Doublelift's Video and the Duality of Boards

Doublelift just put out a fucking awesome video about his thoughts on League and what he sees as a downside to playing the game. However, there's an interesting aspect to it that I think people aren't touching on: How Doublelift's view contradicts and even fights with some of the things the more casual playerbase such as Boards/Reddit likes. I'd watch the video first because I'm going to go a bit more broad with this:

#1.) Patch Cycle

It's no secret that League's patch cycle was part of its success as a game. A new patch/champion every two weeks meant that you were never bored for long, as there was always something new to log into. Perhaps more damaging is that it gave players the notion that any problem with balance could be addressed in two weeks or less, depending on if you looked at the PBE. To this day we still see people demanding changes asap, as things that are a problem but untouched in the current cycle are lambasted as "Riot ignoring the problem YET AGAIN GG"

Doublelift's suggestion is interesting because it means these problems are exacerbated, hurting the casual playerbase more. He'd want longer patch cycles, which could be anywhere between 3+ weeks or longer, and more focus on letting the game sit. Now, pray tell, how does boards and reddit react when a problem champion avoids a nerf bat? Well, they freak and mock it. That begs the question what happens if Nidalee rises to viability/OP-ness in one patch followed by a 6 week wait to see if Riot nerfs her. There'd be anarchy, no? And that's not even addressing deeper system changes like jungle, neutral monsters, twoers, etc.

The most interesting thing is that DL proposes for the game to be better, he wants it to sit and stew whereas the predominant board request is for fixing ASAP and changes yesterday.

#2.) The Bot Lane Change

Another thing that has been harped for years from boards was marksmen dominance botlane. ADCs OP! They're the only class that go bot! Etc etc. Riot somehow accomplished this crazy task yet, from DL's point-of-view, a lot of players are frustrated because suddenly something they've mastered for years has to compete with something new. While I do think Riot's at fault for letting ADC dominance get as bad as it was, the request for years has always been to open up bot lane from forums, boards and more. Perhaps most of all, it spoke to a casual mindset that encouraged people to ask for more variety, more flexibility and more unpredictability in draft phases.

Unpredictability is, by and large, a concept that appeals to casuals more than pros. Pros have and always will want a static game. It means that their practice isn't for naught and they can continue to use skills they learned well into the year and beyond. Casuals want new things so the game experience is fresh. This butting heads has caused and will continue to cause issues.

#3.) More Static, Less Practice = More Content

Doublelift also argues that in making the game more static and less prone to change, pros can spend less time scrimming and make more content. What I find interesting here is that Doublelift argues that the game will be more popular as a watched or visual experience. As the game won't change much, it'll be up to players to adapt. Adapt, of course, is not a casual-friendly thing. It will, however, make good players know meta changes and have more time to experiment. The problem is how boards and reddit have always treated the idea of game change: The game should change around the masses, not pro play.

The split here is extra fascinating because it means that Doublelift equates popularity more to the game as something you can watch rather than something you necessarily play. Again, a hotly hated thing on the boards ("CATERING TO THE LC$ YET AGAIN I SEE!") and would push further to enforce the game as a more skilled game that demands you not ask for buffs/nerfs but rather that you get good.

#4.) Buffs

I'd imagine up to this point boards has been nodding their head in agreement with Doublelift. Mostly because he has been saying how he wants league to change and how people love to be told their complaints are right....then you get to Doublelift's call to change: More buffs. Less nerfs. This is perhaps the biggest divide and shows where the pro and casual split actually lies. Just as it has happened for years, pros don't want nerfs to champions. They want to expand the pool and improve counters by buffing less-than-good champions. In Scarra's own words, he thinks the power scale should be A-to-C tier champions, rather than S-to-F tier champions.

Yet conversely, boards despises the idea of buffs. They seem immune to loss aversion and seem to always want to nerf what is strong first rather than buff what is weak. If towers are weak, the top complaints always fall back onto "Damage being too high" before "Towers are buffed". Likewise, rather than buffing tank itemization, they would rather nerf damage so fights last longer. The predominant response is to remove rather than to change. This is perhaps the biggest split and where the casual vs. pro rhetoric shines hardest.

#Conclusion

It can't be overstated that Doublelift isn't analyzing the game from the perspective of us. He's far better at the game than most of us will forever be and his understanding of it is deeper than most people here could ever hope. However, that doesn't necessarily make him in the right. DL is a pro and we're not. The needs of a casual are nothing like that of a pro, which is why I found this video so interesting. In Riot's case, they have two very divergent paths they can take: They can listen to the boards and mass-nerf things, changing as fast as possible to keep people happy and sedated. Alternatively, they can listen to Doublelift and tell casuals that they'll need to buck up and learn rather than wait for change.

For years, since Season 2, I've always harped on the casual and pro balance split Riot has always done. I always warned them that there will be a time where the problem comes to a head and they'll need to finally choose who they're going to embrace and what path League will take. It's here, Season 8, that it seems that this time has finally come. Pros and casuals need drastically different things to have them enjoy league from what Doublelift talks about. At the end, this fifty-fifty balance is doing more harm than good. Riot needs to knuckle down and pick the side because a neutral party is only going to lead to run.

TL;DR: Much of what Doublelift talks about (Buffs, less changes, etc.) would be reviled by the community or disliked. Static, rarely changing game with focus on pro player enjoyment vs. rapidly changing game with focus on hitting problems asap for casual players. The fifty-fifty pub-and-pro balance isn't working anymore and Riot needs to choose a side.