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Is it possible to create "clear, intended weaknesses" when runes/masteries exist?

Noblewind·6/9/2016, 6:44:10 PM·2 votes·395 views

Lately, I can't help but think of runes and masteries as counterproductive options in terms of the direction the game is (or should be) headed.

How can anyone expect to create a clear weakness in a champion (such as squishiness for example), when there is a clear option to receive free, and sometimes well scaling, stats to significantly limit your weakness in one go?

Does it make sense for squishy mage supports, or assassin junglers to get 300+ free HP over the course of the early to mid game? Aren't these champions supposed to offer high risk/reward gameplay?

Why does every AP mid laner get to start a game with free MR? Is solo mid not intended to be a lane for flashy big damage magic duels? Defensive stats should be bought with the tradeoff of damage, not given for free.

Last of my examples, why do we get FREE burst with thunder lords or grasp of the undying? It's damage for the sake of it, and that's WACK.

6 Comments

Erockandroll6/9/2016, 7:11:41 PM2 votes

Not all weaknesses are stats that can be made up with Runes and Masteries. Some weaknesses are simply kit wise, that mean that a champion, is as good at a particular situation.

Nameless Voice6/9/2016, 7:37:23 PM2 votes

I think the bigger problem with runes is that there isn't enough of a trade-off, especially for certain champions.

Being able to choose between bonus damage or bonus tankiness is a reasonable choice, but often the runes for these things are in different categories, so you can choose both.

It's especially bad for manaless AD champions like Zed, Yasuo, Riven, etc., since they can take free MR because there's not much else for them to take in blues. Meanwhile, a mage for example has to make a tradeoff between MR or AP or mana regen (and again, usually there's one "best" option rather than a real tradeoff between multiple, equally viable options.)

I think the rune system could do with an overhaul.

Mysticman896/9/2016, 6:49:54 PM1 votes

Well everyone has those masteries/runes available, so they are having a trade off there. While one side might dump their runes/masteries into defensive stuff, the other might dump it into offense and they'd be back to square one, with the champs base stats/abilities/items being the main factor. The player with thunderlords for 'free' burst is also the player that doesn't have grasp for 'free' sustain, and so forth.

Sona Ping6/9/2016, 9:53:21 PM1 votes

{quoted}

" Is it possible to create "clear, intended weaknesses" when runes/masteries exist? "

Yes, it is. It is very possible. This is because the majority of a champion's most impactful weaknesses are not weakness of their stats, their base numbers (which are the kind of weaknesses runes can fix). The most impactful weaknesses of a champion are things immobility, lack of synergy with offensive items, lack of long-range damage, etc. Things that are mitigated or really altered by choice of runes & masteries.

That should answer the core question.

"How can anyone expect to create a clear weakness in a champion (such as squishiness for example), when there is a clear option to receive free, and sometimes well scaling, stats to significantly limit your weakness in one go?"

While they do have significant effect in mitigating weaknesses, that is true, that is not to say that they negate the weakness or even reduce it in any large amount.

Because here's the problem: You are severely overestimating the amount of effect Runes & Masteries have.

If you fill your Seals with Flat Armor, you only get nine armor. That's a little more than half of just a Cloth Armor. And a champion like Twisted Fate for example, would normally and frequently get three times the amount or armor an entire Cloth Armor provides anyway. The few percent of extra damage reduction is significant, but not a lot.

I'll demonstrate. Continuing to use Twisted Fate, the difference those armor seals make at Level 1 is that for every 100 damage he takes, he takes 5 less than he would be taking due to those Seals. The impact of this is that_ it does not change that 100 damage is almost a **fifth **of Twisted Fate's level 1 health._ The 5 damage off is significant over time, when reducing poke damage, but it is not nearly enough to make him tanky. A squishy champion does not become tanky with a few runes, an immobile champion cannot become suddenly mobile with point in Wanderer, and so on.

"Is solo mid not intended to be a lane for flashy big damage magic duels? "

No, no it wasn't. It's only intention was to be the middle of three lanes.

But if this is your goal for mid lane, then you should be happy with these things!

Because increasing the base defensive stats reduces the significance of single instances of one sided harass, and requires bigger damage, which makes for longer duels with flashy spells and bigger damage. In video games, increasing the Time-to-Kill amount for the game results in more ability to react to and, consequently, outplay the opponent you are dueling and sets it further away from modern CoD-style, skill compressed, Kill Slot Machine type of gameplay where the first person who notices the other is the one that wins.