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We seriously need someone from Rito to explain this to us...

CherryWorm··49 votes·3,929 views

So this is about this years April'sFools, as you might have already guessed. It is not a post to shittalk Riot, I really just want an honest answer from them, and I think it would be the best way to calm down the community. I am sure Riot has their reasons for acting like they did, I just think they should share them.

Let me explain where I stand on this issue first: I have no problem with Riot not releasing URF in April 1st this year, but I have to admit that I am a bit disappointed with Draven Day. After Riot released one Gamemode after the other in the last couple of years, with every single one becoming better and more clever, I have to admit that I expected something more than just those lazy-seeming Dravenheads. Something lightweight All-For-One-Draven with some twist to it, like new Items or some global passive would've already completely blown me away.

What kind of confuses me though is, how Riot completely wasted this great opportunity. A lot of people expected URF on April's Fools, and this would've been a great Weekend to introduce the Rotating-Gamemode-Queue. Most people expected Riot to release URF today or yesterday, especialy after the references thrown towards it on yesterdays showmatch (everyone taking Teleport-Smite in the beginning, the URF-Sound, when Aphromooo pressed the button). This could've been a great way to pull off a really well-thought prank on the community, and to surprise everyone with the new queue. URF wouldn't even have to be implemented using the queue, it would've been enough to just put out URF and to announce: "Guys. we have this great new queue, tests on the PBE will start tomorrow".

This would've been great for the game in general, not only would it have generated a huge amount of hype around URF and the Rotating Gamemode Queue, but with the increased amount of players playing, it would also have been advantageous for Riots wallet since morer hyped people during a skin event = more skin sales = more money.

All this said, this is a question to you guys at Riot: what exactly are your reasons for not releasing URF on this years Aprils Fool's? This is an honest question and I think answering it could help the community to understand your decision. Did you not have enough resources? Did you not want to take attention away from the playoffs? Did you just want to keep your creative freedom to not beeing forced to put up URF every year? All of those are valid reasons, and I would definetly understand your decision if those were the kind of concerns you had, but beeing silent around this topic won't help anyone, I am really hoping for an honest response.

I hope you don't dismiss this as a shitpost, CherryWorm

44 Comments

Zorix11 votes

They've already said why they are not releasing it this April Fools, they are working on the rotating gamemode, and and have put their resources on that, so they couldn't give an exciting April Fools. Don't take me wrong, I hate it that Riot has to take away URF on April Fools, I've been hooked on it since the 2014 one. Riot told us weeks before that URF will not be coming on April Fools, so I don't see why everyone is surprised that its not out.

CherryWorm7 votes

I never claimed that I was surprised that they didn't give us URF. I didn't expect it either. I just think it would be beneficial for everyone, if Riot told us WHY they decided to not release URF.

Equinoxian Lord5 votes

Well as he said, they're dedicating all their resources to the rotating game mode. They've been bug fixing game modes on the PBE with poro king and ascension (of which I recall hearing illaoi's passive simply didn't work on) so we've still got some game modes to go.

CherryWorm11 votes

It is not like Riot decided two weeks ago: "Hey, let's implement something for April Fools". They planned this since at least a couple of months, this is the only way a company this big can efficiently decide on what to proritize next. They made the active decision to not implement URF for April Fools this year, and I doubt that anyone would've given Riot shit for putting off the Rotating-Gamemode-Queue for a month if they got URF on the 1st of April for it.

Bobo1135 votes

It probably took a lot more time to design and code that Draven webpage and make such a huge launch campaign for the Draven event as a whole that it would to fine tune URF mode for another release. This plan was in the works for a very long time, and clearly, or best interests were not in question.

DJ Katarina2 votes

{quoted}

It is not like Riot decided two weeks ago: "Hey, let's implement something for April Fools". They planned this since at least a couple of months, this is the only way a company this big can efficiently decide on what to proritize next. They made the active decision to not implement URF for April Fools this year, and I doubt that anyone would've given Riot shit for putting off the Rotating-Gamemode-Queue for a month if they got URF on the 1st of April for it.

This, they literally could have just done URF for a month until rotating queue and bam, happy community.

Bobo1133 votes

Last year, they also told us to expect NURF - the slow, "stoic" version. Sometimes, on April Fools, people expect to be fooled. It's not rocket science.Heimerdinger

Shonjl18 votes

Sorry if I call BS on that. I hate when people use the resources excuse. This isn't some low budget indie company that only has a handful of people and very low funds.

Riot is literally a multi million or even billion at this point dollar company. They can very easily afford to bring Urf up as well as do rotating gamemodes.

Even Indie Devs can do more work than Riot puts out. Something is wrong in that situation. Hell for the amount of money and manpower Riot has, there honestly isn't any excuse they don't have every gamemode as permantently playable.

Photos of Ghosts1 votes

True, but we're talking about the team that manages servers and queues... moved over to focus on a whole new queue system. Kinda makes sense. Sad, but makes sense.

Jet Sett1 votes

That's an eerily good point. Maybe it's something about league that keeps it ahead of other mobas? Because now that I think about it, most other competing mobas have more game modes than Riot here.

Shonjl1 votes

It is doing better since it is more casual. Dota is way more competitive in its entirely so that shuns casuals which are a majority of a game. Smite and Heroes are casual too but they also are a bit different in how they play. Smite is 3rd person and depending on the person, that is good or bad, I personally hate the idea of a Moba in 3rd person so will never touch Smite, even though it could be a good game. Heroes has no items but you gain strength through levels and perks, which actually sounds interesting to me.

But at the end of the day, I think League is just popular due to people not wanting to move around. They just choose whatever Moba they go to first and generally stick to just it, and since League has the highest population, they go there. Doesn't mean its better, doesn't mean its worse.

Hell look at WoW as an example, it was for the longest time the biggest MMO but it was nowhere near the top for the entire time it was. Even at its peaks it still wasn't the top MMO.

Jet Sett1 votes

{quoted}

It is doing better since it is more casual. Dota is way more competitive in its entirely so that shuns casuals which are a majority of a game. Smite and Heroes are casual too but they also are a bit different in how they play. Smite is 3rd person and depending on the person, that is good or bad, I personally hate the idea of a Moba in 3rd person so will never touch Smite, even though it could be a good game. Heroes has no items but you gain strength through levels and perks, which actually sounds interesting to me.

But at the end of the day, I think League is just popular due to people not wanting to move around. They just choose whatever Moba they go to first and generally stick to just it, and since League has the highest population, they go there. Doesn't mean its better, doesn't mean its worse.

Hell look at WoW as an example, it was for the longest time the biggest MMO but it was nowhere near the top for the entire time it was. Even at its peaks it still wasn't the top MMO.

Heroes and Smite are both fun, but Smite's skillshots can be aggravating. Heroes'perk system is very satisfying, and no items makes people focus on teamwork, but the community can be very rude at times, even toxic.

Leetri1 votes

Throwing more people and money at something doesn't mean it will go faster, that's a common misconception. Sometimes it will, but most times it won't.

Haruk1 votes

I think you may be severely underestimating how much work and time goes into a game like this. They are making rotating game mode with a different mode EVERY week, with champion mastery for each mode (which all requires specific tuning, and specific servers), while continuing to work on champion balance, player relations, tournaments, artwork, lore writing, etc. etc. etc.

I also don't really understand the Indie Dev comment? Almost every indie game that I've followed to any extent has taken huge amounts of time to develop... (e.g. Stardew Valley with it's one man development 'team' took more than 4 years to make). Updating, tweaking, and improving a game with millions of players also takes a huge amount of work. And you can't just throw money at something to make it happen sooner.

sudonathan5 votes

They got resources for new $kins though... I'm done with this money-grubbing company's game. All they had to do was enable a game mode they've already built for a weekend and we'd be happy.

Villiers2 votes

I'm not so much disappointed by the lack of URF as I am by the lack of anything at all. Be honest, Draven Day was stupid and lazy. I've seen some bad events in all kinds of games but this was just the worst. As originally mentioned, even giving the community any news whatsoever would have pleased me, but Riot seems to think "yea we're working on it" will suffice. It's obvious that there was going to be a massive flood of Urf requests and having something satisfying prepared in place of it doesn't seem like too much to ask for.

OneTrueGzus9 votes

I like this post. But i have to say its not Riots job to give every1 what they want. In a few weeks we will have urf anyway. But so many ppl crying bc riot didnt give it when they wanted. But honestly when has riot ever giving ppl exactly what they wanted it when they wanted it? Riot does its own thing and Im ok with that. While i agree draven day was kind of a bust i did get a great laugh out of it with my 1st game.

DeadlyStalker22 votes

First of all, don't lie to people! We are not going to get URF in a few weeks, no one has ever said that, could be months from now.

CherryWorm13 votes

I agree with you in the sense that a lot of the community has been overreacting, with statements like "Riot just hates the players", but I kinda understand why many people got so hyped for URF. I have to admit that I wasn't expecting us to get it either, but I really got a lot of false hope during the showmatch. It just seemed like they were revealing URF every second now, and nobody ever said anything about URF not coming on the second of April. The reddit mods didn't help either, with their sticky post, misleading around 90% of the subreddit to believe, that URF is indeed coming soon.

I agree with you that it is fine, if Riot is doing their own thing, I just find it necesary to at least inform the community about why decisions like these are made.

Shonjl3 votes

I think its because its expected is why, not because it isn't given when it is wanted. URF on April Fools is just as symbolic as The Harrowing around Halloween time, Snowdown during Christmas time. So its expected it comes out around then.

I can't be too surprised though since they basically gave everyone a big Fk you since Harrowing was a total joke that just passed. If something isn't broke don't fix it kinda deal, people knew this was around the time it comes out, this is the time Riot has been releasing it, keep it that way.

luzz1 votes

{quoted}

I like this post. But i have to say its not Riots job to give every1 what they want. In a few weeks we will have urf anyway. But so many ppl crying bc riot didnt give it when they wanted. But honestly when has riot ever giving ppl exactly what they wanted it when they wanted it? Riot does its own thing and Im ok with that. While i agree draven day was kind of a bust i did get a great laugh out of it with my 1st game.

Past practice... is generally the practice. Last 2 April Fools has been URF day.... so why not the third.... I agree with most... that Draven day was kinda ......blah.... and if your not gonna give urf, then at least give it something strong.... sort of something to remember..... April Fools and Christmas, Halloween all notable game modes and times for legacy skins. We all know L4T3NCY stated... no urf on April 1st.... and most in the community even myself thought otherwise.... just a prank...haha. sort of makes sense really cuz, riot does middle of the week patch.... would be stupid have patch on weekend or heading into weekend, but if riot had the chance patch and giving in to urf. ... that would of been legacy in its own.

Carterkinss3 votes

{quoted}

I like this post. But i have to say its not Riots job to give every1 what they want. In a few weeks we will have urf anyway. But so many ppl crying bc riot didnt give it when they wanted. But honestly when has riot ever giving ppl exactly what they wanted it when they wanted it? Riot does its own thing and Im ok with that. While i agree draven day was kind of a bust i did get a great laugh out of it with my 1st game.

Considering they make all their money off of us, they should give us what we want. And giving us urf wouldn't have been an issue at all.

PeechCobbler6 votes

I really do agree with this. However I also believe that Riot chose the completely wrong path with the worst possible outcome. I'm sure they intended on people being hyped for URF also. Then they released Draven Day instead, which people didn't like (not because it wasn't URF, but also because it really messed up game play and just overall looked weird). Then they decide to completely disregard any thread pertaining to URF or Draven Day. So the community didn't get what they wanted, Draven Day was released instead which almost no one enjoyed, then Riot doesn't even talk about it.

Honestly though I dont think we deserve URF. If you look at half of the threads with URF keywords, the players are so toxic towards Riot not giving them something. URF is a privilege (even thought it's a game, it's still a privilege), and the community acted as if Riot is required to release it.

I am also confused about the rotating queue, and I don't believe that justifies not releasing URF. I don't think Riot has directly said that URF wasn't being released this year because of it, but I still think that 4 days a year (6 nights) really justifies not releasing URF.

Bobo1137 votes

I also feel like a lot of this anger has been pent up over the course of a lot of different Rito controversies. They've had a lot of PR mistakes lately (continually pushing the Urgot/Galio/Evelynn/Warwick reworks further and further, the "Juggernaut Reworks," the price of chroma packs and having to buy all three, substantial increases in server lag, changes to minion pathing/blocking, the anti-fun Soraka changes, catering to pro play more than their 80+ million player fanbase, etc.) Many of these things don't necessarily bother me personally, but they were unasked for, and as we know now, unnecessary to the game's longevity and overall health. They were changes for the sake of facilitating change - not based on any feedback, constructive criticism, or in-game necessity. They were never or the sake of balance, or even for the fun factor. In fact, many of these radical balance changes were devastating failures, which were never remedied. There have been many unheard outcries about several inexcusable disasters in the past months, and this URF fiasco is the proverbial icing on the cake.

It's somewhat comforting to know that such a PR disaster isn't without its financial consequences - something Riot sees as much more of a slap on the wrist than, say, someone screaming on the community boards. Yes, they should feel free to make all the half-assed Draven face mashup games they can muster, but the fact that it failed at launch (and then broke soon after - and is now disabled) is just further proof of my point. It was never about the fun aspect. They make change for the sake of change without remorse of the consequences - other than a few Benjamins missing from their wallets.

In the bigger picture, people are mostly frustrated with the Rito God Complex - the fact that their word is final (which, to be fair, it is THEIR company - they've made that quite clear), but it's a blatant distancing from the community they claim to cater to. I don't understand, however, just how angry people get over it - since it's a game. It may be a bit frustrating, but not to that extreme. There are far more important things to point such anger towards - no matter how frustrating it is.

Just as a final thought, when Rito says we'll get Urf "at least twice," they mean we'll get it twice. We'll get it in two, well-spaced increments of 3 days - meaning we get about half as much URF, and have to wait 6 months for it each time it comes around. People will probably ignore the game rotation queue until URF comes around, and by then Rito will probably shut it down due to lack of traffic. Knowing them, it's intentional to hold off on urf so this happens - and then everyone can go back to the same, mundane draft pick, and watching Rito's precious LCS.

Swaid5 votes

Why did the Snowdown get delayed last year? The Pro League Scene. Why did Urf get shafted this year? The Pro League Scene. Its as simple as that and they just don't want to man up to it.

Empress Celestia4 votes

Urf mode is lame!

XRSunion3 votes

Just my guess but I think the reason there were so many "URF" references during the showmatch is because of how "URF" has been an April Fools' joke in League since before the game mode in 2014. Since they've been making jokes about Urf the manatee every April Fool's since 2010, (the Urfwick skin, the 2012 Urf icons, etc.) from Riot's perspective, Urf the manatee is probably the general symbol of April Fool's Day and not specifically tied just to the mode.

Biff Manly3 votes

Nobody SHOULD have expected URF this time. If they actually cared as much as they like crying about it on the boards, they would have read the posts saying "no URF this year, that means you will not get uRF, did we mention there is no URF on April 1st?"

Everyone is acting betrayed, indignant, etc, but this is their fault for only caring when it's right on top of them.

Banuvan3 votes

Chinese overlords said no fun for NA.

The white poro2 votes

why dont u create new items for spell vamp like item 3152 for champs likeAhri Vladimir [zombie-brand-clap]

CherryWorm25 votes

I am not quite sure how this has anything to do with the topic at hand...

Retillin2 votes

Did you not want to take attention away from the playoffs?

Hit the nail on the head here.

Bolwinkel1 votes

The main reason that Riot didn't release Urf this year is because of the Rotating Game Mode. The new mode has been on the PBE for a few weeks now being tested and everything. I believe that it should be released next patch (6.7) and if not then, the patch after that (6.8). It will be released soon and we will have Urf twice this year. Normally, the gamemodes will only last the weekend, 3 days, but can be extended based on their popularity. Since Urf is the fan favorite/most popular game mode with the community, it will most likely be extended up until the next gamemode is released allowing for 7 whole days of Urf. 7 x 2 = 14 days of Urf which is what it was last year.

kDrakari1 votes

They've already been testing the rotating gamemodes on the PBE

WolfBV1 votes

URF will come, at latest, in June. ._.

Palpherion1 votes

This is the best and most well written response that I have seen yet. When Riot was young I overlooked a lot because it was an up and coming company with a great idea and good game play. I don't feel the same now and I very much resonate with the belief that Riot needs to show corporate responsibility and address this in some fashion. I recognize that they made an announcement in some press release but, as demonstrated by these posts, it clearly did not serve to allay the concerns of the customers of this company. If nothing else a video either in game or on the launch page that addresses this concern would demonstrate corporate interest in the responding to the expectations of their clientele. In my professional career I would have the expectation of my employees and my company that they address customer concerns. This is a very large and, to us, very important customer concern. Riot, please address it.

TiniNinja1 votes

I could care less about these little games like URF and Draven Day. Riots balance team doesn't need anymore distractions.

V D1 votes

Yes.

EfficientDynamo1 votes

I honestly have to wonder how much control the developers have over the actual game, vs. investors and Riot executives. Along those lines, I would love to take a look at Tencent's contract with Riot when they bought the remaining shares in the company. Sometimes you can contract for creative freedoms, but sometimes not....

OhZenny1 votes

Who knows, maybe they disabled the Draven Gamemode to plug in URF secretly!!!!!!

Spacesuit Spiff1 votes

Urf was dying a slow death last year, i dont think they wanted to draw it out. Ideally the rotating queue gives us some wacky variations on it.

Kuroi861 votes

I don't think they're ready to release rotating queue yet, I get the feeling they are prepping for something big and April 1 had to be the unfortunate victim left out this year.

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