There is so much wrong with 5.22
I'm a casual player, but I have been through every preseason and every meta, even from the era of Ashe mid in S1. From what I have seen in this game's history it has been stable for the duration of its existence. But from the release of the juggernauts (namely Fiora and gp) to now, the game has just plummeted downhill.
I am primarily speaking of the Preseason changes this patch. And no I am not complaining about the op champions like the Yasuo and jungle Graves we see every game, I'm complaining about the way Riot is trying to make us play this game.
To start from a personal opinion, the new materies are the worst they have ever been. Before, masteries would positively compensate for a players desire for champion diversity, as champions could be molded towards a certain play-style or build based on their specific masteries and runes. When the preseason rolled in, I had to cut my 17 or so pages (and I'm a player that tweaks masteries in the lobby) to a miserable 8. And the thing that separates some of them is only a keymastery and another random buff somewhere else up the page. The pages feel restrictive and clunky. The best way to build a champion is now the only way. I am frightened to see what will happen to players like Siv HD, who play champions with abstract builds simply for the sake of their enjoyment of the game. You can only choose between two masteries each line? And you're limited to 5 points in each? Why? I know this is for the sake of new players but please, why take away from the experienced group? Every time I look at my mastery pages I feel like I'm at some crappy ice cream parlor with its only options being vanilla and vanilla with little chocolate crumbs in it. How lame is that.
Secondly, and most importantly is the gameplay changes. Towers literally fall at second back. Late game champions, or teams reliant on decent farm are no longer possible in the preseason as only skirmishes (notice how there is a almost no team fighting) can defend a team from an enemies gold income. The 'Cull' item is actually useless with how riot wants our games to be played. And I don't want to be around when the minions get their buff next patch.
> If your team's average level is higher than the enemy's, your minions deal 10% bonus damage to enemy minions. If you've taken cumulatively more turrets than the enemy team, damage is further increased by 10% for each turret you have over your opponents. If your team's average level is at least 3 higher than the enemy's and you've taken 2 or more towers in a given lane, your minions in that lane deal 90% more damage to enemy minions. If your team's average level is higher than the enemy's, your minions take less damage from enemy minions.
I can only guess as to why these changes are being made. But my educated assumption is that riot is trying to decrease the length of games for the sake of LoL's appearance at Esports. More fighting is more enjoyable to watch right? The crowd cheers at the team fights right? If we forced these more often, the game will be more fun to play and to watch! Right?! Wrong. Let me explain.
The enjoyment and satisfaction made from this game was caused by its strategic elements. Laning offered a team with certain strategic windows and decisions. Lanes that were ganked shifted team priorities around, forced lane swaps, groupings for dragon or bigger skirmishes in other lanes. Good moves in lane, vision control and counter jungling were intellectually stimulating like a smart move in a game of chess. When a team fight occurred it was entertaining because of how much the fight weighed. Players could determine that the dragon or baron timer had been closely monitored or that champions had reached certain power spikes or item advantages. This gave the opposing team the responsibility to prioritize these stronger champions through picks or to counteract the other teams plans with some other unique and unforeseen play. This buildup is what made the fights and the game itself both entertaining to play and to watch.
With towers dying from single waves and one solitary champion, players have to be in more places at once to defend them. This means there will be less team-fights to defend these objectives and overall less important fights across the board. The same applies with the new Rift Herald. Dragon created a significant and desirable objective for both teams. Now the dragon can be somewhat ignored if a team doesn't want to contest or fight, and there will be less important decisions being made. Finally, the impending minion buff will decrease comeback potential to what is now already a very snowball oriented game. What was fun to play and watch was how a team responded to a disadvantage. It didn't matter if the game took 30 or 50 minutes. By giving the winning team further advantages the games may be shorter, but victors will become easily predictable. And nobody wants to watch or play a predictable game.
The reason I played LoL and recommended it to my friends was because I could see how much riot cared about its community. It was blatantly evident with the weekly summoner showcase and the constant replies to threads along every forum board. But with this patch I have heard nothing but silence. Ignoring your community is how you kill a game. The community is who pay and play for the game to stay alive. I have seen only negative feedback from the forums and the /all chat in game about this patch. I am only hoping that riot steps up to the plate and agrees that they have messed up.
