This game is leaving people behind, and some have no place now...

I've been reluctant to talk about this lately, as I didn't want it to feel like a knee jerk response, but I've been away from this game for a while now. It was my second time quitting the game, this time less out of spite and more out of boredom. I came back recently to the game only to find that it feels a lot like the game has changed in ways that really focus on team-oriented play. This may not seem that bad as that's been a focus ever since this truly became a competitive game; but my issue is more that the game feels like it only wants team-based play. Sure, you get the occasional or play, but they seem less impactful on their own now. In a large majority of the games I've played, they've started with a team invade, at least one guy roams out of lane even before they hit 6 to gank, even if they're not the jungler, and kills are often gained not as much by the jungler ganking, but more by groups of three to even the whole team in one spot. On paper, this sounds like a good thing, more organized play, more team-oriented strategy, and less emphasis on carries to win the game for you. This may be the best league has ever been...

For competitive. For normal plebs like me...

It's awful, and I know you're all going to call me bronze and tell me to git gud or stuff like that, I know what this looks like, which is why I'm trying to illustrate my point and offer a potential compromise.

I have poor perception and communication/coordination skills, I have trouble noticing when something is happening on the map, I sometimes miss things wards see outright, but I do lane decently, I do know matchups most of the time and I know how to teamfight alright. I've managed to maintain gold ranking since season 4 (S5 I got gold in ranked TT if you look me up and get confused). So I'm not the best, but I'm not the worst the game has ever seen. I've had skills in this game that were usable and adequate until now. I don't rely on teammates, I usually don't call for ganks, I barely notice I have a team until the lanning phase ends. Now, however all that I know has been rendered obsolete. Everything I've been learning since season 3 feels like it's been patched out. I know why this has happened, I do, it's because snowballing has been an issue in the game that people have been complaining about and Riot wanted to limit individual gains. It does seem like a success like I said, but in turn doing good as an individual feels worthless and inconsequential, and if you're antisocial and paranoid of peer scrutiny, it feels like a massive punch to the gut.

I know this sounds like a simple, single-patch issue, but I fear it's going to get worse; the next patch alone has changes to minions that I'll list here: Cannon Minions Base Gold Value :: 45 >>> 60 Gold Value Growth per 90 seconds (3 waves) :: 0.35 >>> 3 Base Health :: 828 >>> 900 Health Growth per 90 seconds (3 waves) :: 23 >>> 50 Health Growth per 90 seconds (3 waves) beginning at wave 16 :: 32 >>> 60 Health bar size visually increased Super Minions Base Gold Value :: 45 >>> 60 Gold Value Growth per 90 seconds (3 waves) :: 0.35 >>> 3 Melee Minions Base Gold Value :: 20 >>> 21 Gold Value Growth per 90 seconds (3 waves) :: 0.125 >>> 0 Caster Minions Base Gold Value :: 17 >>> 14 Gold Value Growth per 90 seconds (3 waves) :: 0.125 >>> 0

These were pulled from surrender@20 and this is after experimental changes were pulled, so this will probably stay.

tldr The changes listed reduce the value of non-cannon minions as a whole and makes farming less important in non-cannon waves. Giving people even more incentive to pop out of lane for a wave or two to roam, which people like me suck at, and will in turn make players who aren't as team-oriented play worse. I could be wrong, but that's what this looks like to me. People like me once called this rift a home, and now it's being slowly taken away.

"So go play a different game!" You might say. Play what? DoTA? I gotta take a class and un-learn everything I have to play one game that seems like it's on its way out. Smite? I guess, but I feel sick playing a game from Hi-Rez that shoves boxes in your face on the daily. Plus it feels a bit too different. Battlerite? Sure, but it's just not the same... Dawng-- NOT! FUNNY!

This game feels too E-sports oriented, with any other, less serious types of play being frowned upon because if they're good, the pros will start using it and lower views due to it feeling boring. I know why these thing are being done, but can't we have a place to go to be less serious? I know there's ARAM but it's one lane with a random champion in a glorified poke war until someone gets the balls to dive under tower, not exactly for everyone.

There is a map that we've had for a long time that no one has used that I feel has good potential. Twisted treeline. Remember that? It's the not-summoner's rift that riot will probably shut down within a few months, the one that has no competitive scene at all.

No competitive? How interesting!

I know, the map is poorly shaped and has little-to-no features on it, but that could easily change, a good rebuilding and reshaping is long overdue and it would give riot an opportunity to give people like me a place to go in this competitive- dominated game. Add a bunch of buffs like the old version, make the jungle huge, add items like the ones in Black Market Brawlers, give it some character! The problem with making maps it that they often don't serve a purpose to anyone like the old dominion. The game wasn't balanced around it and as such fell apart in balance; ARAM on the other hand exists for people to screw around with reckless abandon and practically go on autopilot for a whole match. TT has been the sort of middle ground, you want to play league, but not too seriously; you work with it, don't scrap it like the crystal scar; people like me need a fun place to go now more than ever!

Or how about this? make a game mode that's quick and caters to lanning enthusiasts. A 1v1 mode if you will, like I dunno... the Magma Chamber! I was excited for that to come out, and was crushed when it was canceled because "Showdown had low play time" Of course it did! The matches last five minutes, ten at the most. People like 1v1s, my college campus, has a LAN every two months, and one of their tournaments is a League 1v1 tournament with I always participate in. There is an audience, it may not be that big, but if you offer enough features an incentives, more people will play it.

I know you have the resources, you make featured game modes all the time, you can make gorgeous maps to play on! All I'm asking for is something more permanent to fall back on for people like me. If you do it, I'll feel more comfortable spending money more often on this game. I just want a fun, less stressful game to play again. I know these sound like the ramblings of an old man falling on deaf ears, but I really want some sort of Riot employee to see this, because the game is actually depressing for me to play now.

Thank you for reading, I hope you understand