The Boards are Leaving; And So Am I

So, the boards are being deleted. It's been years since riot paid any attention to community feedback anyway, this is just making it official. It's been so long since they've actually proven they care about the game-state that rather than trying to fix it, they're just going to silence criticism and turn a blind eye.

I started this game back in Season 6, not too long after the Ryze Rework and the release of Taliyah. I vividly remember how excited I was and how much I enjoyed the game. Picking up Ashe, Karma, Blitz, and other champs and exploring a wide variety of builds and roles and just having a blast. I finished my first league season in Silver 5. I would climb to Gold 5 at the end of season 7, losing an account to my own behavior. I came back in Season 8 reformed and climbed back into Gold again, this time reaching Gold 3. Last season I ended at Plat 4 and was finally happy with where I'd reached. I had no delusions of grandeur. I knew I didn't have the time to sink into the game to hit Diamond.

But despite me climbing higher and higher each season I haven't been able to shake the feeling that I've had less and less of an impact on the game. Last season especially, I was just rolling the dice. I played support champs. Even in off-roles I played things like Shen top, Galio/Karma mid, Ivern support. But with each passing season, this entire playstyle would be choked out of existence. Ivern has all but been removed from the game, Galio has lost everything that made him a warden, Heal/shield supports have been in the gutter since the Ardents meta ended, Kench is no longer capable of succeeding in the support role, same with Gragas, Jarvin, Poppy, and many other flex picks. Player choice has been whittled down, despite runes reforged bringing a vast quantity of flexibility to every champ, Riot has pegged the meta so hard that we are back to the same spot we were in before the rework, every champ has at most, two viable options.

Support items have been removed or nerfed out of usability. Items like Zekes and Iron Locket are borderline useless and support gold income has been cut by about a third. Tanks are in the gutter with few notable exceptions, most of the ones surviving are surviving because they build more like a bruiser or a fighter than a tank. Damage is disgustingly high across the board and keeps getting worse. Mobility is actually absurd these days. Every new champion that is released seems to lack clear weaknesses, with things in their kit to shrug off every situation. Old tank champs have been reworking to be AD damage monsters (Looking at you, Garen.) and conqueror's sustain makes Bloodlords look like a limp chode in comparison.

I feel punished for building tanky and organizing my build or champ select for my team and its comp rather than my lane. I feel punished for trying to step outside of one of the most narrow metas I've ever seen in my four years in the game. I feel punished for not being able to play or excel at playing high-damage assassins, fighters, juggernauts, or carries. The entire style that I play the game with is now all but removed entirely.

It wouldn't surprise me if Riot announced that they were getting rid of the support role altogether and that every support was gonna be reworked into an AP caster or a fighter. It certainly feels like that is where the game is headed. Every game now I feel like there's no point into me peeling for my carry. I might as well build full damage, despite my kneecapped gold income. It's more effective.

So why should I stick around? The community is as toxic as it has ever been. The report system went from hyper-sensitive to actually useless. The damage and mobility creep continue to run away with no end in sight. Riot are releasing eternals despite massive community backlash and the tangible negative impact those will have on player behavior in-game. And now, they are silencing the community.

I just can't bring myself to play anymore. It's not fun. I feel like I'm punishing myself just by booting the game up, and for what? A shiny border? It's not worth it anymore.

Goodbye, League. I'm sure you'll be able to milk out your existence for years to come, but you can do it without me.