Update to Custom Games Suggestion

Hello, this post was originally deleted from Gameplay+. That was my blunder, as I didn't actually read the guidelines for that board, but here is the discussion idea that outlined a way to change Custom Games:

So playing the Odyssey game mode has provided us another opportunity to clear a variety of challenging missions to earn wonderful prizes. I love these new game modes, and I think completing various challenges associated with the game mode is both satisfying and rewarding. As many of us are aware, the challenges get more and more difficult as you clear the early ones, but what makes these challenges so difficult is not actually having to clear the game mode under various handicaps, but trying to convince four random other players to cooperate on said missions.

Now, there's a fairly simple solution: Play the game and befriend other players looking to clear the same missions so you can clear them together. This isn't all that hard, and if you're someone who already has lots of League-playing friends, you can team up to clear them all as a group anyway. This obstacle isn't something unmanageable by any means, but it got me thinking...

There are times where some of us might want to do things other than play League the standard way. Sometimes, we're looking to practice new champions. Other times, maybe we want to experiment with off-meta pics. Currently, we have a custom game lobby where players can set up games with different criteria to find other players looking to do the same. The biggest problem with this (besides the fact that many players don't even know it's here) is that games are almost always just listed as "SummonerName"'s game, with no indication of what they're looking to do.

I want to bring some light about the way raid content works in another MMORPG: Final Fantasy XIV. In FFXIV, players encounter a variety of dungeons, bosses, and trials that are handled in external instances. Rather than making players group up manually by shouting like the good old days of FFXI, A Realm Reborn launched with a system called the Duty Finder which essentially works like the matchmaking system in League. You sign up for what content you want to play, and are randomly assigned a group with other players in the same region to clear the content. As time passed, however, it became clear that not all players had the same intentions when queueing up for certain instances.

It took a while, but a new system called the Party Finder was released that worked alongside the Duty Finder. The Party Finder allowed players to put up, or respond to what were essentially listings for various content with specific requirements for the team. If you were trying to farm a certain boss, you didn't want to end up with a bunch of first timers who are likely to wipe several times. Meanwhile, if you are new to a fight, you don't want to get kicked just because you haven't learned the mechanics yet. These are just two examples of how the Party Finder operated, and it allowed for players to directly recruit players looking for the same thing, whether they're there to farm a drop, or if they want to watch the cutscenes for story purposes.

I suggest that League should consider updating the custom game window to something that adds more clarity and transparency between players. Here, you'd select the game mode you're looking for just like with custom games. Rotating Game Mode would be added as well. What's new to the system would be a keyword you can select or search for of existing listings that would indicate what kind of game you're going for, options for preset lanes or open lanes (do you enter the party as a top laner or do you enter an open party where players can do whatever, essentially), and a description box that allows you to explain what it is you're looking for in detail.

Let's use Summoner's Rift as an example. Keywords select-able for SR would be: Champion Practice, where your aim is to play several Normal Matches practicing new or unused champions; Break the Meta, where your aim is to try unconventional picks and builds; Socialize, where you're goal is to utilize chat functions to make new friends to play with regularly; and Other, where you can specify what you're looking to do differently. You can choose to set preset lanes for players to apply for, so if you want to practice Ahri Mid, you'll fill the Mid slot of your Team Hunter listing and other players can join other specific lanes. You can also leave Lanes Open if you want to keep things fluid or want to break conventional lane rules. You can recruit 5 players to enter Summoner's Rift against random opponents, or you can recruit 10 players to customize the entire match. There will also be a text entry that allows you to explain in a few words what you're looking for.

All this would be largely the same for Twisted Treeline except for being 3 or 6 player choices and different lane options. When Rotating Game Modes are available, you can also create a Team Hunter Listing for that too. You could choice between Keyword Options like Completion, where you can team up with others just trying to complete the game mode without worrying about missions,; Missions, where you can specify what mission you're trying to clear and recruit others looking for the same; and Socialize and Other much like the keywords from Summoner's Rift.

I think this change would also bring more attention to custom games than there currently is. Currently, it's hard to know what you're signing up for when selecting custom games unless someone's creating a game specifically for a group of people they're communicating with externally.