Leveling up is ridiculous.
The notion of runes + masteries to curtail and hinder faster leveling is a joke, because it creates an unnatural advantage to those who have even two levels ahead of you. It's extremely ridiculous how low level players have to go through an unfair playing field just to get low amounts of exp and ip when they lose. Oh, and when you're level 18, too bad. You'll be against Level 20 players who have runes unlocked and thus thickening the divisive, unfair wall that keeps players from having fun instead of just getting shitstormed with a 17 v 47 kda.
The only time you achieve plurality in an equal playing field is when you reach level 30, which, even then, is still not easily done because you still have incomplete runes. Because assuming you're a new player, you're going to want to buy the champs that appeal to you, and forget about runes.
Its absurd how even a level can separate you from the rest of your teammates, and your enemies. Keystones add an inequitable power to those who have them. Five mastery points can be the difference between someone with extra MPen/Lethality.
And it doesn't help that smurfers talk trash to new players, because they can stomp games with the experience of the game. What's worse, though, is when smurfers are IN new players' games, and proceed to talk trash. On multiple games. On multiple occasions.
Before you say, "oh, those are just words," or "man up, it's the internet," or "you need a thick skin or get off and go back to neopets," let me tell you why trash talking is a complete disregard of a newcomer's experience. Treat these newcomers like babies born with a blank slate. The more they're exposed to vitriol like this, the likelier the chance they become one when they do end up on the other side of the fence. Hatred begets hatred, so on and so forth, and its unacceptable to excuse these kinds of behaviours. Going back on the newcomer's experience, they'll end up leaving the game and AFKing, even to the point where they won't log back in because the community is incredibly toxic, and is filled with enablers.
Riot, please do something about the unfair advantage people get when they're even a level ahead, and please, do something more pragmatically feasible with smurfers waddling and stomping in new players' games. Thank you.
