Can we start balancing the game around Plat+ again

lol kass has a 75% ban rate?

he has a 15.3% ban rate

https://www.leagueofgraphs.com/champions/stats/kassadin

https://www.leagueofgraphs.com/champions/stats/kassadin/platinum

??? LUL

[{quoted}](name=Soraka Porn,realm=NA,application-id=3ErqAdtq,discussion-id=b1XbA9Qd,comment-id=00040000,timestamp=2017-08-27T22:31:40.117+0000)

Plat isn't "top-level competition" lmao, no game designer should ever balance the game around the worst players.

You did say Plat+. + implies everything up to Challenger.

In any case, where I'm from, we have a generally accepted norm. Not everyone is meant to be at the top. In fact, most aren't. But those at the lowest rungs are no less important than those at the top, because they prop up the best. For example, when I was in kyuudo, our aces always got most of the practice time. Part of the manager's job was determining who could perform the best and letting the others learn while sacrificing time to help the aces stay sharp.

Any online game is no different. A game that has to sustain servers, let alone all the side costs League incurs from things like esports logistics, requires a lot of steady income. Make the game really fun for the top 15% or so of players, and the lower 85% will stop having fun. They stop having fun, they stop buying champions and skins. That income stops coming in, and the whole operation grinds to a halt.

So yes, a game designer who intends to maintain a game through multiple years and keep it relevant should absolutely design it so the lower-skilled masses have plenty of fun. If we're talking about single-player games with a competitive scene, you're absolutely right. But League is not one of those games.