The Reason You're Not Able to Dodge Skillshots Could be this Surprizingly Common Problem.

Bronze5Gamble·Oct 17, 2018·47 votes·19,218 views

Have you ever been blindsided by a stray binding or snare that you didn't even see? You may be in a surprisingly large group of people, with an unfair disadvantage in game, and not even know it.

This group of people makes up one in twelve men, and one in two-hundred women worldwide, and has probably costed you a more than a few games if you are part of this group. The group of people who I'm referencing here have trouble seeing in-game abilities, and they are not specifically Colorblind, but are Color Impaired, and colorblind mode doesn't always help.

** You may be Color Impaired and not even know it.** Color Deficiency is difficult to accurately diagnose, and certain tests may not even confirm your impairment, regardless of whether or not you are impaired. The biggest difference between Colorblindness and Color Impairment is that Color Impaired people can still see every color. You may ask at this point, is that even a problem, then? The answer is YES. In fact, depending on the person, Color Impaired people may even have a MORE DIFFICULT time seeing in-game abilities than Colorblind people are.

How do I know if I am Color Impaired? Unfortunately, you may be Color Impaired and never get a diagnosis. However, if your impairment is bad enough, you will be able to get a diagnosis from an online test, but don't count on any doctors helping you out unless it's getting in the way of your school or work.

Why is this an issue? In a game where Skillshots are more powerful and longer lasting than other abilities, this is a huge issue. The biggest challenges a Color Impaired person faces in game is the lack of dodging abilities, meaning those long lasting snares and high damage pokes are more likely to hit, and I doubt I need to explain why this is unfair. That feeding teammate you have may not even be playing the same game as you, they might just be Color Impaired.

What are the problems I need to be careful of in game if I am Color Impaired? A common problem Color Impaired people have is that they are less able to differentiate the area of effect of a skillshot and the surrounding terrain and entities. There are a select few Champions in game you need to be wary of if you think you might be Color Impaired, and it's different for all different types of Impairment. The only person I can speak for is myself, but a VERY COMMON problem Champion, or skin, rather, is Elementalist Lux. Yes that is why I put lux on the first line of this post; because she causes problems for people of many different types of Color Impairment. When I spoke to a Rioter about this skin, they had mentioned that even they themselves choose what color they want to play as based off of their type of Colorblindness, because some were easier to see, and some were harder. Elementalist Lux seems to be a common ground problem for those who are Color Impaired.

How do we fix the problems Color Impairment causes? There are many ways to fix this problem that will level the playing field for you, but there is no single solution. In order to make the game fair for everyone, there will need to be more than one change. I've personally suggested a few things to riot myself, but I alone cannot change the game, and we need more people to be proactive about getting this problem resolved.

I've told Riot a few champions that affect me, and how, but for those who are not me, please leave a comment below telling riot what champions and what abilities you find too hard to see in game so that we may help eliminate the frustration of playing against an unfair matchup. Please upvote and share this post so that we can bring more awareness to this problem within the League community, and help make the game less toxic for all. I'll be doing my part as well.

To any Rioters reading this, I say you need more than one colorblind mode, you need to have colorblind mode affect the newer champions and skins in a way that allows for easier differentiation of terrain and champion abilities, and you need to add solid cores to otherwise mostly transparent Skillshots. I will go into more detail in my comments down below.

105 Comments

KhristophorosOct 18, 201842 votes

How about add an optional post-processing mode that outlines everything in black "ink"

This would give a general solution to people who need it without requiring a redo of tons of ability particles.

HeyItzSteveOct 18, 20183 votes

I like this idea, and it can be incorporated as a new or into the existing setting for "Character Inking".

Bronze5GambleOct 18, 20187 votes

I don't think they should add it to the character inking setting, because that might not work well with everyone setup, but I do very much like the idea of having this be a setting.

omegalopolisOct 18, 20182 votes

or allow people to customize the outlines. i would outline all ability's to have a bright color

i am a little color blind and things out lined in red with a greenish/grey background are hard to see.

also the mouse courser.

Tahminatrix Oct 18, 201814 votes

So that's how all of my adcs keep getting snared and hooked.

InfernapeOct 18, 201810 votes

Tbh Elementalist Lux is kinda funny in ARAM. Her abilities are a goddamn pain to see against the whites/blues of the Abyss. And I know I'm not colour impaired because I get tested for it every year.

Bronze5GambleOct 18, 20184 votes

Comforting to hear that we're not the only ones with problems then lol.

Bronze5GambleOct 18, 20189 votes

For me, there are problems with the following champions: (Certain abilities and skins may or may not be listed due to failure to remember. This list includes some abilities which may not effect gameplay. Does not include problems already fixed with current colorblind mode.)

Aatrox: Q, W on skins: Sea Hunter Aatrox, Justicar Aatrox. The color blends in with the grassy terrain.
Cassiopia: E on certain skins, however is not a skillshot and has no cooldown so is expected with every encounter.
Corki: Q on certain skins
Hecarim: W on all skins, but is not a skillshot
Heimerdinger: Q on all skins: The bullets blend in with the ground on certain areas of the map., but is not a skillshot
Jarvan IV: E on base skin, : The color blends with the ground.
Karma: R+Q combo on base skin: Color blends with the ground for a short while
Kayle: E on base skin: Color blends with ground, but the change to a ranged auto attack makes this irrelevant. Also is not a skillshot
Kled: W on all skins: Hard to see the indicator for when his W has charged up, but is not a skillshot
Leblanc: E on base skin: Color blends with ground, but the shape of the skillshot is more or less distinguishable and is not usually a problem.
Leona: R on all skins: Color blends with ground
Lux: Q,W,E on most skins and most Elementalist Lux Variations: The biggest problem of them all, the colors bled in with the ground and the transparency makes these skillshots nearly invisible.
Pyke: R on both skins: The indicator can be hard to see if not focusing on it due to color.
Sivir: W on base skin: Hard to see bounces while not focusing on them, but also is not a skillshot
Xerath: E on skins Runeborn Xerath, Guardian Of The Sands Xerath: color blends with ground
Zyra: E on most skins: blends with ground

PaffWasTakenOct 18, 20188 votes

Even for people without any problems related to color vision, you can't see something that "hit" you if Riot codes their hitbox like monkeys on keyboards

OwltearsOct 18, 20187 votes

When it comes to Elemental Lux I hate playing against her, I only can see a few of her powers and the rest are invisible until they hit me. At first I thought it was my graphics where not up enough but then I had my husband check it out and he said he could see everything fine. I have to rely on her character model's animation, which is hard enough when there's a huge team fight trying to find out where her next stun is going to go x_x

ApollyonBainerOct 18, 20185 votes

Sometimes I cant see skill shots if they are in the lower corner of my screen. Same with the health shrines on aram. I think it might just be some kind of glitch tho. I just dont pay attention to the lower corners often

clickheadOct 18, 20185 votes

This is slightly off-topic, but while I don't think I am color impaired, I noticed I tend to be much worse at dodging skillshots when playing against someone with a fancy skin (which has different ability animations and colors). It's just that I'm used to, for example, Lux Q looking a certain way and having a certain cast animation, and if the animation is different and the particles are different, or the color, I might not be able to tell whether it's a Q, W or E until it's too late to dodge it.

This is especially problematic when the champion in question is NOT the one I'm laning against, because I can't get used to their visuals until I'm balls deep in a teamfight.

BestPudgeNAOct 18, 20185 votes

Lux gonna be honest this champs Elementalist skin is just bogus, you don't need to be colorblind the hitbox on that Q leaves me scratching me head at least 4 or 5 times when i play against it

Some of these new skis are just straight up ridiculous with the particle spam.

Like if anyone could honestly tell me without cheating which champ is in this Yorick cage i would be shocked.

https://imgur.com/a/fZBeAI4

PopcornBunniOct 18, 20185 votes

Not sure how you would cheat at this, but my guess is Cassiopoeia.

And yeah, Lux's hitbox indicators are already suspect with faint, translucent, effects, made absurd by that skin's VFX glitches.

Good DominoOct 18, 20184 votes

Huh. I came here expecting a troll post and found something educational instead. I wish this happened more often

Velzard of KozOct 18, 20184 votes

Yes! Another thing I can blame my rank on. Thanks.

RyzeTheSmurfMageOct 18, 20183 votes

The title sounds like a virus add

JanakinOct 18, 20183 votes

I can hardly see Elementalist Lux's spells... And I am playing on colorblind mode.

Bronze5GambleOct 18, 20183 votes

You and me both...

EragonawesomeOct 18, 20182 votes

Wait you mean to tell me they actually render? Because I legit do not see them AT ALL when she's using the nature or light variants.

Vyr ThirkuOct 18, 20183 votes

I think the issue is Riot's colorblind mode is only for one kind of color blindness. They only have deuteranomaly (difficulty seeing green, which is why the hp bar turns gold), and don't account for deuteranopia (A complete lack of the ability to see green, present in 1% of males), protoanopia (same as above, but with red, less rare)/ protoanomaly, (same as what they have in place but with red instead of green) and tritanopia (blue-yellow color blindness) / tritanomaly (total blue-yellow blindness).

Funnily enough, Fortnite has more colorblind modes than League does. I myself have an issue with color vibrance, many shades of the same color will blend together. While I don't think I have any actual color blindness, but instead color impairment like OP stated, I used the Tritanopa filter and it is much easier to see the difference between colors than playing with any standard 'color blindness mode: on' from any game I've played before.

Vlada CutOct 18, 20183 votes

~~So scarra is color impaired confitmed.~~

iamthegoatofwarOct 18, 20183 votes

It would be nice to have some help with this type of crap. I remember one time I was scrolling through some post on league explaining how the rift and some champion abilities look to people with X deficiency/blindness. When I got to the red deficiency I saw a few photos and was like "That looks normal to me...oh...well that would explain why people tell me that those are really easy to see."

Edit: 20 years old at that point and league is what showed me I have a red deficiency.

Bronze5GambleOct 18, 20181 votes

A little awkward wording, but I think I understand what you mean. If you know what page you saw that on, I wouldn't mind checking it out if it was still up.

iamthegoatofwarOct 18, 20182 votes

It was quite sometime back. I do not recall the page of what it was. Also you probably saw my "just waking up typing" which is about as bad as drunk typing haha.

PowerSlave993Oct 18, 20183 votes

Try to see a tornado from Yasuo when he has blood moon skin...

ZephyrDrakeOct 18, 20182 votes

Or an even more common issue... You are bad at the game and just want to look to put the blame on everything except yourself

HeyItzSteveOct 18, 20187 votes

This is not just an excuse. It's a real problem that affects players.

In addition to Color Impairment, slow reaction times because of nerve damage and age can also affect the dodging of skill shots.

But of course, you can totally say that someone is a bad player for something they can't control.

Bronze5GambleOct 18, 20183 votes

Agreed, but since we can't fix aging or nerve damage here, unfortunately we can't propose a solution.

AlienPrimateOct 18, 20183 votes

Reaction time is a skill. If you have poor reaction time, you will always be bad at action games of any kind. Talking about reaction time for a gamer is like talking about foot speed for an athlete. You will always be bad at it if you are lacking. People are not created equally (good thing too, it would be a boring world if we were). If you are bad at the game because of poor reaction time then either accept that you are bad and continue being bad or move to a different genre that isn't so reaction speed intensive.

OnandagaOct 18, 20182 votes

OP should get a job writing clickbait articles.

Bronze5GambleOct 18, 20184 votes

I knew nobody would read this if I made a boring title, so no joke I did a bit of research on clickbait and I'm so sorry for it but it's the only way this would have gotten any attention lol. [sg-lulu]

AsudurgaOct 18, 20182 votes

I have issues with different effects that-. Well, it's hard to describe, it's like the hitbox doesn't match the model for my perception.

Deathsworn Zed's Q for example.

Pool Party Ziggs' Q looks so jittery for someone like me.

Bronze5GambleOct 18, 20181 votes

There are issues with the hitboxes of certain skins, which I think is what you're talking about, but there's also the factor that your monitor might not be good for gaming.

If Ziggs' Q looks jittery to you, I assume you might have either screen tearing, low framerate, bad latency, or bad screen type.

Feel free to ignore the following, but I figured that since that sounds a lot like a performance issue instead of a personal issue, I would offer some problems and solutions to help you out if you need it. __________________________________ There are a lot of factors that can play into this, but if you're having a jitter problem, I suggest you look at whether or not you have a monitor that is interlace first. These monitors are labeled with an i at the end of the resolution instead of a p, and can cause this. Playing at a resolution that is different from your monitor can also cause problems, so make sure that you match your settings to what your hardware can handle, and Fullscreen mode always helps performance, though it can sometimes cause problems if it freezes and you only have one monitor.

Framerate you can see in game, so if you're having jitters maybe check it and see if it's dipping lower than normal, but if you have a framerate of 60-100 or more this isn't typically the issue. If you do have low framerate, you might need a new graphics card, or if you have an ok graphics card with at least 3gb VRAM and a decent refresh rate, it might also be your processor, though 100% you should look to change your graphics card first if this is a problem. I recommend the GTX 1050 if budget is an issue since they're one of the most cost efficient graphics cards on the market right now.

Another issue is screen tearing which you can get from not having VSync turned on. If you have VSync off because it lowers your framerate, just know that lowering your framerate can be the solution to the problem you're having, and is the purpose of VSync, because if the frames don't match how fast your monitor refreshes it's picture, your monitor will start to mess up the picture quality. VSync stands for "Vertical Sync", and it makes the framerate of your game match the refresh rate of your monitor, so that your game changes the picture at the same rate that your monitor changes its picture, so that you don't get any desync.

Lastly is the latency issue, which is a problem with your connection to the servers, and can be a problem if you're using WIFI or have a poor connection. The solution to this is sometimes just getting a new internet provider, but a lot of people can't really do that. If other devices in your home don't have any issues with the internet, though, it might also be your WIFI chip, Ethernet cable, Router, or in the worst case your motherboard's Ethernet port. If it's one of these then you need to replace it, but it should work fine after that. If the problem is with you wifi chip or your router, switching to an Ethernet cable will also solve these problems. __________________________________

AsudurgaOct 20, 20182 votes

Not really a latency issue nor a framerate. My net and computer are fitted for gaming, by jittery I mean the wobbly balloon effects, it throws me off.

IfnethOct 18, 20182 votes

Level the playing field!

Bronze5GambleOct 18, 20182 votes

[slayer-pantheon-thumbs]

Beacon AcademyOct 18, 20182 votes

I don't know what I am.

I feel like I can see every color but I just can't name them

Doctors tell me I'm R/G color deficient

But it doesn't make sense to me because I figured that just meant I had problems with red and green

But I got problems with blue & purple, green & red, green & brown, etc.

Basically anything that are similar in shade, I'll just confuse with one another.

If you were to put cars of similar colors next to each other and told me which was which, I couldn't tell you which was which the next day if you shuffled them around for example

I also remember on my job as well that I would often just not see a blinking light in the corner of my eye because it would flash a dull color in a dull background and basically just blend in with its surroundings till someone made me look at it directly xD

Bronze5GambleOct 18, 20183 votes

I can relate. Any kind of blinking light in the corner of my eye is almost transparent it feels.

CherrycheetosOct 19, 20182 votes

Tfw you read so many troll posts that every post you run into starts to feel like a troll post.

MasterDCloneOct 19, 20182 votes

Tbh i thought you were shit posting because this looks like 1 of those shitty ads on the side of your screen. Honestly tho i feel like this might be an issue but most the people voting yes to the poll are people looking for another reason to blame for their own shittyness at the game

Spanked eGirlOct 19, 20182 votes

I don't know if I can say if its the reason, sometimes I just feel like my reaction speed is terrible, even for a gold player, but I am diagnosed to be color deficient, it was bad enough that it nearly ended my military career before it started, so definitely not a minor amount. If its very obvious color differences, I dont think its an issue, but subtle color things sometimes throw me off. I mostly rely off prediction to try and avoid stuff in game. Seems to work. Haha

Would be kind of interesting if this was the cause of me not reacting normally to certain spells when I do really well against others.

BrightWîngsOct 19, 20182 votes

even with color blind assist I cant see some things one of the reasons i need it is because if i dont have it on i cant see Singed poison when hes on grass its also hard for me to see Zyra E the only way im really able to juke this ability is because of the loud noise and the telegraphed animation she has when casting it

SwiftKitten88Oct 18, 20181 votes

.... you know i thought he was going to say something logical like... idk "you live in a part of the country further from the sever and have greater ping so u have less time to react"

i can tell u when i lived in Michigan for a few months it was a million times easier to dodge skillshot than it is now im back in CA.

but honestly?

THEY HAVE A COLOR BLIND MODE!!! TURN IT ON!!!

or maybe.. just maybe, your bad bat dodging skillshots. that ever cross your mind.

do you HONESTLY think the skillshot matches the visual for EVERY skin on EVERY champsion?

the visual width has nothing to do with the skillshot width. i-blitz hook has a visual width of 40 and a actaul width of 130

open the game.. select the champ.. and when u press the skillshot button (before u click again to then throw the skillshot) it will show you the width of the skillshot. THAT width shown there is the ONLY width that matters, not the visual projectile shown.

certain skins do have an advantage yes

superb villan viegar's "dark matter" the visual indicator that of where its going to fall comes later than with the other skins, making it much harder to dodge than his other skins.

but skins like that are banned from pro play, and every new skin release is done so they wont be an issue, and when the chain in question gets a VGU it is addressed.

other skillshot like headhunter nid spear is MUCH harder to see.. where as super galaxy nid, is literally completely fucking impossible to NOT see.. is is highly detremental the the person playing nid as the skillshot is SO FUCKING OBVOIUS.

Bronze5GambleOct 18, 20188 votes

The problem lies with colorblind mode not changing the colors to ones that are visible to certain types of color blindness. There are 3 different types of colorblindness, two of which have different intensities. One single colorblind mode is not good enough to match these problems, and certain skins don't even change their colors while colorblind mode is turned on.

SwiftKitten88Oct 18, 20181 votes

{quoted}

The problem lies with colorblind mode not changing the colors to ones that are visible to certain types of color blindness. There are 3 different types of colorblindness, two of which have different intensities. One single colorblind mode is not good enough to match these problems, and certain skins don't even change their colors while colorblind mode is turned on.

Well what do u want riot to do? u cant just make enemy abilities hypervisble in colorblind mode or people who ARN'T colorblind will turn it on to get a massive advantage.

i mean if u mad every skillshot in colorblind mode as visible as super galaxy nid spear, you would be an idiot to NOT run on colorblind mode. as it would give u a HUGE advanatge

Bronze5GambleOct 18, 20185 votes

I see your point, but there are distinct differences between normal color vision and color impaired vision, and solutions to help specifically color impairment would have little to no benefit, if done correctly, to those who do not have the same disadvantage. It's also worth pointing out that if there would be a problem with giving everyone an even advantage, it never hurts to make the skillshot easy for everyone to see without the use of colorblind mode, so that nobody has an advantage.

PinkbunnymanAzOct 18, 20183 votes

{quoted}

There are 3 different types of colorblindness, two of which have different intensities.

Just to correct and expand on this we have:

Tritanomaly (the middle blues and greens are one color) Tritanopia (blue/green are the same colour, think: every blue and every green is seen as turquoise)

Protanomaly (Yellow and green are less bright) - This one is usually the one nobody notices - For men only (x-linked disorder) Protanopia (red is black, orange yellow and green look yellow) - This one is dude only too

Deuteranomaly (yellow and green look redder and violet and blue merge) - This one is dude-only (X chromosome linked) Deuteranopia (Red is browny yellow, green is beige) - dudes only

Cone monochromacy - Double colourblindness, pick 2 of the above, combine effects. (guys only due to 2/3 being x- linked only) Rod monochomacy - Full black white and grey - Hella rare, different cause from the above so everyone can have it.

So there are 8, only 7 are really distinct as one is a combo.

Since red (the protos) is the most common, most "colorblind modes" are targeted to that one.

This means that people (like the Lux player in the comments who can't see when they blend in to the ground) who have one of the trits (since she's female) get almost nothing out of colorblind mode.

Bronze5GambleOct 18, 20182 votes

Great expansion, although x-linked color disorders aren't male only, but they are much much more common in men. The gene that perceives these colors is a recessive gene on the x chromosome, so women, if they have one from both parents, can still have these conditions, but they are much more rare. Some women actually have whats called "Tetrachromacy" which means that they can even see additional colors when compared to normal women, too.

Also, might I add, I didn't actually know that Tritanomaly existed, I thought Trianopia was absolute.

PinkbunnymanAzOct 18, 20183 votes

Good point on the correction: I oversimplified since it's ALMOST never female since you have to get it twice (like 0.03% of 0.03%), still with 8bn people, it happens quite a bit.

According to every partner I've had they all had tetrachomacy, like "chiffon" is a real colour ;) /sarcasm