Mobility Creep and the Illusion of Skill

With all the threads about mobility creep and pro play in general (especially the one thread about the fact that pro players will play “consistent” Champs over any other type of Champ) have really got me thinking about the state of the game and I’ve come to an conclusion/understanding.

Mobility creep is not a problem in itself, it’s the trend that RIOT is promoting Champions which give the illusion of skill which is the real problem.

As a general principal most players would agree that risky Champs which require more “skill” should be able to perform better then safer Champs which require less “skill”.

Now let’s ask the question: What champ requires more skill, Skarner or Lee Sin? I think the knee jolt answer would be “lee Sin” …This is exactly what RIOT wants you to believe.

The correct answer however is that playing Skarner requires infinitely more skill and infinitely more risk-taking then Lee Sin.

I want to be clear however that by “skill” I mean more than just the mechanics required to play the Champ effectively, I certainly agree that the basic Mechanics of lee sin are harder to learn (ward hopping, effective use of aa to regain energy, and ect.) but skill is more than the efforts required to play the champ effectively.
Skill in a game is the ability and the confidence to take risk to gain a greater reward.

The key word there is “risk”

Ganking: As Skarner, the only way to gank a lane is to go all in and am in great danger of being counter ganked, I have risked quite a bit, it will take me more time to get back to clearing camps as I cannot go over walls.

As Lee Sin, I can choose to commit to a gank at any point, if my q has missed I can back off in relative safety, I have risked relatively little and can get back to clearing camps in seconds.

Jungle clear time: As Skarner, My clear times are slow and I have no sustain other then my shield, it is unlikely that I will be able to gank until level 4 at best and only at massive risk as it will take me ages to clear again if the gank fails/ I die.

As Lee Sin, My clear times are hilarious and there will be times that I will gain health clearing even though I likely went sight stone. I can gank early and in relative safety as even if the gank fails/I die, I will be able to get back into the jung and clear incredibly quickly

Counter Jungleing: As Skarner, my clear times are slow limiting any time I have to counter jungle the enemy, my inability to go over walls means I can be easily caught.

As Lee Sin, My clear times are fast leaving me with extra time to counter jungle, My infinite mobility to jump to camps/ my own wards means that you will have no chance in catching me.

I could go on for some time. If you are playing lee sin well you are not skilled, you were simply willing to spend the time necessary to get over Lee Sins learning phase. You are playing a champ which RIOT has designed to make you feel as if you have skill. If you are playing lee sin you are making the pathetic choice to play a game in “easy” mode, and as a gamer that is something that I will never really respect.

Lee sin is not the only champ tat riot has designed this way, Rek sai, Jarvan, VI, Nidalee all share these same aspects in the Jungle. They do so differently, Jarvin and Vi both indeed have to go “all in” for there ganks, this is countered by the sheer ball of stats they provide and by how “guaranteed” the gank is (but I do respect that they do at least have to risk something when they gank)

The reason why RIOT will not nerf the top tier of Jungle is that people are dependent on these champs to give them the illusion that they are skilled at something, forcing players to realize that they have little skill past the ability to grind a champ enough to learn the mechanics of the champ would hurt their little feelings.

For those out there who choose “hard” (Skarner and other champs of real skill) because they are true gamers, you have my respect. (but not RIOT’s)