You're missing the true problem with the changes, Riot.
A couple of days ago RiotScruffy put out a post outlining some of the long term issues that they've observed in the game.
The important takeaway for me was in the section titled "Long term learnings":
In there RiotScruffy asserts that Riot has been changing stuff too fast, without giving people enough time to settle into the changes. He also says that making substantial changes to the meta can be very disruptive to players, as it can reduce the effectiveness of their playstyles to the point of making them feel useless.
The final takeaway from this is that, while they feel they've been causing undue pain to players, all of these changes are ultimately made with the goal of improving the game.
Honestly just seeing any sort of acknowledgement this is pretty good. It's good that you guys at least seem to realize that constant changes at a breakneck speed is off-putting. Also, I feel that LoL is Riot's game and they should be pushing it in the direction that makes the most sense to them.
However, RiotScruffy is making an essential error in his reasoning which is this:
It is impossible for RiotGames to make League of Legends "better". They can only make it "different".
I can only speak for myself.
What I will say is, the things that I liked about LoL, the things that attracted me to the game, be it the old masteries or pre-rework champions were things that I valued... not because of the potential of improvement, but because I liked them for what they were.
When Riot makes an update, changes a feature, reworks a champion I liked, they have permanently deleted a thing I liked from the game forever.
Maybe I'll like the new thing, maybe I won't. But that new thing is not "better", it is not "an improvement".
It is only different.
So when Riot removes something I like and replaces it with something else, especially if I don't like it, and calls it "an improvement"... it tells me that they do not understand that I value the thing that was there before. It tells me they you do not appreciate the work of the Riot employees who made the thing that I liked.
So RiotGames, continue to make the changes you deem appropriate, but remember that your changes are not making the game better.
Because there's at least one former player here who thinks you've made the game worse.
