About the leveling process and how we can improve it
TLDR: unlock the pregame setup stuff in chunks and before level 15.
So, unlike most veteran League players, I don't have much issue about how the leveling system works. It does a good enough job at introducing the basic mechanics of league and honing new players. However, what i do not like is how slow power trickles to players in everything that has to do with pre-game setup. You can't even finish your setup fully until the very very end.
But, with the mastery rework this season, and the 5+1 system, i had an idea on how we can rework and improve the system to make leveling feel more satisfying than getting a common drop from a basic skeleton in Diablo 2.
3 hit passives are so prevalent nowadays, might as well incorporate them into leveling, amirite?
So here's what i thought we can do.
#Mastery
Ok let's be real. There's no reason why Mastery gaining should be so excruciatingly slow. I get the whole introducing mechanics but come on.
So let's do it like this. At level three, and every third level after that, five times - 3, 6, 9, 12, 15 - you get six mastery points. This means that unlike pissing in the wind with one point a level, every third level gets you the 5 lesser masteries and a "milestone" mastery, or even a keystone at lvl 9. This effectively doubles the speed of gaining Mastery because at lvl 15, i think people are familiar enough with the core game concepts to understand what masteries do for the most part. On top of that it would feel much MUCH more satisfying.
#Runes
Ok i know this makes you cash money, but hear me out. Let's be completely frank here and admit that T2 runes are a waste of IP, memory, hard disk space and brainpower to think about. T1 runes are cool and cheap but let's try to shake it up. Runes are even more simple than masteries so i find it even more ridiculous that you can't get a full setup before level 30.
So following the above pattern, let's do this: At levels 9, 12 and 15, you get an unlock, and at level 9 you unlock the two rune pages.
Now what is that unlock? Rune slot unlocking: three of each minor slot and one quint slot unlocked. Rune pack containing: 3x T1 Mark: Flat Attack Damage 3x T1 Mark: Flat Magic Penetration 3x T1 Seal: Flat Armor 3x T1 Seal: Flat Mana Regeneration 3x T1 Glyph: Flat Magic Resistance 3x T1 Glyph: Flat Ability Power 1x T1 Quint: Flat Attack Damage 1x T1 Quint: Flat Ability Power
That means that you can build your standard AD/Ar/MR/AD and MagPen/ManaReg/AP/AP pages immediately (up to how many rune slots you've unlocked), and gives you a good baseline on what to build on if you want to opt into some other T1 runes like Attack Speed or Cooldown Reduction, and provides a good even playing field.
Abolish T2 runes. They're just useless. T3 runes should be available from level 15 onwards, but keeping it at 20 isn't so bad since you've already got a free rune set of T1 runes to get through those 5 levels.
#Spells
Ok i get where you were going with this but take a look at your meta. Gating Flash just creates imbalances for no reason. It's like the only mandatory spell.
So a bit revised and simplified, ordered by the spell's usage:
Level 1
Level 8
Level 15
{{summoner:2}} 
All map/mode specific spells available from the get-go.
So this is basically basic functionality and simple spells from the word go: flash, jungling, and click to gain health/mana and click to do damage. Level 8 we get a bit more frisky. Ghost is kind of niche, Exhaust needs to be used at the right time on the right champion, and Barrier needs timing. At lvl 15 we get to the "creme of the crop": TP requires good map awareness to use properly and make plays, CV needs to be strategically used to reveal certain areas, and Cleanse's use is both niche and very precise.
All in all the conclusion is that at level 15 you should be pretty much sorted when the pre-game stuff in concerned, excluding any further rune purchases. Levels 15 through 30 should be used to hone your in-game skill not picking whether you want a mastery point for 1 AD or 1 HP/5.
And furthermore it all serves to make leveling more satisfying, since you're unlocking a lot of stuff at once, even though there are larger gaps between them. Ten common drops will always be outweighed by a rare or legendary drop, so to say.
