@Meddler Problems With Champ Up and Balance and Update Team
I have been quite critical and insulting of your department the past few months. I am going to try and be nice and give you guys constructive feedback, as opposed to silly insults that accomplish nothing. I do apologize if I did hurt any of your feelings in the past.
This is a serious discussion we need to have Riot games. I have been playing MMO and other online games for almost 12 years now. My first MMO was Tales of Pirates and I can tell you . . . . . the way you are handling balance, updates, and champion adjustments compared to . . . . . Tales of Pirates . . . . is far worse. Of all the games I have played this update and balance team has got to be the most frustrating. I am going to break this down in two a few parts, because it is a lot.
- Overpowered and Poorly Designed Kits
In the past, you have been guilty of releasing champions and updates for existing champions to strong. The past couple releases you have introduced them at a slightly weaker power level. As a few weeks go by you make power adjustments and other changes to the kit if there needs to be. Thank you. The ADC Update was one of the ridiculous moments ever in LoL history. Almost every single ADC item and a champion were broken and the way to overpowered. Unfortunately, it took you 4-5 months to rectify the mistake because you wanted to "collect data". I am sorry but having every single ADC champion going into every lane was game breaking. You gave them tankiness . . . . you gave them to sustain . . . . you gave them damage . . . you gave them way too much all at once and you continued to allow them to be overpowered for months. You didn't make a single change until 4-5 months after the initial release of the patch for it.
One of the biggest issues I have with your department is overpowered champion kits. I am going to give you just a few examples of champions that are poorly designed in a sense that you know there kits are toxic to play against and the community doesn't' like it. You do not do ANYTHING about it.
I am going to give you an example of a champion that I have gone up against the past few matches that is a prime example of what I am talking about. Illaoi is a champion that was recently buffed by has NOT been nerfed. She is way to oppressive in a lane and you can basically do nothing against her unless your JG comes to help you. I do not care what anyone tells me or what advice people give me on how to play against this champion, she is a poorly designed champion with way too much power. I was ahead of my Illaoi who was 0/5/? and I had 2/0/?. I was trying to CS against this champion and it was IMPOSSIBLE and I was even a ranged mage. The problem is her entire kit has no counter play if she has her tentacles up and that when you are cursed the tentacles hit you so fast. Illaoi was behind 5 kills and I was catching up in CS, and this champion was still able to 2vs1 players that were far ahead of her. This is just an example of ONE champion that shouldn't be this strong. I will give you several more champions that also do this, Yasuo, Zed, Rengar, and much more. No matter how many teams play and strategic making decisions I make, you design certain champions to have no counterplay even if you are ahead or out CS them. I mean seriously Riot games. Illaoi had 2 items and she almost killed 3 people with full health against her. She had no kills and 5 deaths. Her CS was not that great and she was STILL able to 1vs3 us. This is a poorly designed champion.
Sometimes I wonder if this team even plays the game or listens to player feedback. No champion should be able to sustain a lane early, mid, and late game if they are being their opponent. I am sorry . . . . that is why most players just farm up CS and wait for picks to get ahead. You design certain champions to be able to carry a game regardless of how much they cs, get assists or kills. That is bad champion design and not fun to play against.
To sum it up - You make questionable decisions without any regard to the MANY posts about certain champions. You have certain champions you refuse to touch for the sheer fact that you want them to remain relevant in the game, regardless of how the community feels. Illaoi, Yasuo, Annie, Zed, and many other champions are just a few examples of champions that you refuse to give any counterplay to . . . . for the reason that you are either "still collecting data" or want to keep in the spotlight.
- Waste of Time and Work
This is why I question whether or not you guys ever do a good job. I hate that you always have an excuse to work on one champion over another when you are fully aware of specific problems with another champion. Did you really have to work on Brand and Vel'Koz when you know there are other champions in the game that could've benefited from that work? I mean the community even told you to not work on them and you still did it. You changed EVERYTHING about Vlad without any regard to player feedback and what they liked. You have reworked Ryze almost 6-7 times and you cannot seem to be bothered to update and fix champion kits you admit to failing on: Karma, Morde and Shen. I will say this again, you have no problem working on Ryze 6-7 times and wasting time on Brand and Vel'Koz, but you always seem to have an excuse for not working on champions that you admit to not doing good work on. I want you to fully be aware of this statement.
Karma received a relaunch 3 years ago. That relaunch removed almost every aspect of Karma that players loved. You didn't give fans of Karma what they wanted and you gave us a product that is lazy and rushed. We understand why it happened and it was because you didn't have the available resources at the time, but that is no excuse to continue to neglect a champion that is loved by MANY people. It is a slap in the face to every fan of this champion that creates a thread a day or week that tries to create a conversation about the problems with this champion. It is a slap in the face to every fan that knows what Karma can be but is constantly ignored by a balance and update team that doesn't care. You know Karma has a rushed VU that remover he completely of any identity she had, you know there were elements from Karma's kit that players loved but you removed it anyways, you know that Karma has things in her kit that doesn't make sense for the champion or her theme, but you allow it to continue for three years. You give us a reason as to why you are not working on her, but you can justify working on champions that are part of her lore or class when you have specifically given us the reason why you are not going to work on Karma. This is a champion that has not received gratifying work on her since three years ago. You removed almost every aspect of this chapion that fans loved and you continue to neglect the countless threads that are created for her. You just do not care and it is getting old. I do not care if Karma has a balanced kit right now. It isn't fair to make fans wait 3 years when you are completely aware of the problems that are wrong with the champion.
Morde is another example of a champion you completely butchered and fail to make amend for. Shen is a complete mess. I do not have a problem with the quality of work this department is producing now. I have a problem with the blatant lies, laziness, and excuses you have for one champion but always love, work, and dedication for others. It is very hypocritical of you to say you are not going to work on Karma until an Ionian Event or Enchanter Class Update, but then you work on other Ionian Champions and Champions part of the Enchanter Class. Sorry it is wrong.
