunded because the promised product (more options in the pre-game) has been changed (rune pages will now be available to change in champ select).
TL;DR---you got a benefit from runes for all those games you have played before the coming preseason, so Riot isn't going to reimburse you for that. Riot is expecting a hurt in profits from this, so it isn't some kind of theft of your money. IP pages should have a partial refund because they will no longer be what you paid for. Finally, this system doesn't only benefit new players, because veterans will be able to use their superior game knowledge to make better rune choices.
##MEGA TL;DR
We need to reforge runes to improve the game, and a partial refund is the right way to go, because you did get benefit from the investments you made into runes. I don't like the way IP pages are being handled, and maybe the numbers could be tweaked (for example, runes from season one got a lot more use than runes from season 6, so the refund should reflect that difference in use), but a partial refund is the right way to go. And finally, before anyone else makes a post about how much they hate the refund percentage, remember that this is a very work-in-progress iteration, so try to make suggestions, rather than outrage, because there is still plenty of change that can be made to the final refund.
Fin