Poll: Micro vs Macro Counterplay
Hi guys, I just wanted to see what the Boards thinks about Micro Counterplay and Macro Counterplay. Which of the two do you think, when properly implemented, is healthier for champion design? To clarify:
Micro Counterplay - These are your more mechanics driven interactions between players. These are your skillshots, your orb walking, your .05 second reaction time flashes and so on. The entire Slayer class, from Assassins like Zed and Skirmishers like Fiora, almost literally base their entire design on. All champions have angles of Micro Counterplay opportunity, from missing your own abilities to dodging your opponents, and it's a common topic when it comes to more Combat orientated scenarios. This includes some more silly discussions like Mage players complaining that Assassins are too tanky. Regardless, micro counterplay leads to some of the most exciting highs in the game from fantastic montages to the sensation of pure excitement as you earn your first Pentakill with your skill at a champion. Would the game be better if we put a higher emphasis on increasing micro mechanics, allowing more opportunities to express your and your opponents' skills in any given moment?
Macro Counterplay - These are your more strategy driven interactions between players, and with objectives and PVE. These are you splitpushes, your your Baron/Dragon Control, and your general shotcalling as you dictate the pace of the game. Utility classes, especially Mages and Tanks, tend to lean in this direction by providing Waveclear or stronger shotcalling and engage abilities for the rest of the team. Much like Micro Counterplay, all champions can Macro their way to victory but not necessarily in the same ways. Not all champions can Splitpush without being caught out easily, it's no secret that ADCs aren't typically the team's engage tool, and beyond just champions, the amount of players who can't tell the difference between offensive and defensive waveclear is astonishing. Despite these inequalities both in design and player skill, Macro Counterplay is the key to victory and climbing the ranks of the League; as your game knowledge expands and your strategies gain depth, you can overcome your champions own inherent weaknesses simply by executing the right strategy around them. Would the game be better if we put a higher emphasis on increasing Macro Mechanics, allowing more opportunities to express your and your opponent's skills over the course of a game?
Now of course, there are a lot of greys and fuzziness and what ifs in this discussion. Flanking maneuvers to start a fight are quite literally where Macro meets Micro, for example. A lot of Macro skills like CSing can also be used adequately as arguments for Micro skills, and vice versa. A more proper answer would probably be somewhere in the middle. With this in mind though, I want to see where you lean. Even if you believe that there should be a healthy mix of Macro and Micro, in which direction do you think champion and game design should lean?