Objective Analysis of the Problems With Dark Harvest and Fleet Footwork

As all of us who read patch notes know, the easiest way to get something nerfed is to use it. Alot. Let me explain.

 This past season, twice has Riot decided to nerf runes not because they're particularly _good_, but because they're taken by the majority of players in the given position(s). The two prime examples of this are Fleet Footwork and Dark Harvest. Fleet Footwork has seen pretty much nothing but nerfs since release, with the exception of the start of season 8, when it was buffed. Even the buff, however, was implemented for a bad reason, and that is this: **Change for the sake of change**.

 Doublelift, the historically highest-performing ADC in North America, made a video where he covered this topic. According to Doublelift, a healthy amount of change is necessary for the continued success of the game. Doublelift continues by saying that change  for the sake of change is bad, especially for a game like League. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PhI-QLG_DJU)  The most important consequence of _too much_ change is somewhat complex. When the game changes too often, it leads to an increase in the amount of time and practice needed for professional players, as well as those in challenger, to keep up. This leads to a net decrease in the amount of time these individuals can spend doing things that benefit the game, like making content, streaming, etc.

One might argue that the stats show that these runes were or are too strong, but consider this- If the majority of players take Dark Harvest on every champion in every role, then it will have a high winrate, not because it's good but because it's math. The number of games being won (and, of course, lost) will far outweigh those played with other keystones. I'm not saying that the Dark Harvest rework wasn't OP on release, but it's winrate was inflated because it was being used to win more games than other keystones.

 I found it comical when I looked at the Korean challenger FOTM for bot lane, and found it was long range ADC's taking Grasp of the Undying, simply because it's just better than Fleet Footwork, which is literally  THE lane sustain rune. My point is further supported by the fact that, even though it was been nerfed over and over again, it is still taken by pros and high elo players alike. The fact that Grasp of the Undying is being taken by ADCs shows that players in that position want sustain, even if it means taking a rune that wasn't designed for them.

 In conclusion, nerfing something because it's OP is a good thing, but nerfing something just so that players will change their strategy is not. The real tragedy of all of this is that few runes benefit every champion, and most runes benefit some champions, resulting in runes needing nerfs just because a select few problematic champions are able to abuse them. I think it can be mutually agreed upon that perhaps those champions should receive nerfs to the ways in which their kits take advantage of the runes, rather than the runes taking priority. Maybe. This is just my humble opinion.

 Please don't hesitate to leave your thoughts in the comments! (but act like an adult, otherwise you probably won't be treated like one)

-GsO