Rune Pages, a Productive Discussion on Improvement

Hello all,

The preseason is upon us, and thus changes have been implemented! One of the biggest changes this preseason is the complete rework of the Rune system and the removal of the Masteries system. Riot has already begun the process of balancing the new Runes, but I'd like to address a different Rune issue.

Before I begin to address the issue, I'd like to ask that the conversation here be kept productive. Simply complaining about something is never an effective way to improve it. That is why I'll be addressing my concerns by presenting the concern itself, then by providing a potential solution, and lastly by answering to any potential issues. I wont ask that any responses follow the same format as myself, but I'd ask that we keep this thread somewhat positive and entirely productive!

Now onto the concern.

#The current Rune Page setup is not effective

The current Rune Page setup is not effective in a few different ways. For one, it is crowded by unwanted, unchangeable rune pages. I've heard say that it's possible to hide the preset pages, but if it is possible it is not clear how to do so. Having so much clutter simply increases the amount of decisions being processed by the mind and, since these pages are chosen in Champion Select, increases the odds of a mistake simply being made because "OH MY GOSH THE CLOCK IS TICKING DOWN!" A second reason why this is not effective is that having only two customizable rune pages (without paying either real money or 6300 BE) punishes those who don't memorize. It should be obvious that those who play the game more often would have less issue memorizing (intuitively or otherwise) the new runes, and which ones are good to take on which champions. However, when a player who does not play quite so frequently approaches the system, a situation of "I got autofilled into Support, what in the world does Soraka take now?!?" becomes a real problem. While websites exist to help inform people of what is good, pulling up a champion's page on one such website takes time, and that is time that is not spent choosing the right runes. The third reason why I believe the current Rune Page setup is not effective is because it really feels bad. This is extremely subjective, but from a player perspective I don't see this as a rune system. What this new system looks like to me is that Runes were removed and base stats were given to champions to compensate for the lost Rune states, while the Masteries were changed and renamed. If the player had access to many (I don't remember if it was unlimited, but I never ran out) Mastery pages then why would the player not have many on the new system?

#Possible Solution to the Rune Page situation

When thinking about the above problems, I think one solution that would be effective would be to simply provide more Rune Pages to the players by allowing customization of the preset pages. This would effectively eliminate the clutter (because all Rune Pages would be useful), allow for a greater variety of champions to be covered (if I were a top laner I could keep my fighter page and my tank page while still being able to set up a support page to protect myself from auto-fill), and it would feel better that the players needs were really met instead of feeling quite so limited. I think another positive from this would be that it would help players learn the new runes, this being because they don't have to constantly wonder "do I even have the right keystone?" and can instead focus on smaller aspects like "would Legend: Alacrity or Legend: Tenacity be better in this game?"

#Potential Issues with the proposed solution

Right off the bat I can already hear the guy in the back saying "but I purchased rune pages under the old system!" This is a definite concern, and finding a way to satisfy those who have now lost something they purchased, while still providing a satisfactory gameplay experience to the free to play player, is difficult. One potential solution would be to limit the rune pages from seven to five. This would make it feel better to have the additional rune pages, but also would leave players with enough pages to effectively meet needs.

Another concern is for the new player coming into the system. I don't know exactly how the Rune Page unlocking is currently working for those who are not level 30+ (if someone from Riot wanted to discuss this in a little more depth, I'd be more than happy to provide feedback) but one way this could work would be to allow the Keystones to be changed from a somewhat early level (15?) and then slowly unlock more rune places (sort of the way we unlocked them when leveling up before) until they are fully unlocked at level 30. Providing a prompt to inform the player that they now have the ability to change runes could be a good way to start the process.

Finally, I'd like to address the elephant in the room, Riot has to make money. Period. I full believe Riot Games should be making profit, and I've certainly purchased my fair share of Riot Points, contributing to their revenue. While handing free rune pages to players is going to feel bad for Riot, I think it will be healthy for the game as a whole, and when the game feels healthy, players are more likely to want to keep playing, and more likely to want to spend money. From an itemization standpoint as a business, this may not be the best plus sign, but when viewing this as a whole I believe it will be a net positive.