League and long-term sustainability RIOT PLS READ
How does Riot expect to maintain long term playability? I am worried for League of Legends, and the way this is going it doesn't seem likely that the game will function as well in the coming years. Let me explain why.
You put out new champions at a regular pace. This is wonderful, and creative and awesome, and some would say it helps keep the game interesting. But there are issues with this.
With the objective for every champion to have unique mechanics and dynamic gameplay, each champion is becoming more and more complicated. Alternate forms (Elise, Kindred), special mechanics, unique interactions (ie. Thresh's lantern, Kalista's ult), these all add to the diversity of play. They also make the game more complicated for the player, and much more complicated for you to maintain as a company.
Thinking that these are what keep the game fun is shortsighted. With each new champion, there is another string in a complicated web of balancing, bug-fixing, ect. Every new champion makes the game harder for you as a company, as well as putting a higher strain on the player to be learning how to deal with new champions. You are always at work trying to make the game smooth and balanced, and in creating an endless series of champions, you are digging your own grave. It is not feasible to sustain an ever-increasing array of champions and items. So here is my suggestion. It may seem radical at first, but it is the only course of action that makes sense:
Stop making new champions.
Make one last champion, and make him/her fantastic. You could even make up some reason in the lore to support it. Whatever. This would stop the influx of confusion, and allow you to focus your energy on the thing that matters: the player experience.
I love the creativity you guys put into your characters. But you can put that creativity into skins, lore, events, maps, game modes, and other things, without subsequently running yourself into the ground. Please take this into consideration.
{{summoner:2}}
