Improving the Team Builder: Call to Arms

ModCaptainMårvelous·May 2, 2014·5 votes·660 views

So the team builder, as it is now, has it's ups and downs. The main problem that I've been seeing is that there's massive, long queues for certain roles while other roles are basically far too long and have too much of a need. So to combat this problem (and in the process solve some of League's other issues people have), I decided to port in something from one of the team builder's "forefathers":

#Call to Arms

###What is Call to Arms? Call to Arms was originally an "event" implemented in World of Warcraft's dungeon finder to encourage people to queue more for healer and tanking roles as opposed to the DPS queue, which at the time were always full-to-burst.

"Call to Arms" activate when there was an overload of one queue (Usually tank or healer) and not enough of the other queues to handle it. In addition to the average dungeon bonus, being in a call to arms would give you an additional reward. Sometimes gold, sometimes extra honor or dungeon points, and sometimes a rare mount you may not be able to normally get/something extremely hard to acquire. These were given in the form of a "goodie bag".

In porting this to League, we can solve some of the overloaded queues while also encouraging people to both try new roles as well as fill in the gaps for roles that don't have enough players as is. This should solve any issues that persist with one role or one lane being overloaded while others are lacking.

###How would this work in League?

When a call to arms is active, a special icon will be next to lanes and roles. Here's a small little mock-ups I did in MS paint. It's pretty bad but you get the basic gist of what I'm aiming for:

http://i.imgur.com/A36UuXb.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/5uZjk2P.jpg

Now, when you queue for this role or lane, in addition to the normal bonus you get for playing League you might get something extra. This could be as simple as a little bonus IP or could go so far as a "grab bag" of rare goodies. Perhaps a one win IP bonus, a voucher for a mystery skin, maybe even ultra rare Call to Arms icons or ward skins that can only be obtained in this queue.

###Possible Positive Outcomes?

People who use team builder but are more flexible can get faster queues.
Those who are "behind" or new and want more IP to unlock more champions/runes/etc. will have this option.
Encourage more diversity in champion roles and playing.
Rare unlocks will encourage more playing for some who need goals to work towards at all times (such as myself).
Serve as a tool to distribute new icons/ward skins/etc. without having to resort to holiday queues.

###Possible Negative Outcomes?

Troll queuing for the sake of free items. (IE: Support Garen who goes 0/21/3 but gets a reward for a CtA)
People who are unsure of their assigned role and don't do well, causing strain on the team.
Frustration from "luck" of getting unlocks or skins compared to others.
Might further diminish those who use other queues or play other maps.
Possible skew for those who own many champions versus others who own fewer.

###Solutions to these negatives?

For one thing, make the reward only applicable if you're not reported on your own team. Gotta play a legit game and not upset others to be given a reward. Further more, this could serve as a gateway to other map uses as well as possibly give different rewards when it comes to queues. For an example, say Team Builder appears on the Crystal Scar or Twisted Treeline. Playing CtA on these in the team builder can award unique avatars or in-game effects (Such as a special beam color or capture effect for Alters/dominion nodes) that are only for these modes.

###Conclusion

The team builder is a great idea and so far it does help a lot when you want to play a specific role or champion. However, some roles see more representation than others and can result in longer queues. We completely have the power to alter and change this, but it will be a slow process. While this idea may or may not be successful and worth investigating, hopefully this will encourage people to start thinking up ideas on encouraging others to get into the team builder and figure out suggestions to play roles so that EVERYONE has a faster queue!

9 Comments

JsKingBooMay 3, 20142 votes

Instead of, say, a 1/10 chance of getting a prize, how about "At 10 games, you get this! At 30 games, you get this! At 100 games, you get this!"

ModCaptainMårvelousMay 3, 20142 votes

Eh, it works but I personally don't like that. I mean yeah, that's a totally viable alternate option but I prefer random chance. Maybe 1-9 CtA's you have a random chance while every 10th CtA you, for sure, get a goodie bag.

EDIT: Not saying your idea is bad. I just personally dislike it. Your idea is 100% viable and could probably work better than mine!

Needles KMay 3, 20142 votes

You're not addressing the negative outcome that IIRC Lyte cited as his reason for not offering rewards: It potentially subverts the intent of the Team Builder. The idea behind the mode is that people get to do what they want to do so everyone is happy and nobody feels like they're "taking one for the team." Creating external incentives that aren't aligned with any idea of "fun" can lead people to feel pressured to do things they don't really want to do, which engenders the kind of bitterness that Team Builder was designed to avoid.

ModCaptainMårvelousMay 3, 20141 votes

It's true, there is some negative to such, but at the same time some people enjoy extra incentive. Part of the reason I mainly played a tank/healer in Wrath was because I was a collector, I enjoyed the idea of gaining extra gear or some little trinket that couldn't affect gameplay.

Likewise, this isn't "taking one for the team" so much as saying "Hey, we have a shortage of this. If you're willing to help out, that'd be nice!". As for the reward, some people find getting a reward fun. I certainly do (as previously stated) and I think regardless of the team builder, there will always be bitterness in it. It's one of those things about this type of genre you just can't avoid.

I like the idea that it's an option instead of a clearcut, pick this choice. I'm certain that it can be balanced a bit more so that the rewards are less "OMG I NEED THIS NOW!" and more so "Oh cool, I got a little extra for playing something people were short of!"

It's similar to people in ranked or blind pick who say 'fill'. By all means you don't have to say it but you are certainly helping the team by doing this, something that Team Builder lacks but everyone appreciates.

I Main SwainMay 3, 20141 votes

If CtA was implemented for Team Builder there wouldn't be any pressure to play the CtA Role because you can que as whatever you want regardless. If someone really doesn't want to play Jungle they aren't going to choose Jungle just because CtA is enabled for that role, they can choose whatever they want. In short, the idea behind team builder would still be intact.

ThePirateKingMay 3, 20141 votes

I like.

Sly EffectiveMay 3, 20143 votes

Forget the reward structure. Just list which role will Queue you the fastest. Players who want a fast game will take those roles if they know them, others will wait for the role they want the most.

ModCaptainMårvelousMay 3, 20141 votes

That's fair as well and could definitely help out in picking faster queues. Though I kinda doubt that there will be that many people who are interested in queue times. After all, why would I play something I'm decent at in 4 minutes when I can play something I'm great at in 6+?

Hyrum GraffMay 4, 20141 votes

First, this (sly's suggestion) is a feature they are developing.

Second, have you seen how many people complain about TB que times, or don't play TB because of que times? (If not, check out some of Lyte's TB threads). Moreover, it's more than a 2 min difference; maybe that's the difference to find a group, but if you're queing for mid, after you find a group, you have to wait to find a support too. If you que for support, the mid slot is already full, and your games start much faster. I'd guess it's about a 5 min difference between mid and support, on average.