Opinion: Riot should balance around pro play

JoeMG·10/24/2019, 12:50:17 PM·3 votes·1,184 views

And by that I mean that Riot should take the top 5 or so champs with the most presence in pro play (pick/ban) and nerf them. It's obvious that the champs that the pros choose to pick or ban are the ones that are top tier and thus overpreforming compared to other champs, or the champ is just inherently toxic that they want to abuse/avoid it.

I understand this is the reason that champs like have been gutted, but given the nature of their kits, I think it's reasonable.

This may be an unpopular opinion, though.

Edit: I definitely understand those that disagree. I am an advocate of balancing around the majority of the playerbase, however, it stands to reason that the champs that are abused at the highest levels of play are the ones that are inherently overpowered or problematic compared to the rest.

10 Comments

DalekZec10/24/2019, 1:14:42 PM2 votes

Yeah the 99% of us playerbase are just trash. We are definitely NOT the consumers. We are definitely NOT the source of Riot's money let alone also the pro's means of getting the food on the table.

Remove the 99% of playerbase and riot will go titanic and Faker will wish he finished college all the while starving his ass off and sleeping on the street or in his parents' basement.

roolik10/24/2019, 1:00:27 PM2 votes

Riot needs to get proplay is only half a % of league players and stop buffing overpowered or nerfing underpowered champs just because PROS DONT LIKE IT. Idc if u are a pro im a player too and i should allso have fun playing. Ur not the one that should decied the game just cuz ur a pro player.

Zlera10/24/2019, 1:09:57 PM2 votes

I don't think riot should balance around the 1%. That just doesn't make sense. You nor I will never even get close to the LCS stage. Don't balance for the 1%. The 99% is where your money comes from, it where your players are, Riot.

Tomievader10/24/2019, 1:18:20 PM2 votes

Here's the thing, balancing around pro play implies that each champ is used to their fullest extent with 5 man comms. To balance around that would leave problem champs that aren't picked OR banned in pro play out of the equation. Vlad, Draven, Riven, Yasuo, Darius, Vayne. Most of them aren't picked often in pro play and when they are they preform worse than in solo play simply because they can be countered by good coms and decent teamplay.

Speeedy10/24/2019, 4:57:57 PM2 votes

riot should balance around masters+ solo Q. Why?

More games played in a day in masters+ than all pro games in a year. Gives a lot more data to balance against.
Money to sustain game - You have ill give you a lot and say 1000-1500 pros across the world. You think keeping 1500 people happy vs the 99.99% of people will sustain your game. All the pros in the world can't spend enough money to fund 1 region none the less the rest of the world.
Good Game turns into a good pro scene - There has not been 1 game in history that started with a pro game that has filtered down to a regular player base. Its why games like Counterstrike have been around for so long, the gameplay for the average player is still fantastic. When you have a good base game your pro scene is very interesting to watch. Magic the gathering, SC2, Counterstrike, WoW, Rocket League, etc.
New Players - Imagine you are a new player and how long do you want to stick around when you find out that you are not the focus of the company but pros are? Are you going to recommend the game to someone else? 'hey try this game they focus on the pros and see us as just funding for the game'
Champions are left in the gutter - Because balancing around pro play leaves certain champs in the gutter for long periods of time. You are basically trolling when you pick the 43% winrate champion because he only works in coordinated play. When you leave champions in bad spots for very long time it pisses your player base off. Perfect example is . How long was he left in the gutter? How many new Wu mains have we got in the last year? How many new have we got in the last year?

DuskDaUmbreon10/24/2019, 12:51:52 PM1 votes

...Riot does that. It's just incredibly pointless to buff or nerf for proplay on live when Proplay's on a different patch.

Oleandervine10/24/2019, 5:02:50 PM1 votes

They should not. It causes severe imbalance at low levels of play, which frustrates players and drives them away. When players leave, potential pros leave. When you have no potential pros, your pro scene withers and dies. You have to balance for normal play and pro-play, but never for one or the other.