Retiring dominion. ARE YOU SERIOUS?

AkabaneKun·Feb 10, 2016·287 votes·15,027 views

http://www.godlikeproductions.com/sm/4bfce9e6.gif

Are you guys seriously going to remove a 4year old mode that has 5 mins queues from the fucking game?!!? I play this mode all the time a lot of ppl play this mode, TONS read TONS of diamond+ play this mode all the time, ppl play hide n seek in this mode and other things, and btw some games would weep to have 5 min queues so what gives you the right to take this away from us after almost FIVE YEARS LATER!?!?!?!?!?

Edit: Let's also not forget how in less than a season riot has removed team 5vs5 queues, ranked draft TT queues TB queues and ruined ARAM when they added a Lee Sin Q on steroids as a summoner, all that in less than a single season, we are now on season S.I.X and they are removing content left and right instead of adding more. By season 8 you will play SR how they want it and you will like it or gtfo simple has that...fine by me. I love the game they created and have been playing way too much for far too long but if riot himself goes out of their way to push ppl away from their own game than so be it. More money for me less money for them i guess.

327 Comments

UirayaFeb 10, 2016140 votes

"nobody likes this mode we have intentionally neglected for years"

Holy shit, Riot. All that money and you can't support two maps? Really? Best company in the world and you can only manage to fuck up balance in one place?

You should be introducing ranked dominion so people will start to care about it more.

RIP treeline, guess that's next.

TurquoiseYoshiFeb 10, 201628 votes

*4 maps. ARAM and 3v3 still exist. And they'll stay, since Dominion was removed because they did want to support the mode heavily. 3v3 and ARAM are a lot easier to keep going, as their gameplay patterns and win conditions are much more alike to SR than Dominion's is.

Señor KarthusFeb 10, 201658 votes

Meanwhile Smite has 5 different maps that are all consistently played AND a different special mode every single day

slôwFeb 10, 201612 votes

These are completely different games.

Señor KarthusFeb 10, 201641 votes

It is a moba. With the same kind of objectives. With the same kind of abilities. The only different things are the name, the 3rd person perspective and the companies.

Zenthon PrimeFeb 11, 20165 votes

You do realize that because Smite has 5 modes the community is massively split and queue times are a huge issue, right? That's one of the biggest community problems they have over there.

Señor KarthusFeb 11, 201627 votes

You do realize the queues are around 2 minutes the longest, which is not more (even FAR less) than what I spend trying to finish a Champion selection in draft mode?

SeductiveGrandpaFeb 10, 201612 votes

Thing is, while Smite has 5 different modes/maps, their balance is HELLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL

Leo Di VinciFeb 11, 201612 votes

Nah smite is balance through making everything op. Honestly i wish riot would head in this direction. I've found most Smite games come down to a lot of skill and knowing when to strike.

TechnoCamelFeb 11, 201617 votes

That's what I thought too. It's not UNHEALTHY to keep Dominion as a mode, it's unhealthy to keep it there WITHOUT A DOMINION TEAM TO TAKE CARE OF IT. If they want more popularity, just update the walls to show their proper sizes at the very least. Any form of update announcements to Dominion would reel people in (also Champ Mastery)

Ariel the CruelFeb 10, 20166 votes

We’re retiring Dominion to focus on our vision for League moving forward: we’ll concentrate on the core League game while supporting alternative experiences which deliver consistent, competitive gameplay with healthy queues and appropriate matchmaking (ARAM and featured game modes are good examples of this)

while supporting alternative experiences which deliver consistent, competitive gameplay with healthy queues and appropriate matchmaking (ARAM and featured game modes are good examples of this)

(ARAM and featured game modes are good examples of this)

(ARAM and featured game modes)

Apparently 3v3 isn't consistent, competitive, with health queues or appropriate match making.

For anyone who ever claimed that Riot should only worry about SR: you're getting you're wish. Dominion is gone. Confirmed Treeline is next.

XonraFeb 10, 201610 votes

[{quoted}](name=Ariel the Cruel,realm=NA,application-id=3ErqAdtq,discussion-id=brRrfRTY,comment-id=00040003,timestamp=2016-02-10T22:44:42.824+0000)

Apparently 3v3 isn't consistent, competitive, with health queues or appropriate match making.

For anyone who ever claimed that Riot should only worry about SR: you're getting you're wish. Dominion is gone. Confirmed Treeline is next.

If Twisted Treeline is deleted like Dominion, that will be the nail in the coffin for me and playing this game. I've played since 2011 actively (not as active from 2010 to 2011) and I've played very little these past few months.

If they remove TTL I will like just peace out. I didn't play much Dominion, but I still find it a lazy cop out to just outright delete it and remove the map from the custom maps completely.

BluePolarizerFeb 11, 20168 votes

Twisted treeline is a core gameplay component. One of my friends is diamond in twisted treeline 3v3 and almost exclusively plays 3v3. Removing it will remove the game for him. I am already playing way less than last season because the game's fun is decreasing.

RIPxMidnightFeb 10, 201636 votes

First they came for the AP off-builds, but I did not main a champion with an AP off-build, so I did not speak out.

Then they came for the Cinderhulk junglers, but I did not main a Cinderhulk jungler, so I did not speak out.

Then they came for Cassiopeia and Mordekaiser, but I did not main either of those champions, so I did not speak out.

Then they came for the mana dependent casters, but I did not main a mana dependent caster, so I did not speak out.

Then they came for Dominion, but I never play Dominion, so I did not speak out.

And then they came for me. But everyone else had already moved on to a different game, so there was no one left to speak for me.

item 3070

Some of the most fun I've had in this game was on the Dominion style Shurima event map. Apart from that, it was the Bilgewater event style maps. Don't get me wrong, I love SR, but the Rift is like a tedious job as opposed to something I play for fun. The other game modes are where in the real fun of this game lays. Riot should put MORE thought and variation into the non Rift maps, not delete them altogether.

The way our recent preseason and Season 6 has been trending, League is going to keep devolving to the point where it's just a purely 5-man ranked /all chat flamefest starring the LeeSin Yasuo Shen Thresh Vayne XinZhao Fiora Ahri Corki Braum clique.

Occams RaiserFeb 10, 20167 votes

i like this post

Rew711Feb 10, 201629 votes

Because if Riot cared about us (and our opinions) they'd not do this and actually update it. I'm sad its Dominion (my first other mode to play that wasn't a destroy the opponents and take their base, but a capture the flag game where killing opponents is optional).

PyrodiniumFeb 10, 201614 votes

By that logic they should also give us free skins, since most of the playerbase agrees that free skins are a good thing.

Developing a game is way more than just doing what the players want.

Old Man TeetoFeb 10, 20168 votes

Technically, Hextech crafting... is free skins.

So....

PyrodiniumFeb 10, 20162 votes

So...

They made those randomized and explicitly less efficient than just buying the skin you want?

Baron von JigglyFeb 10, 20163 votes

it's still a free skin. sure you can buy what you want but your still getting something that costs money for free

CIit YeastwoodFeb 11, 20161 votes

No. No it's fucking not. Stop thinking the Hextech crap is going to be "good and free"

Congrats, YOU GET FREE SHARDS. Not the full fucking skin. Have fun paying for all the keys to your crates to not get guaranteed shards for the skin/champ you want and destroying the crappy shards for like 10 fairy fart dust when the skin you want costs 2000 fairy fart dust to create.

"Well I get it free for 7 days if I redeem it!!!!111!"

Wooooow, or you could have just paid $5 and bought the skin. Like everyone already does.

Anyone from the PBE will tell you that the system is retarded and TERRIBLE for the amount of money you put in and what you get out from it. It's literally CHEAPER to buy $100 RP than it is to gamble on cases. Because they aren't "free". If they say otherwise it's because they have a Riot hand so far up their rectum.

swordishforceFeb 11, 20165 votes

You know you can get chests and keys from playing the game? I'm confused as to how that doesn't constitute as free.

Lazypeon100Feb 10, 201623 votes

Incoming unpopular opinion.

While I'm sure there are plenty of people who played dominion exclusively, and were / are dedicated to it, overall there are very few people who play it. .5% of all league players play it, with a good portion of those being bots.

I imagine the amount of resources and effort to fix Dominion would be too great. They have troubles keeping one game mode balanced to an acceptable state wothout having to worry about a second mode.

I think the map should still be usable for custom ganes (heard that you won't be able to) and if that is the case then that is wrong. You may not agree with Riot's choice, but I do firmly believe they are doing what they believe to be best for overall game health and player enjoyment. I have no doubts some people will stop playing after this, and that is completely understandable.

Quick edit here: I think this is important to say. While I, and many others, don't always agree with Riot's choices, I firmly believe that Riot cares very deeply about the game and the community. Please keep that in mind with your posts guys. When you openly insult Riot, claim they don't care, etc, it drives them further away from the community. They have been communicating to us way better than they used to (Riot Rep is amazing, I've seen all sorts of red posts on this forum as well lately). Criticize them for their decision, but don't claim they don't care.

ZarkkastFeb 10, 20164 votes

Your argument would be good, except Dominion is and has always been more balanced than Summoner's Rift.

Lazypeon100Feb 10, 20164 votes

I'll give you that I don't play dominion so I don't exactly know what the balance state is currently. That said, they would still need to take the time to observe it properly, make sure it is balanced, fix the bot situation, fix and bugs (known and possibly unknown ones) and still dedicate more resources to bring it up to par. The art assests are completely out of date as an example.

They would also have to some how fix player perception of the game mode. I could be wrong in saying this, but I think it is simply too much work for too little of a reward (player enjoyment).

ObericFeb 10, 20169 votes

A long time ago "player enjoyment" was what the whole point of League of Legends was. It wasn't supposed to be a massive esports cash cow. It was supposed to be a fun moba without all the BS that DotA had.

Lazypeon100Feb 10, 20165 votes

I think that is true for the majority of players still actually. The ESports community is there for those who are interested, but by no means is that what LoL has solely become.

MinardeFeb 10, 20163 votes

Your argument about mode balance would make more sense if Riot actually balanced alternate maps on a consistent basis. The only champion balance changes since August 2014 have been stacking changes for Gangplank and Garen after their reworks. Aside from that, there's only been the TT mini-rework and ARAM's Mark/Dash fiasco. For 18 months of time, that's not exactly a lot of resources going towards non-SR balance.

Lazypeon100Feb 10, 20165 votes

They SHOULD get more balance to all of the other maps on a more consistent basis in a perfect world. But we know that's not the case of reality. One of my points was that since they already have troubles balancing one game mode, do you think they will be more successful if they diverted resources to focus on another mode? Or would it make both modes less fun to due to the diverted attention?

Really, they could be successful at doing both. I don't know. Neither do you. The only people who can judge what they are capable of reliably is Riot themselves. My only real criticism behinf their choice is to remove the map from custom mode. That is a disservice to those who do / did enjoy the map and would love to continue enjoying it for fun with friends.

ConnceptFeb 10, 20167 votes

Dominion is significantly easier to balance than the Rift, there is no farming and no carry system since it is nigh impossible to beat the passive gold and XP gain. Its balance issues were in movement and skill uptimes and early game carries, all easily addressed.

The only thing that made balancing dominion difficult, was that no one ever even tried.

Plus, the queue times, bots, and low player percentage are something that developed over time, and only got this bad very recently. Dominion had a more than large enough playerbase for several years after its release for riot to have supported the game mode, and they didn't even try, not even for a day, let alone the years they had, and that playerbase only decreased with Riots neglect and abuse, not in spite of it.

Ariel the CruelFeb 10, 20165 votes

The only thing that made balancing dominion difficult, was that no one ever even tried.

item 3104 From releases up until 5.23 actually gave less crit than the component items.

The role model for Riot's balancing efforts on Dominion.

James StoneFeb 10, 201614 votes

ARE YOU FOR REAL?

You ignore a fucking mode, you neglect it years and years, and then you remove it?

Fuck you Riot. There are no words other than fuck you. What a despicable and downright pathetic move. But what else could you expect, right? Precedent was there.

"The lore we neglected like an unloved child doesn't interest nobody and we don't want to be bound by the restrictions that made it interesting. Delete it and start anew".

"The Game Mode we almost completely abandoned isn't getting any new players, and Lord knows it can't be because we were incredibly incompetent at actually promote it. Delete it."

At least the lore travesty was softened by the introduction of new lore. What do you plan to introduce, hein Riot? Should you also scrape the Twisted Treeline? Oh, who am I kidding, you'll probably will.

As a player who always defended you in almost everything non-lore related, go fuck yourselves. There's no justification for this, and nothing you'll give us to soften the blow. Fuck... you.

EDIT: And you're not even gonna let us have the Crystal Scar in customs? I repeat: Fuck. You. You were only created because of custom games to begin with. Guess Riot doesn't like the idea of creating its own competition.

StarrakaFeb 11, 20163 votes

love the part where they said they wanted to do awsome stuff for SR. summoners rift has been the same map since they stole it from DOTA who stole it from starcraft.

iainB85Feb 10, 201610 votes

My condolences to all the Dominion players out there.

It was really shitty of Riot to keep stringing people along this long only now to completely kill the mode.

They should've made the commitment to support or not support the mode within the first year of it's release, not this bull crap.

SaltyToplaneGoatFeb 10, 20165 votes

Wait. Where is the source on that?

AkabaneKunFeb 10, 20167 votes

[{quoted}](name=Kyoki Shinkuro,realm=EUW,application-id=3ErqAdtq,discussion-id=brRrfRTY,comment-id=0001,timestamp=2016-02-10T20:24:53.919+0000)

Wait. Where is the source on that?

http://na.leagueoflegends.com/en/news/game-updates/features/retiring-dominion

SaltyToplaneGoatFeb 10, 201650 votes

Thanks. Just read through it.

Man, what a load of crap. Instead of just giving the map a full rework they just stomp it completly. What irritates me the most is that they put Dominion on the same level as their temporary game modes, which is total bollocks. Hexakill, Doombots, All For One, Urf… those are all simple SR games with some parameters changed.

Dominion on the other hand was an entire new map and mode with a completly unique winning condition.

If they follow through with this logic they gonna stomp Twisted Treeline too, mostly because it will get overrun by botters once Dominion closes.

A Basic IslandFeb 10, 201626 votes

i don't even like dominion

but the most BS statement in that was a reply to why can't they just remove the que and leave it in custom games

this was the absolutely pathetic rito reply

Some inbred ritoer:

Unfortunately, keeping Dominion available in Custom games still has the same cost as being a matchmade queue. :/ We have to ensure all champions work with capture points, items, etc. The art on the map is also far behind what we'd consider the 'quality bar' for League nowadays. It would be a herculean SRU level effort to bring it up to parity (when we could better spend that time/resources doing something awesome on SR instead).

what a fucking crock of shit

ZantumallFeb 10, 201621 votes

Except it's absolutely true. Keeping Dominion up requires extensive bug testing of every new champion/item that comes out to make sure it doesn't break any of the (several) mechanics unique to Dominion. This is true whether it has its own queue or if it's just in customs. Why would Riot spend hundreds of man-hours continuing to bug test content that less than half a percent of their player base ever uses?

ConnceptFeb 10, 201611 votes

If that actually were true, we would be seeing the removal of ARAM and TT as well, but we're not, because it isn't. They're removing dominion because they, personally, don't like it, it has no fans among the developers, who have shuffled between neglect and outright abuse of the game mode and its playerbase for years, solely because they don't like it and don't want to deal with it, completely disregarding the millions of players who did enjoy the game mode, and only ever left it because of Riots neglect and abuse.

Dominion had 45 second queue times for two solid years after its release. Queues of a minute and a half after that, and has only up to 5 minute queues for less than a year, more or less since the fanmade leagues disappeared with the reorganization of the forums into boards.

It always had a playerbase, and there is no reason it couldn't have been cultivated and grown, if Riot hadn't actively and very successfully tried to starve and kill that playerbase for the entire four years it was on live.

ZantumallFeb 10, 201613 votes

If Riot didn't like Dominion they wouldn't have added it in the first place. People didn't stop playing Dominion because Riot forced them to, they stopped playing Dominion because not very many people like Dominon. It just doesn't have the widespread appeal of the other game modes. The fact of the matter is that very few people play it and it isn't worth the cost of upkeep. They're not removing ARAM or TT because those game modes actually have a large enough player base to justify continuing to support them.

ConnceptFeb 10, 20164 votes

Forty five second queues for two years would say otherwise, there would have to be tens of thousands of concurrent and active players in a single region for that to be so, and I can promise you it was, I was there. I've only played a handful of SR games in the last four years, and this 0.5% of players and 5 minute queue times BS is less than a year old, and a lame excuse from a prejudiced group of developers who actively tried to get people to stop playing this game mode.

ZantumallFeb 10, 20169 votes

Your only evidence here is "trust me, queue times totally used to be short, lol". Assuming there's some kind of Riot conspiracy to destroy Dominion just because you noticed queue times going up is paranoid in the extreme. Myself, and a lot of my friends, have tried to get into Dominion in the past and have burned out on it really quickly. It's a common reaction - it's fun for a bit but then you go back to the other modes. The fact that Dominion player numbers dropped over time makes sense because that's how a lot of people feel about it. Just face the facts: not enough people like Dominion to keep supporting it. Riot didn't destroy it on purpose. It just doesn't have the appeal.

ConnceptFeb 11, 20164 votes

No, my only evidence is a statement of fact, as anyone who has consistently played dominion over the last four years will tell you the same thing about the queue times and size of the playerbase. It was plain for anyone to see who actually participated. And, oh surprise! You didn't participate, haven't played it, have no idea what you are talking about and no knowledge to speak of on this subject.

They had years of opportunity in which it had more than a large enough playerbase that they could have supported this game mode, improved upon it, and attempted to grow said playerbase, and they didn't. Admittedly, it might not have worked, it may have never grown a lot, but with support it would haven't have shrunk, stagnated, and died; and now, since they put forth absolutely zero effort for over four years, we'll never know.

There was no fiscal, design, or technical reasons why they couldn't have supported this game mode. The only reason left, because they chose not to, because they picked a favorite and went all in on it, choosing to degrade and despise another game mode and its players until they killed its playerbase off and no longer had to answer to any substantial amount of players for removing the game mode, and relieving themselves of any responsibility for it or requirement to support it.

They have wanted this game mode to die, for years. And the breaking of the organization of the fan league less than a year ago, was the last step they needed to do it without any retaliation from any sizable portion of the playerbase.

CosnirakFeb 11, 20166 votes

I have played it. The queue times were not that short all the time. When they were very short it was because there were multiple bots in the game which sucked all the possible fun out of the game. But then without those bots.... long queues and not exactly the greatest gameplay made it good for a short change of pace but little else.

Also you're demonizing them out of anger and making terrible arguments, please stop. They had every fiscal, design, and technical reason to not support it. Yes they chose to focus on SR instead, and have said as much. And I think it was the right choice. But sometimes the right choice involves some negative consequences too, including pissing some people off.

Let Dominion RIP, anger isn't going to change what's true.

Mael broFeb 10, 20164 votes

This is bullcrap. Riot produced the Ascencion mode, the greatest game mode ever created. When the Shurima event ended, my withdrawal was cured by Dominion. And believe me, there are people who feel the same way as i do. The loss of Dominion will be the saddest day ever in my League career.

The fun of this game was greatly reduced during the past few months. Dominion was a great way to escape some of those troubles. ARAM doesn't have the same spirit, the comps are so RNG based. Atleast bring back Ascencion or make it a permanent game mode. I'll live with whatever decision you have planed, but i'm not gonna be content about it.

slôwFeb 10, 20164 votes

A lot of people actually disliked Ascension, you may feel your opinion matter more than the 80% though.

Thats okay, Riot doesn't feel your opinion matters that much, they value the opinion of the vast majority of players, not a tiny minority.

mikemcpartyFeb 11, 20168 votes

80% of players disliked ascension? Where did that number come from? 90% of people on the boards make up statistics about 67.3% of the time.