Boards›Gameplay

The Problems and the Potential in the Runes System

Lil Gr33n Ghouls·7/30/2015, 2:22:02 AM·3 votes·648 views

Let me preface this by saying that this post has both positive and negative comments about the current rune system. I don't claim to have all the solutions, know all the problems or that any solutions I suggest are the only correct ones. I am writing this to try and start a conversation. I also don't expect Riot to comment or even look at this; they have a plan (hopefully haha) for how and when they are going to take steps to balance this game. Having said that, by making the rune system better, players are more likely to spend IP on runes. When a player spends IP on runes they are more likely to buy IP boost or Champs with RP; making a better runes system something that will benefit Riot and the players. Finally, while I think the rune system has flaws, and more importantly potential, I do NOT think it is the most urgent thing to fix and I am not trying to start a whine fest. What I hope to do by posting this is start a conversation.

Simplicity:

All the rune's stat values should be 3 digits, X.XX, and end in 0 or 5. The difference between 0.78 armor and 0.80 armor per rune is negligible. This isn't really for calculation since the game does a good job of doing the calculations for you there is the rune calculator on the the site (it's under the Summoners tab on the game info page if you didn't know). Making the runes look simple and consistent makes comparing runes easier and the concept of getting runes less daunting to new players.

Pay to Win:

Runes actually are NOT pay to win contrary to what many people think. Most people make the argument that even though you can only but runes with IP, the IP you spend on runes could also be used on champions, which you can get with RP; therefor spending RP on champs means you have more IP for runes. While that is a reasonable train of thought, especially if you consider the fact that you "buy" IP through IP boost, since you can still get as many champs and runes as you want without any RP. It is more "pay to unlock things faster" than "pay to win", which in my opinion is fine. Riot's gotta make their money.

Rune Pages:

I think that the system of starting with a limited amount of rune pages and then being able buy rune pages up to maximum limit is good. I would suggest having a scaling cost (to a cap) for rune pages though. That way less competitive players could still get one or two more pages and begin to make specialized pages while more competitive players can still get the max 20. For example, first page costs 3150. then 4800, then the rest cause 6300. I saw this post on the boards a while ago http://goo.gl/fdXoZN . It's asking for the ability to edit rune pages in champ select if you have max rune pages. I think it makes sense as it provides incentive to purchase max rune pages, therefor a possibility of more money for Riot, and increases runes strategic value in game at max pages.

Introducing Runes To New Players:

I really think that runes and masteries should have their own in depth guide, either in the client, or a link from the client to a webpage. Even though there are numerous sources for info on runes and masteries on the web, many are outdated, and it can be hard for a new player to know whats up to date. Another idea is instead of having players buying runes pre-level 30, is having 6 pre-made rune pages (one for each role fighter, assassin, ect.) with tier one runes. The player would be able to look at the rune pages so they can see what types of runes are generally used for each role, but would be unable to edit them. They would still unlock one rune slot at each level so that the player will have that added excitement/accomplishment at each level, but at level 30 they would lose access to these pages and start with their 2 blank rune pages. The 6 pre-made rune pages should still be available for reference in case the player gets stuck deciding what runes they want.

In-Game Impact:

Runes have a small, but (for the most part) noticeable impact, but they are simple enough that most people will be fine copy pasting their runes from someone else and never putting thought into them; which is not what you want from a strategy heavy game. So I suggest giving runes an overall slight boost in stats. By making runes more valuable stat wise you add another layer of strategy to the game. I think giving utility/non-combat (movement speed, health\mana regen, life steal\spellvamp, ect) stat runes a slight edge over combat stat runes (AD, AP, Armor, ect) runes will encourage a mix of runes with specific utility runes for certain types of champions. You also create a situation where players with low IP (newer players, early lvl 30 players) have to make a decision. Players will have to decide between getting better runes, and making their champions better at specific roles, or getting more champions to have a larger champion pool to choose from. I think this is a very interesting idea that will make players think before they buy random champions for the heck of it. This effect does eventually dissipate as players play longer and get more IP, but I think that since so many champions work best with certain runes, and may not work as well with a generic rune page.

Cost VS Stats:

The cost of upgrading the dirt cheap tier two AP glyphs , 315 IP for 9, to those nice brand new and (not so) shiny tier three runes, 3690 IP for 9, for a whopping 2.43 more AP is . I don't mind dishing out IP for runes at all, but the cost of tier three runes compared to other runes is ridiculous. For the cost of ONE tier three AP glyphs (410 IP) I can get NINE tier three AP glyphs and have 95 IP left over. That means for 315 IP I can get 8.28 AP OR I can spend 410 IP for 1.19 AP. That's ridiculous. I can't think of a reason why the IP cost:Stats ratio needs to increase with each tier, but I'm pretty sure there is and I just can't think of it now, so for sake of discussion I'll assume there is one. The IP cost of tier three runes compared to stats is too high. Tier one AP glyphs cost 45 IP for 5.94 AP compared to 315 IP for 8.28, a 2.34 increase. The difference here is that since the overall prices are lower, the increase in IP cost:Stats, is much less noticeable. The problem with that is that since the cost difference is so little from tier one to tier two that the cost increase from tier two to tier three is not only visually daunting, but very impracticable and illogical. I think a system where what we currently have as tier two (45 IP) runes are tier one runes, 175-225 IP tier two runes and keeping our tier three runes cost, but increase the stats. Also a system where you can refund runes for a portion of the spent IP would be good. Maybe 1/2 for tier one and 1/4 for tier two. This runes still are an IP drain, as they should be, but old runes are not wasted. This would encourage new players to buy runes and provide incentive to upgrade runes.

Overall I think these ideas would make runes more accessible, more strategic, and maintain the simplicity of common rune pages, while encouraging customization. Here is an example of what some common runes might look like taking all of the above ideas into account (I'm not doing quints since they have so many different "standard" stats.)

Tier one Glyph: 45 IP for 0.90 AP or 315 IP for 8.10 AP (this is actually a .02 AP decrease per glyph compared to current tier two glyphs for the same cost.) Tier one Mark: 45 IP for 0.75 AD or 315 IP for 6.75 AD (this is actually a .01 AP increase per mark compared to current tier two marks for the same cost.) Tier one Seal: 45 IP for 0.80 Armor or 315 IP for 7.2 Armor ( this is actually a .02 Armor per seal increase compared to current tier two seal for the same cost.)

Tier two Glyph: 200 IP for 1.15 AP or 1800 for 11.25 AP. So with 1/2 IP refund you spend 1642 (rounded from 1642.5) for 2.25 more AP Tier two Mark: 200 IP for 0.90 AD or 1800 for 8.10 AD. So with 1/2 IP refund you spend 1642 (rounded from 1642.5) for 1.35 more AD Tier two Seal: 200 IP for 1 Armor or 1800 for 9 armor. So with 1/2 IP refund you spend 1642 (rounded from 1642.5) for 1.80 more armor

Tier three Glyph: 380 IP for 1.50 AP or 3420 for 13.05 AP. So with 1/4 refund you spend 2970 for 2.25 more AP Tier three Mark: 380 IP for 1.05 AD or 3420 for 9.45 AD. So with 1/4 refund you spend 2970 for 1.35 more AD Tier three Seal: 380 IP for 1.2 Armor or 3420 for 10.80 Armor. So with 1/4 refund you spend 2970 for 1.80 more armor

If you're still reading thank you and I hope you found this at least somewhat interesting.

Sorry no TL'DR :p

10 Comments

Bonipherus7/30/2015, 2:30:13 AM2 votes

I made a thread about this in 5.11 so I'll post what I said here

Note: I am ignoring the profile-leveling mechanic and the feature of runes where you have to level up to unlock the slots to put your runes.

There have been people claiming that the rune system is "pay to win" and they get heavy backlash when they come out and say this. Mostly this is met with typical internet language but its always the same line of thought: you buy runes with IP not with RP, so it's not pay to win because you don't buy IP .The truth is that it is not really a pay to win system, it can be if you shovel out enough money for IP boosts and flat IP purchases, but generally speaking it is actually a play to win system.

No, "play to win" does not mean you can't beat someone else who has played for longer than you have. Player skill has a lot to do with the game; probably more than anything else. This is just a term used to signify the type of system being addressed.

Runes, as they are currently incorporated in the game, can offer power to a champion which can compliment their kit or item builds by either enhancing these strengths or for compensating weaknesses. But the content below should demonstrate just how this system of runes in League of Legends does more harm than good.

First and foremost comes the most obvious critique of the rune system: the advantages of runes vs no runes. New players are given only two blank rune pages and zero runes to fill them with. With no runes in these pages, these players are immediately subjected to power differentials between them and more seasoned veterans of the game. This isn't even taking player skill into account, it is just a straight forward stat-boosted advantage. It's kind of like giving one athlete water and another one Gatorade and asking them to compete. Sure, the athlete who had water can outperform the one who was given the Gatorade, but, statistically speaking, the guy who got those extra key-nutrients will perform better than the one who did not. A player must overcome this power gap by investing in runes, you get runes from IP, and you acquire IP from playing games. This is why this is a play to win system.

Newer players feel the effects of this system more than anyone else, because the system isn't designed to accommodate or help them. Newer players are burdened by the lack of champions they own and this is compounded by the rune system. Most new players, including myself, found it more desirable to purchase new champions that we found enjoyable (or thought we would find to be enjoyable) rather than to spend our IP on runes which we had very little experience with and understanding of to begin with. Also we were worried about choosing the right runes for the job and it was just a better option to pick the champion we knew we enjoyed rather than to pick a few of those runes which may be useful for this one character but not for every one of them.There's also the ranked feature, currently one has to unlock a minimum of 16 champions to participate in ranked games. This further encourages new players to buy the champion over runes. Why would you choose to buy those runes which may be somewhat useful for this champ but not the other ones you also play? Why buy them if you end up not really liking this champion that much further down the line? What if I just waste my hard earned points on useless runes? These are the kinds of questions that go through a new players mind when making their purchases. It just naturally seems to be a better, safer investment to buy the champion.

Runes can actually hold back player experimentation. When players are forced to grind and pay for runes, they are not buying champions to play and try out, which typically means less experimentation than if a player was buying and playing more champions. The result of less champions in a newer player's pool means a general lessening of role accessibility, item knowledge, and understanding of other champion mechanics for newer players*. They essentially learn the game slower than they likely would otherwise.

*Yes, free champion rotations are a thing but I know not everyone plays all the new champs that are free that week. I know there are still champions I have yet to try out (for many reasons) even though I have been playing since mid season 3. You also have to account for time constraints and general accessibility to play the free champions. Also it could take weeks before a champion is available for free play, and we know how impatient people can be. Free champion rotation actually increases player prioritization of buying champions over runes because of the want to play the champions you like will likely outweigh the option to buy some runes.

**To elaborate a bit on the point of understanding champion mechanics, I acknowledge the lol client contains some champion tips, counters, ability descriptions, and ability previews and that other sites give other counters and information on champions, items, and strategies. But these guides don't often make up for never playing as a certain champion. That kind of experience matters a whole lot more than reading about it or watching a streamer play as or against that champ. For example, It took me a long time to understand Katarina and some of her weaknesses. I understood that she was an assassin, magic resistance would help protect me from her burst, exhaust was good against her, hard cc stopped her ultimate and that sort of stuff, but I did not understand that she couldn't just jump on me again for free (due to her lack of mana costs and mana bar that would allow a player to gauge if she could perform the combo again or not) soon after she had just done so. So after Kat jumped on me and I saw my health bar get chunked... I backed off and ran in fear of another burst of damage coming to kill me any moment, rather than going in and harassing her with my abilities and auto attacks while she was vulnerable due to her cooldowns. Maybe if I had played as Katarina back then I would have understood this weakness and played better against her.

Runes are imbalanced. Ignoring rune tiers, the runes are quite improperly balanced in power and can easily create "best-of" and "useless" categories of runes. Some of these runes can be so strong that they even verge on mandatory (remember how armor yellows out shined everything else?) and others are still completely worthless and not worth your IP. Not only are some runes plain better and more efficient than others, runes almost never receive adjustments in patches, so the imbalance persists.

Some champions are only able to play effectively with certain rune setups. This applies to all roles but I will be discussing the jungle role as I believe it's unique PvE qualities make the argument simpler as it removes the other player from the equation. With the season 5 jungle being much more punishing than before, proper rune page setups for your champions create a make-or-break early game clear for many champions. Obviously, strong jungling champions like fiddlesticks will be more-or-less okay due to their advantageous kits but many weaker jungling champions are not as well prepared to fend off the beefed up monsters with just a hunter's machete. If you don't have proper runes for such characters, you're going to fall behind more and more due to the impact of early clear speeds. If a jungler is unable to make an adequate first clear in the jungle and obtain enough gold for the upgraded jungle item and enough "potion tax", you have to recall back to base, heal up, walk back to that last camp you missed, clear it out, recall again, buy the item, and walk back to the jungle to try and get the next buff (which is likely be gone by now). Jungling in League of Legends currently requires strong jungling champions with optimized jungling clears and therefore optimized runes. Jungling with only a few options on your small amount of pre-made rune pages is a hindrance to players. If a newer player has only a few pages made for support and midlane, they have the option to jungle, but not the really the necessary stats to effectively take on the beasts between the lanes. Have fun jungling with an ad jungler with full ap and gold/10 runes.

Runes create more imbalance than just stat disparities. Players do not know what runes other players have, they can guess based off of norms and expectations, or try and figure out other player's runes by looking at the stats of that champion (you can see these stats and bonuses by hoovering your mouse over the stat you wish to examine in the box that appears after clicking on that champion). But even with these methods you can never be completely certain. Capitalizing on this lack of information, other developers have created apps that allow the players who possess the application to view everyone's rune pages at the click of a button. This information gives these players a leg-up on their opponents. These apps give an even larger advantage to players with fast computers than they already have because not all computers can be expected to run these kinds of applications (You also have players like me who won't use these apps out of principles because I do not view them as legitimate and are actually cheating). There is an argument to be made that Riot is actually enabling the funding of these apps with their current practices.

Runes don't create proper strategic diversity. Runes are only able to be customized before a match, not during champ select or in game. This means you are stuck with what you have. You can not adjust your runes to the situation at hand. If you don't have optimized runes for the team you are up against or the team you and your teammates have crafted (runes designed for split pushing, late or early game strategy, champion-specific jungling, if you're against a heavy ad or ap team) you're at a disadvantage. The only way strategic diversity plays a role here is if you have a ton of rune pages all pre-made to account for these strategies. But the typical player is not even equipped with such a diverse and expansive rune page system, let alone newer players who are trying to scavenge up a decent page for themselves.

Lil Gr33n Ghouls7/30/2015, 3:22:46 AM1 votes

Thank you for the comment.

I think that the "play to win" is a somewhat necessary evil, but it can worked on for sure. I don't think that the advantage that players that have been playing longer have over newer is actually a big deal until lvl 30 since you are mostly playing with player of a slimier lvl and afterward the mmr\ranking system should theoretically match players who is more skilled with a player that has more IP, but is less skill since it's based on win rates. That's if the matchmaking system is working properly.

Lil Gr33n Ghouls7/30/2015, 5:16:34 AM1 votes

With any currency(IP) based game it is only natural that those who have played longer will have more of the currency, and therefor more in-game items; in this case runes. It is possible however, to make it less of an IP drain by making it more cost efficient and allowing refunds of lower tier runes. Unless you get rid of the IP cost of runes players who have been playing longer, and therefor have more IP, will ALWAYS have the "advantage". But really once you have a full rune page, I got mine a week or so after reaching 30, there really isn't that much of an advantage. Also, the advantage of having more pages for different stratagems is mostly negated in queues like blinds and team builder, where you don't know what your team is until after champ select.

Oh, you mentioned not knowing what other people's runes are, but you can easily find out after champs select using a third party. Sites like lolking will tell you what rune page is active and there is an app called lolwiz that is approved by Riot and sponsored by C9 that will tell you everyone's runes and mastireis. Well it tells you exactly what their runes are but masteries are presented 21/9/0 for example. For lolwiz once you have it all you have to do is press shift+tab and it gives you a lot of info.