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Why isn't 3v3 played more?

Worst Kench NA·3/25/2019, 8:09:46 PM·2 votes·2,761 views

Is it because champs and items aren't really balanced around it? That people's main champs aren't really that great for the game mode? Or is it more being a stigma towards it not being the default mode, and therefore it's not as competitive and isn't worth being taken seriously?

I've been queuing it solo the last couple of times I've played because I'd been getting slowly more and more fed up with teammates that seemed more interested in flaming their teams than rallying everyone to try and make a comeback (which can be partly solved by muting them, but that still won't really change their mentality towards their teammates). I'd also been getting fed up with the fact that due to there being more players in 5v5 than 3v3, my individual agency towards whether we win or not seems a lot more diminished than it would in a smaller mode. Which I wouldn't mind... if I were queued with four other people that I knew. If I'm with four randoms and they're all playing very well, and I'm also not really playing that well, whether it's due to things that I can or can't control, I don't really feel good about winning those games. Perhaps it's a narcissistic viewpoint, but I play normals most of the time rather than ranked, where the only thing really at stake is my MMR... which I can't really see anyways. It's a system that makes me feel like I don't really have to try as hard to win when all my other teammates are massively ahead.

In 3v3, it feels like everyone's team contributions matter. I feel pressured to play better because there's less people in the game, and even if the other laner or the jungler is the one that gets fed, I still feel a responsibility to play well and scale through having good CS, getting more assists etc. because if my fed teammates die, that suddenly becomes a big deal. It makes me feel like I matter more, which, when I'm playing solo, is partly what I'm looking for in that I want what I do in game to actually matter. I've had games where I've had borderline inting scores and still won in 5v5, which I suppose makes me sound like a sore winner, but I really hate winning games like that. 3v3 feels like a much more intimate game mode than the default one does.

So I'll ask you guys then, why isn't 3v3 played more? If you don't play it that much, then why not?

20 Comments

Frosted Tips3/25/2019, 8:18:13 PM3 votes

I mean the map sucks. That is the simple answer. The jungle is pitiful in design and doesn't really balance the mode.

Myren Quiddle3/25/2019, 8:26:42 PM1 votes

I really love the TT map. The layout and the whole is just amazing. I do get bots frequently which is extremely annoying. Apart from that it's just small things: jungle creatures don't have a spawning animation and those kinds of stuff.

Tailypo3/25/2019, 8:36:14 PM1 votes

Bc everyone is having so much fun playing 5v5 in SR. Duh.

Daddy Ants3/25/2019, 8:52:52 PM1 votes

I only play 3v3 when

  • I'm on a serious losing streak in 5v5
  • I'm tilted / not mentally ready for 5v5 in any way.
Sirsir3/25/2019, 8:55:29 PM1 votes

I don't play it because... why would I play it over SR?

Doesn't it have lower post-game rewards?

420 grams3/25/2019, 9:08:46 PM1 votes

The mode isn't really taken seriously and the match making just grabs people instead of balancing teams

NMG Serina3/25/2019, 9:14:40 PM1 votes

Used to play 3v3 back in season 2, but then they changed the entire layout of the map and it feels less fun to play now

DrippyBrownHole3/25/2019, 9:24:59 PM1 votes

Treeline is really fun. The main issue there is that if you play solo, bots are rampant, and no one wants a bot on their team.

Really though, from a game balance POV, having multiple maps that are actually playable makes sense. It is impossible to balance all champions on one map, but having multiple heightens the chances each champion will be at least playable somewhere.

iPooUnicorns3/25/2019, 9:28:00 PM1 votes

It's the classic case of Riot doesn't support it because nobody plays it and nobody plays it because Riot doesn't support it.

Worst Kench NA3/26/2019, 5:48:20 PM1 votes

I guess it's just a different mindset then. 5v5 SR is something I'm less and less happy with queuing solo because I feel like it's meant to be played in full premades, and queuing it solo only leaves you open to abject misery, given how most of the game's community is (and as I've stated before, you can mute your teammates, but you can't mute how they play). Also, I like it when my individual output in a game matters, and it seems like it barely does sometimes in 5v5. Am I just jaded or something?

clickhead4/30/2019, 3:41:13 AM1 votes

Because it's the worst game mode ever made. Most games are a complete stomp, where it doesn't feel good to be winning anymore than losing. There is very little strategy involved. I have no idea why they got rid of one of the most fun game modes, Dominion, for this trash.