Remove the "Lock" button on Pick/Ban already Riot!
Who thought this was a good idea, and why?
Let me tell you why it's not:
Locking in a pick is an extra hurdle.
- A ToS agreement with Apple has less user input required than picking my champion to play for a game. I just want to select the champion I'd like to play, and get to the game.
- I don't want to select the champion, lock in my pick, and then get into a game. Even grammatically, locking in a pick sounds like a hurdle.
Locking in a pick discards valuable planning time.
- 10 seconds to make the right decision is critical to the impact of the rest of the game, especially if my champion was just banned or picked.
Que Dodge punishments
- I'm a rebel. Nobody tells me how to select a champion, except Riot seems to want me to so badly use their shiny new rendered button, which I hate very much. Of course, being a rebel to this comes with punishments in the form of que dodge penalties (which is why I have the time to write this right now). I selected my champion, thoughtfully, taking full advantage of my available time and selected runes and masteries and I feel good about the upcoming game, except, I have to wait out 30min because I failed to "lock" in my pick.
- Punishes players for using their entire planning time.
Locking in is perverse, and damning
- Yes, I really do think that. When I think of "lock" I can think of the snap a lock makes, shutting down any further progress of whatever is locked in any direction.
- Locked up, Locked out, and other uses of the word "lock" have a negative connotation. I didn't want to slap an iron cuff onto my wrist playing this game.
No Value Added Process
- The biggie, locking in your pick is UNNECESSARY if I had selected a champion within my round of picking.
- No power-ups, special features, decisive action, or planning motive added.
- Not "locking in" is punishable as compared to "locking in."
So, I can only assume the necessity to "Lock-in" comes from already having pre-selected champions, in which the playing environment can change an players will need to confirm their picks. "Locking in" could also weed out AFK players who select way early in the picking process and do not actively engage in the pick-ban cycle.
Either way, I'm tired of getting Que dodge penalties because I forget to "lock-in". This is still new to me, and the hardest part of League at the moment.
So I can propose two things: 1.) Change "Lock" to "Confirm" or something less iron clad sounding. 2.) If a champion is picked during his election cycle, by the end of the countdown any champion selected is automatically confirmed.
Please and thank you in advance.
