Twisted Treeline needs it's own balance team

Kloqdq··5 votes·424 views

Basically the title. Being held hostage to Rift's balance team when Twisted Treeline is at the core a VERY different game from Rift just feels really cheap. The map needs certain things to be balanced out just because what works on TT may not work the same on Rift.

Right now TT has a "support" meta. Basically an ADC duos with a support and jungles, push top, gank and repeat pretty much. This single carry then gets massively fed from the increased gold and often double exp (The support gets nothing out of this other than a little exp they sap) and since they are a late game carry getting late game at mid game, it's nearly impossible for teams to deal with once it starts rolling.

That is just one thing that stands out big in my mind but you also have champions like Maokai being single handily one of the most stupid champions on there because infinite wards while someone like Lee'Sin is basically dicked because he has no wards to ward jump.

The map has a lot of key differences that need to be considered and it cannot be balanced in the same way that Rift is. The sudden change to the new ban system (Still at 6 bans though) for TT always screws us because now if we cross ban we only get 4-5 bans unless we start really trying to ban the odd picks, which also leads to OPs getting through more.

TT is it's own beast Riot and you cannot just lump it with Rift. Even if you only hit it once every other month, at least it is getting worked on.

15 Comments

Fairyfleur2 votes

I think the main issue with balancing twisted treeline is that Riot doesn't want a champion to be different between modes; they like keeping things consistent.

Kloqdq2 votes

This is 100% the main reason why. They changed it a couple seasons back to be more consistent but the issue comes back to it can't be consistent. The maps are fundamentally too different to be different and when you consider the mode has a Ranked ladder, it really should have it's own balance. Even if it does confuse some players.

420 grams2 votes

I think they just need fair match making. You can get someone who's 3v3 rank is bronze 3 in the same game as someone who's 3v3 rank is plat 5. I get there's not as many people playing, but I'd rather what an extra minute to find a more fair match since the mode itself is snowball heavy enough

Kloqdq1 votes

To be completely fair, I am Plat 5 in TT while only Silver 4 in Flex. I do agree the Match making is a little out of whack but it rarely means a whole lot since MMR and ranks are really awkward there. It is a lot better than it used to be though.

The mode would also be more popular if Riot invested more into it. TT is fun but it has such a lack of care behind it that it's pretty much no wonder it has a smaller following.

Erockandroll1 votes

{quoted}

The mode would also be more popular if Riot invested more into it. TT is fun but it has such a lack of care behind it that it's pretty much no wonder it has a smaller following.

Riot really can't justify putting money in it's own balance team, BECAUSE of it's small following.

It's a feedback loop, which is pretty much what happened to Dominion. People lost interest, Riot found it difficult to justify supporting the game mode, then it got retired.

Don't get me wrong, I love TT myself. But I doubt that map specific balancing is justifiable. In fact, It could make it worse for their player base. Other people will be confused if not alienated if they find their favorite champs changed for a particular map.

Kloqdq1 votes

I think a more frequent balance team would in general help. It for one helps bring in higher elo players that want a competitive scene to be apart of. That in turn would probably bring in people wanting to try and learn the game mode to get competitive. Then it creates a healthy flow where people see a gamemode that isn't dead and has a lively structure to it.

The problem with Dominion was it worked more like a RGM and is better as one rather than Twisted Treeline which is still very much like Rift, but has so many little differences that bring its fanbase in. When your map is always up but only sees a change once a year it's really hard to justify wanting to play it. Aram gets more general love and it works. It probably needs some more work but overall it's so simple in it's concept that it can remain popular. TT on the other hand is more complex and layered. It requires the each work on Riot's end to really be something people invest into it. Without any show of interest from Riot, it's hard for people to want to come in.

It's an investment that Riot would need to take steps for it to work. I think if we get good season rewards for TT then people may be more inclined to play it. Rank Flex also helped the mode a lot since way more people can now play it. They are taking steps in the right direction, but they are taking a long time to do them because they don't want to invest enough into it.

Minarde1 votes

The problem with Dominion was it worked more like a RGM and is better as one

No, not at all. It might fit in terms of "This mode isn't SR," but at that point, TT and ARAM would fit just as well. The RGM queue seems to be aimed at casual play for the most part. As a result, modes have generally been fairly straight-forward, whether in gameplay or in gimmick. For instance, URF is "SR, but faster;" Doombots and Invsasion are "Co-op vs AI, but harder;" and Nexus Siege is "Push faster and harder than the other team." Classic Dominion's too complex to fit those guidelines, and Definitely Not Dominion's so dissimilar (and bad) that it's not even comparable.

Kloqdq1 votes

I mean Dominion had it's special traits but it wasn't near as deep enough for a massive amount of players to invest tons of time into like ARAM or TT. Don't get me wrong, I liked Dominion but even I wasn't super huge on playing a ton of games of Dominion compared to TT, Rift, or ARAM

Minarde1 votes

Depth was actually pretty comparable to the other modes, but either way, that wasn't the issue. The main problem was that Riot never gave players a reason to invest tons of time into Dom. ARAM had the pick-up-and-play audience; SR had the LCS-hopefuls. Even TT at least had ranked. Dominion was just too confusing for casuals while also lacking necessary features for competitive play.

Kloqdq2 votes

Dominion had ranked kappa.

Dominion was in a tough spot but it came down to Riot not giving it the resources it needed. That's what Riot is still doing to this day. Unless your name is Summoner's Rift, Riot doesn't care.

Minarde2 votes

Sadly, yeah, pretty much.

GrievousFetus1 votes

Riot's probably going to remove Twisted Treeline in a few months anyway.

Kloqdq1 votes

Doubt it. They have year end rewards and they are talking about changing the ban system a little so they clearly are trying to keep it up to date with just as little effort as possible.

Xion The XIV1 votes

I know when I tried that game mode I was confused as hell on what to do. Do I go JG do I not go JG. What champions are worthless on this mode and what are the god tiers. While JG just seems like an add on thing to the mode. Like it feels it was put there as a last minute option.

Kloqdq1 votes

It has been the most popular comp. Typically it's Tank, Fighter, Mage with Tank and Fighter swapping between jungle and top lane. There are others but that is the safest comp to do overall. You want early game champs typically like Renek, Syndra, Darius, Galio, etc. Since you don't typically have a marksman, there is a lot more dust-ups going on.

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