Ability Level-Up Queueing

Mârty·Jul 3, 2014·4 votes·872 views

League of Legends is about players showcasing their mastery of the game. Skirmish outcomes are heavily influenced by a player's personal skill, and how they execute their champion's abilities. This is a fundamental game design philosophy Riot Games adheres to when designing the game. However, there's a specific case that causes players to lose a fight based solely on fighting with the UI/keybindings.

The speed at which a player puts a point into their abilities after levelling up can determine the outcome of fights. More specifically, this happens often at levels 2 and 6. How fast a player can put a point into their ultimate after they hit level 6 can win the fight for them, or the other player misclicks and doesn't put a point into their ultimate, and they are unable to use it. Losing a fight because you didn't level up your skill fast enough really sucks.

I've come up with a solution that has a largely positive impact on the game experience for all players, as well as having secondary effects that solve issues like putting a point into the wrong skill. Off the top of my head, I can't think of any sort of downside to this. If you can think of any, please, tear apart my idea so we can improve it.

The Solution

Currently, a "+" appears above our skills when we level up. Players may then select a skill to level up.

My suggestion is to give players the chance to queue a point into a skill, which will be applied when they next level up.

At level 1, you'll be able to put a point into one skill. Immediately after, you'll be able to queue another point.

For example, I will put a point into my Q at level 1. I'll then queue a point into my E. Once I hit level 2, I'll immediately have my E available to me, and I'll be able to queue another point.

Players will also be able to undo a queued point, and put it into another skill instead if they change their minds at any point before they level up.

Issues Resolved using Ability Queueing

Being unprepared for a level 2/6/any other level engage because you couldn't put a point into your ultimate fast enough.
If you put a point into the wrong skill, you'll have an opportunity to fix it before you actually level up.
For new players, they may forget to put points into their skills as they start playing the game. With ability queueing, if they do miss a level up, they'll be able to plan for that next level up when applying a point. This gives them some leeway when it comes to ranking their abilities.

Potential Negative Effects

Some players might feel that ranking your abilities fast is part of the game. This is the main debate here. Personally, I don't feel levelling your skills is a part of an interesting gameplay pattern.

TL;DR - A system that allows us to put a point into one of our skills before we level up, when we level up the point is applied. The option to undo the queue will be available, minimizing the chance of levelling the wrong skill.

15 Comments

KingSmizzyJul 3, 20143 votes

There are hotkeys for skill-levelup, adding another mechanic tot he UI might make the game intimidating for new players and confusing to some. I set my hotkey to shift-q/w/e/r I can tap that and then the skill again to cast it immediatly

MârtyJul 3, 20141 votes

I mentioned the hotkeys in the first paragraph, so that kind of shows me you skimmed the thread rather than taking the time to understand the idea.

All this would be doing is adding an extra click at level 1. After level 1, it is literally the exact same process as live game. You just have the option of undoing your selection, and you'll be ready for the level up rather than fighting with the UI/Hotkeys in the to rank up a skill in the middle of a skirmish.

Can you describe exactly how this would be confusing to players?

Sneak DogJul 10, 20141 votes

It's an additional UI element that not many people will use. Your suggestion would mean there'd be another hotkey (can't use the levelup hotkey, people would accidently use it and be confused why the ability isn't available) and a visual reminder of what you queued. This takes up UI space, which is limited.

Also, you shouldn't always use this feature, because levelling your ability the moment before you use it is optimal for versatility (just like not levelling an ability at level 1 until you know which one you need).

Angry MonsterJul 3, 20142 votes

so you want to take skill out of the game. no thx go play another game

MârtyJul 3, 20142 votes

That's the main discussion here. Is putting a point into your abilities player skill, or fighting with the UI?

Personally, I feel it has nothing to do with player skill. I'm not a diamond 1 player because I can level my ultimate faster than you, I'm diamond 1 because my decision making and mechanics are pretty good.

Angry MonsterJul 3, 20142 votes

we are losing the tracking of jungle camps. You want to give up noticing when we are leveling and the skill of ctrl anda letter.

How dumb down do people want to make this game? crtl q,w,e,r is not that hard to do. MAybe the game should auto level at 5 11 16 so people do not mess up and forget to level R?

No decision making and on the fly reactions of reading changes in the game is what this game is all about. Not making precalculated decisions. Since you came up with this nub idea i am pretty sure you bought your account or got boosted.

MârtyJul 3, 20142 votes

If I bought my account, or got boosted, why do I have extremely consistent statistics across three full seasons?

Apart from that horrible accusation, like I said, clicking a skill level up faster than someone else doesn't make me a better player. It has nothing to do with interesting gameplay. It's just me fighting with the UI. If I win a 1v1 fight because I was able to rank up my ultimate faster than my opponent, it doesn't feel like a deserved victory.

I'd rather see players make good use of their skills.

LneacxJul 3, 20141 votes

Where would you put the queue?

MârtyJul 3, 20141 votes

I'm not exactly a UI designer, but I imagine it would be done the same way you normally level up a skill.

Picture it like this:

Currently, you gain 1 point as the game starts, and you can put a point into a skill. As soon as you put a point into a skill, the "+" that appears will still be there (maybe change colors?), and you'll be able to click one again. That would then queue your next point, indicated somehow in the section that shows what level your skill currently is at.

Once you level up, that point will automatically be applied, and the same way you level up now, you'll have another point to use. All this does is add an extra click at level 1. After level 1, it is the exact same as it is now.

GundayMondayJul 3, 20141 votes

It's really not that hard to move your thumb to the ctrl key when you're about to level up. ctrl + ability levels the ability.

MârtyJul 3, 20141 votes

It's also not that hard to type a time in the chat box when you clear a buff.

GundayMondayJul 3, 20141 votes

You're right, we should just have rito pre-program the entire game so we can just watch it play out like a movie. Pick our champs at the beginning and let them automatically win/lose. Rito pls!

MârtyJul 3, 20141 votes

Like I said, I'm not diamond 1 because I can level up my ultimate faster than you can. It has nothing to do with player skill.

GundayMondayJul 3, 20141 votes

It actually does matter. You level different abilities situationally. Little things like this and timers are what separate good players from great players.

MârtyJul 3, 20141 votes

This doesn't stop you from levelling different abilities in different situations.

The only difference here is that you put a point for your next level up, rather than your current level up. In live right now, you get 1 point at level 1, and 1 point every level up thereafter.

With level queueing, you'd have two points at level 1, and 1 point every level up thereafter. It's exactly the same aside from putting in two points at level 1.

The cool thing here is that you can undo your queue, and put it into a different skill. I've had situations where I've levelled the wrong skill. This has the cool side effect of allowing players to undo their queue and put it somewhere else.

Again, my ability to write down a jungle timer, or put a point into my skill doesn't make me diamond 1. My decision making, mechanics, builds, game knowledge, and playstyle make me diamond 1.