Rune Reforge = no grind = lower account value = no worries being banned= worst player behavior?

This is a region ping tester account. From a player since beta. currently Diamond

After recent seasons we should know where league is headed, more competitive based game design, new and reworked champions loses uniqueness and focused into specified meta of game play, that's fine by me, still very exciting and rewarding to play, least it's guiding us players to learn faster and less time figuring out what to do to stay relative to each game, good flow of increasing new players too.

The rune reforge though, not too sure whats going to happen, all runes free? all runes stats stays the same? adding new runes to more design intended play style with mastery?

I do think the rune system is somehow complicated and time consuming to grind when I first played league beta to open, specially for the junglers, but recent season has directed and solved that issue with in game items, playing with correct runes does give an extra edge and still have surprising tributes towards the game, I would say runes are still very interesting to fiddle around.

I would think making all rune[existing ones?]free is a move to make this game more player friendly, so for those who given up on grinding runes can come back and try it one more time, less new players leaving and more player base. like other top played games without grinding feature[ e.g Overwatch]. So it can add more casual players didn't want to grind the rune system and enjoy competitive MOBA gaming.

I gathered some the friend list players and discuss with them, took quite some time, since an old beta player knows too many MOBA loving nerds lol.

There are competitive diamond+ players having just a couple rune pages and doing fine, one said "runes shouldn't be the excuse of one player's contribution to the game play, it merely adds and stacks what you already know and capable of doing to maximize the result, you can have any runes you want and still do bad" And I complete agree. so most diamond players I know of, didn't have much opinions towards rune reforge, more like "lets wait and see what changes first".

However Players doing more casual games and RP skin merchants have more to say about it.[plat gold silver unranked] some are furious and saying they will quit; mostly the ones having 20 rune pages and nearly all the runes. I think it's about the time and money they spent on runes, but not exactly, a few people see the runes as more of in game feature, that makes this game special, and being able to customize runes to fit different play style is what make it addictive to them, and being able to grind those runes up was rewarding as it goes to enjoy league. So I guess the point was being allowed to customize and differ from others.

The competitive high tier players cares more about future game balance, saying runes doesn't really matter if you have no idea how the game works. Casual players enjoys grinding it and see the runes as playing the game.

For me, I would think anything goes, fail or success, it's RIOT's decision anyway, making runes to easy mode should cut many of us some slack on grinding all these runes to test it out. I do know many new players joined league and having no problem at all with or without said "proper" runes, and many just quit the game with different reasons. But one thing I'm sure of from playing all these years and seeing players come and go, making the game to more guided easy more will definitely increase players, but for those who weren't fit for MOBA, they will quit it regardless easy mode or not, while losing more and more unique feature since beta and losing some current casual players.

My opinions were always towards player behavior and boosting, one way this might decrease IP grinder bots and IP boosts[since you can't buy IP and cash runes currently] on the other hand, I worry it might make more player think less of their behavior[not that league is not toxic enough], since this game might become an easy mode on free runes, one can just open up and play at it's maximum features that used to be impossible, unless you grind it, and if you grind it you will treat your account with more respect and think twice before you do anything that's going to get banned.

I would suggest one thing though, make lower tier runes free, tier 3 runes RP purchasable or lower IP to purchase, so new/current players can perform relatively well with tier1~2 runes, whilst deciding if they want to continue with league and purchase tier3, or just quit.

And make the future rune changes towards mastery. This might still make players scared if they are gonna lose their RP IP grinded accounts, or the future league will become like, way more toxic because one can just open up any account as casual game, have no worries of any bans, because players lose nothing from the account and easy to create a new one lol.

Either way, it's a free game, a very successful free game, don't let the greed be the downfall of legends!