ARAM Issues and Potential Fixes
Greetings.
This post's intention is to address and prompt discussion around issues involved with ARAM on the Murder Bridge. I'll be focusing my points as precisely as I can and move through each point in a typical ARAM scenario. Obviously there are many issues that I would mention, however the news that several points of ARAM are being updated soon resolve at least two of them reasonably well so I'll not go into them extensively.
Credentials: I've played this game since early season 3, and have (2100) games this season and thousands more from previous seasons.
Champion Select: ARAM champion select has two issues I'd like to see addressed.
- It should be VERY unlikely to get the same champion twice in a row. I understand that in a truly random experience, getting the same champion twice in a row is totally reasonable, but people shouldn't have to waste a re-roll to avoid having to play Udyr three times in a row.
- Champion select in ARAM often feels too brief. I understand that ARAM is meant to be a quick, fun-filled game-mode; I know because I play a lot of ARAM. I'm generally pretty quick to adjust runes, summoner spells, etc when I'm forced into a desperation trade because someone got a champion they've never seen before. However far too often, I'm JUST shy of the countdown and runes don't save, or summoner spells changes didn't save. Let's be real. Having Clarity on Volibear instead of Snowball is basically a lost game. Adding a bit more time allows for, A: slower connecting players to be able to trade and adjust, B: Allow for adjusting after someone panic re-rolls, C: help ensure that we don't have Lethal Tempo Vladimir again.
Buying Items: A bug?
- Traps can stop you from buying items. Either intentionally or unintentionally if an enemy steps on an enemy trap and otherwise takes damage as you respawn, you're unable to buy items or undo buys.
Items: Yeah it's one of those again.
- Oracles Elixir is way too impactful. Best case scenario it helps deal with 25% of a champion's kit, worst case it completely invalidates some champions. Akali, Kha'Zix, Rengar, Shaco, Talon, Teemo, Vayne, and Wukong are significantly disadvantaged if one or two enemy players picks it up. It essentially renders Akali, Kha'Zix, Shaco, Talon, and Teemo irrelevant since stealth / traps are essential aspects of their kits. The price, duration, and accessibility causes the Elixir to venture into OP territory. Increasing the cost, decreasing the duration significantly, or even turning it into a trinket with a brief duration and modest cooldown would help. Personally the idea of a 300g trinket that lasts 3-6 seconds with a decent cooldown would increase interaction at least, maybe call it something like "Hextech Sweeper".
- Warmog's. Removed in future patch.
- Vision. The ability to safely move up to check / gain brush control is terrible. Items like "The Lightbringer", Twin Shadows, etc could really be interesting. Short of a narrow missile snowball checking brush is sometimes too dangerous, especially when you're against poke heavy / CC stacked team comps.