Has Riot Lost Touch With Their Community?

Common Teammate·4/15/2018, 4:35:59 PM·51 votes·13,961 views

I don't want to make this a very long post, very brief, very manageable. But I'd like to know, from whomever happens to stumble across this post:

Has Riot lost what made League as fun as it once was?

I ask this because there truly does seem to be an issue bubbling up in the League scene and it's beginning to become apparent that the game has, perhaps, become too competitive, to the point that it's no longer an enjoyable experience. Take a look at some of the bigger content creators on YouTube. Take a look at yourself.

What do you think?

36 Comments

JustaNewb4/15/2018, 4:41:48 PM34 votes

Being as they think 1,000,000 people who watch streams are mathematically more important than the other 80,000,000 players? Going with yes.

Though to be fair I think it is more Tencent than RIOT. Korean/Chinese games are ALWAYS like that.

I am Pacman4/15/2018, 6:14:13 PM26 votes

No they have not lost touch with their community.

Or maybe they have idk but the point is that it's not the issue.

Riot has lost touch with their game. They know that they are losing people, they know that bot lane is too impactful, that players are complaining about little agency etc.

They don't know how to fix it or they don't want to. The current game state is the result of 2-3 years of small (with exception of preseasons) changes to the game here and there that individually don't have too big of an impact on the game but all together we end up with this mess of a game. The entire game has shifted, base stats are way different, items are different, new champions and reworks, runes are different and frankly riot doesn't know how to capture the old magic of league.

Its either that explanation or the far worse one that riot actually wants the game to be like this.

They want shorter faster paced games but obviously they never intended it to be at the cost of laning phase being basically useless.
They wanted supports to have more agency over the game so they introduced support items that make them feel impactful but they didn't want it to skew the balance of bot lane/vs the rest of the map.
They wanted comebacks to be easier so they increased passive gold generation which not only further made laning and trying to get a lead more useless but also gave supports/adcs more power.

They keep trying to fix/change a specific aspect of the game and usually they succeed in making the game faster/roles more impactful but with the unintented consequence of drastically altering other parts of the game they couldn't have seen coming.

Now they are trying to deal with all the unintended consequences but they don't know how without reverting other things or without fucking up another part of the game while trying to fix it.

WiegrafOfValor4/15/2018, 6:10:27 PM12 votes

Yes, but not out of incompetence. It was deliberated, they just got overtake by a Chinese company and now their focus is on making money, not making a good game.

DBS Ronovon4/15/2018, 4:54:39 PM9 votes

Absolutely.

They have a system that puts people on Time out for failing to accept matches. This system also makes people wait to play if the client breaks. The chat system can get you banned, even if you pay a bunch of money for in game stuff, which is stealing. The penalty system is automated but left to the players to write out reports pitting players hatefully against each other. Champs, landscape, and stats change too frequently so people can never learn what works for them and be competitive. The LCS is rigged and has nothing to do with the real League of Legends game we all endure. Riot support doesn't fix injustices with their poorly made LPQ punishment system. Riot is driving the game into the ground by not heeding the advice of the players who hate the game currently, but used to love it when it was fun. Developers want fame instead of making the game good. Developers what players to entertain them instead of the players getting to have fun, my evidence of this is the alternate game modes released are not REGULAR URF every other week, or permanently. Fanboys flood the forums and only exacerbate these problems by blindly defending Rito, the developers, and the systems in place including MMR, and the penalty system. The MMR system and Honor system are suspected to be linked making the game about how well behaved you are vs how skilled you are to rank up. MMR system is hidden, making most players lose faith in the system, making the system seem or actually be unfair. Badly designed champions like Ekko and Illaoi are not champions anyone can relate to, or their kit doesn't make sense. Veigar

TheLegendaddy4/16/2018, 5:24:26 AM6 votes

It does feel like Riot is completely ignoring their average gamer community even though that is their majority and the only reason esports is possible. They went so hard into competitive and team oriented that most games are a complete stomping with very little room for comebacks because 5 random people over the internet are not going to know how to comeback like a 5 man team who plays together for 14hrs daily. I would argue though the game was hardly ever real "fun," it has always been pretty damn competitive. Riot seems to lean more into satisfying to win rather than "I had fun playing."

CoolDude12R4/15/2018, 10:39:22 PM6 votes

I don't know what is the situation on NA or EU but it is totally cancer on TR server. As a Turkish player, I complain about this.

Games are full of rage, hate and "who f*cks the another much" now. I honestly say I miss old days.

LVL99 Helper TK4/16/2018, 4:59:22 AM4 votes

the game was always hardcore competitive, that's what allowed it to be addicting and fun.

It is actually going in a casual direction now which is the reason it isn't fun anymore. If you cannot solo carry in solo queue, the game is done. Bring back solo carry potential.

Superspick4/16/2018, 2:51:05 PM3 votes

No. They are entirely too aware of what their playerbase wants, this is the exact reason you see them TRYING. No one can say they are not, but all can say their efforts are not working.

Why?

Because the issue is not their finger on the pulse of the community. They already know. The issue is they are intentionally taking this game in a direction that is different from their players because their players are no longer the group they need to appease.

Make no mistake people. If Rito and LCS hit their stride as a true e-sport in a similar, but larger vein as SC then their -players- are irrelevant commodities. Skin sales will not even be a blip in their income from tickets, sponsor, the team's franchising, there are JV teams across the country for this shit and colleges are beginning to offer scholarships for this!!

It doesn't really matter how accurate their assessment of the playerbase's woes is because they are not following a path to fixing those issues. Those issues are not in scope for where they are taking the game. Players need to realize that now and act accordingly.

I see so much anger and frustration on the boards and it all is a symptom of an unmet expectation and no one is coming out and shining a light on that. Riot IS definitely trying to bridge that gap, but players need to identify the writing on the wall too so the real conversation can be had. It isn't "Rito doesn't listen"; it's really "Rito has bigger fish to fry".

I feel confident in this because i'm a player too. Not high elo mind, but i even play on LAN, alongside my NA accounts. I hate the changes they make also, but i don't ever find myself outraged because it makes sense to me they would want to focus on making the Esports side "better", so to speak. It makes sense why they'd feel "hmm, on the one hand, skin/cosmetic sales made up a huge portion of revenue but those are not always reliable. Having an international presence as a competitive sport that has us partnered with and sponsored by the biggest names in tech AND also shit like established colleges, artists and other industries? Duh - let's make changes that strengthen that position, instead!"

ThunderSkelett4/15/2018, 9:17:49 PM3 votes

I remember when i could just jump into a game with my friends adn have fun now the game is way to competetiv and because all my freinds play carry roles no one has real impact on the game.

I Main Swain4/16/2018, 6:07:47 PM2 votes

i would say its gotten a lot less about having fun and a lot more about being competitive, and not just with LCS but in general. it used to be normal to see off meta kits, playstyles, and teams, but nobody minded and it even would work out pretty well, but now its become a lot more about winning which isnt necessarily a bad thing but it shouldnt be at the expense of fun. league was never meant to be 100% competitive, only to have the option to be.

StpTlkinAnBndOvr4/16/2018, 12:23:26 AM2 votes

Did they ever have touch? Anyone I know is leaving because theyre so abs. tired of the cry babies. You cant do or say fucking anything or some 10 year old with a report button n two friends is going to troll you and get you penalized in some way.

Amumu

Supreme Senpai694/17/2018, 12:32:59 AM1 votes

You seen the constant negativity on these boards? Half the people think one thing. Half the people think the opposite. Both are extremely rude and negative about it without offering any content or substance. The front page is just shitposts. Every now and then a good post pops up and Riot usually replies to it.

I'd surely understand if they did

Ben Sharpio4/15/2018, 5:20:50 PM1 votes

yeah 'cause they keep chain buffing braindead supports and adcs, giving them all the skins, making bot lane too impactful, 0 skill whatsoever (point and click everything). And they're also adding features that appeal to terrible players in silver/bronze. The jungle plants are an example of appealing to shitty players and removing any type of complexity the jungle role once had. Being spotted from 5 screens away by the vision plant was probably suggested, then added by some dumbass rioter that is either low elo, or doesn't play the jungle role at all.

Cavemantero4/16/2018, 2:23:00 AM1 votes

For me the game has been shit since post S5....this is when the 'we want faster game' complaints (so the bads could surrender faster and re-queue to lose again...even in normals) and ideal of 'The tower isn't supposed to protect you, you're supposed to protect the tower', and the ok-ing of snowballing early to mid game apparently started dominating Riot's redesign philosophy and its foolish not to think Tencent isn't behind this considering e-sports is huge in korea and gaining ground in China as well which = MORE ADVERTISING $$$.

The result is the unfun URF-lite garbage fire we have now where you simply want bottom to win every early trade and tower dive pre-6 because you can. Then snowball from there. Anything that helps this result becomes meta regardless of the champ buffs/nerfs. There will always be a stale meta because of this type of design putting 85% of champions pretty much at a disadvantage (before player skill comes in of course). Sad really.

Ratpie4/16/2018, 2:24:33 AM1 votes

I am not sure it is that they have lost touch. People have always whined and there will always be debate about changes, but there hasn't been as dramatic a shift in frustration like this current season. I really think it is the new runes system. I think Rito went out and tried something big, and due to the complexities of this game it just made all sorts of messes. Overpowered some champs, while smothering many more. There are so many fires from it that Rito has been in damage control and I am not even sure they know how to fix it. So in the end I think that they gambled big and lost and do not know how to fix it.

I would have no problem if the reverted the whole rune system and start this season over.

mack91124/16/2018, 8:11:38 AM1 votes

Have we as a community lost touch with what league truly is as a game ?

FrostQueensPlane4/16/2018, 10:56:14 AM1 votes

Lets make this clear, the nu gen rioters like meddler repetoir rickless have only ever been in touch with their own privates, their understanding of "communication" is they'll talk at you, ignore 90% of all real criticisms and questions and just do whatever the fuck they want.

deadlychuck4/16/2018, 10:05:05 PM1 votes

They neglected fun, to improve "quality". Now all you've got let if a high quality piece of software that sucks as a game.

Really the problem is that they latch onto the new player's opinions far more than the old players and the result is that they homogenize the game chasing the opinions of fringe players.

A good example of this is how they handled the support role. They wanted to make the support role appeal to more people. Why? The people who enjoyed the style of gameplay of support are now completely neglected in the game's design now that it's removed, and all they accomplished was to provide players with a role which was kinda more like the one they wanted for when they couldn't get the role they wanted.