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Mostly negative thoughts on Pre-Season 10

Kiwi Lemonade·10/16/2019, 7:11:25 AM·4 votes·1,141 views

Firstly, I'm glad to see the new games you're working on Riot, they actually seem cool and interesting and I have nothing against a developer branching out, and Senna seems like a very cool idea and hyped champion.

Those aside, Pre-season 10... The good? Spear of shojin being gone! The bad? Wind dragon is a spear of shojin.

Unless i'm understanding the new wind dragon passive, especially the Dragon Soul (Wind), even MORE cooldown reduction. But yes, its 25% chance so its not like Jax can always get lucky right?

That's what my problem is. Dragons are already inherently RNG. I've heard casters already this year notice that there are 2/3x fire (sometimes wind) drakes in a row and they straight up call the game, laughing and trying to stay hyped up for the match but constantly saying "yeah they did well but 3 fire drakes roflmao". So basically, because RNG favored the team and they got the drakes early, the game is over. That's more powerful than Baron, for an objective that is very volatile since early game champions can contest dragon very well, especially since top laners have to expend teleport for an investment they still don't know will pay off.

So now, in Pre-Season 10, there is even MORE RNG. I didn't mind dragons in their current state, but they are stronger, have ABSURD dragon souls (which btw, is horrible imho since one team could have done well and got the first two drakes, but because the other team got the third - they get an even stronger buff than 2x drakes...) but now it also changes the map DRASTICALLY. Certain champions will dominant with certain dragons, but get this - there's literally no way to prepare for it. Rengar/Khazix with extra bush? Yes please. Wind Tunnels for hec? Yes please. Didn't get one your champ does well with? Better luck next game.

The worst part is - even if this benefits your sides champion(s), it doesn't feel good because well, you didn't really do anything. The map changed because of a 25% chance that it would do so. That's it.

The idea is cool__ I guess. Basically Qiyana turned into a map and theres nothing you can do to alter this. Summoner's rift was fine before because, its always the same. Balances to champions that use bushes, plants, extra move speed, its at least consistent. I feel like this is going to be a nightmare, and even worse for new champions that you try out new mechanics for, with a constantly changing map.

I know this is naysaying a lot. But its my two cents. I don't like RNG. I like it in your card game, and will play it. But I don't like it on SR, does'nt feel right. I'm still game to try this, but I don't have a good feeling about the future.

2 Comments

ziigaaa10/20/2019, 8:34:09 PM2 votes

I agree, while every change does affect all champions one way or the other, it was usually just some random item, but the changes right now are on the map itself and it has clear favourites. The biggest alarm for me though is cdr offered by the cloud drake. Like most people build CDR right now and we have some cdr in our runes as well, adding even more cdr to the game seems to be over the top.

Like way before, like season 5 or whatever, you'd actually have to think about cd and going a cdr build would usually be an alternative build path, however now it's basically core for most champs and takes away from the thought process of how you approach a fight, right now you can smash the buttons and not have to worry about it cuz in 3-5 seconds your spells are all back.

Also, I don't like this approach of Riot's, to make a comeback even less possible. I get it that people who prioritize objectives should get rewarded, however they shouldn't just win the game through stats like this. In season 9 they tried it but these stats would actually be useful in high elo, however in other elo the stats offered by the dragons are more or less ignorable.

I honestly see these changes of a way to get more fights in the pro enviroment and involve top laners more in the game, which I understand the reasoning behind it, however I'm not sure this path is the way to go.

But alas, we'll keep playing this game regardless

Fckjaxsuo43v3r12/4/2019, 11:20:50 AM1 votes

Cloud Drake isn't even the most OP. Really. Ocean makes coming back near impossible since you can be camped from the whole jungle with bushes everywhere, it also renders wards perfectly useless since you can't see what's in bushes with wards that are out of them and there are too many to ward them all. Ocean's HP regen, even after the nerf, means that the team that gets it has in combat hp regen advantage, if sustained fights happen they'll automatically win them from hp regen alone.

Elder gives a free =<20% HP execute to all the team, unlimited uses until the buff wares off. Seriously Riot? 100% champs based off of low health fighting styles are now irrelevant since they'll simply die with a right click when they're low, even from the ennemy braum full tank. Tanks are dead even easier than before since they also die in 1 click at 20% HP. It's true damage, a thing we all complained about for 2 seasons already, and you give it to everyone.

Conqueror is even more OP than before since now the heal doesn't only take true damage from itself into count, it heals from all your damage (or even if from itself, since it buffs stats even more it's OP). Some runes like presence of mind (is it the name of the rune that was modified from ult cdr?) are going into oblivion. Some are nearly never used (font of life? the one giving regen to OTHERS when you CC or I don't remember what an ennemy champ, which simply is useless for yourself).

Junglers' exp is so low they are lower level than the support as long as they aren't fed, so they can't gank 2-3 levels higher mid/top anymore. It only makes early junglers more OP than ever since the late/mid game ones will probably not even last long enough, not able to gank effectively or to contest dragons/heralds. At this rate, we'll see junglers with sup items instead of their trash jungler items so they can get gold and exp from somewhere, while they build some lifesteal and tiamat to farm the jungle when it's possible. Or mid supports with junglers laning and taking jungle only when the wave is at the ennemy turret. 2000g jungle items are totally underwhelming, and all they offer more than sup items are: buyable early if you have enough gold, 10% CDR on AD/AP versions, have an AS version; VS sup items: samey stats except CDR for 1600 gold economy, AP or AD on top of HP (cinderhulk gets slaughtered), 2-4 refreshable wards depending on the stacks.

They also have a useful summoner spell instead of smite (which would be good if it hadn't been made obsolete with all the damage the jungle camps deal that you barely regen anymore, no farmer version of smite for AOE smite and regen like there was in S4 or S5) and junglers don't have wards built in their items, so they have to either buy item 3179 or switch their only free ward for dewarding item, and then they don't have any free wards anymore, forced to buy 75 gold red wards forever while they get less gold than they used to (including from ganks since it's harder to secure kills on targets that have their ult 2 minutes or 3 before you have it yourself, it's as if you died 6 times in early game, around 3 minutes you can't do anything), and when the jungler gets his ult, the solo laners are already lv 8-9, with 1 spell maxed for big damage/supporting ability.

The only good and healthy thing I've seen so far in this pre-season is the supp items finally allowing supports to buy items early and allowing champion diversity (Pyke with old sup items wasn't appealing as a laning phase support, his kit was good but sup items were a waste of gold for him due to his need for lethality, AD and CDR and resistances over HP, same for Sion although HP is good on him, HP+AD is even better).