Future of League of Legends
Just like what the title says, I'm curious as to what you guys think the future of League of Legends is going to be like. I personally am a huge fan of the game and I know I will continue playing for years to come. However, I've read a lot of posts and threads online that talk about how people think League is going to die down after a few years.
Here are a few valid point I've read about in various posts and threads (Too hard to track them all down and post links so I'll just summarize them)
1.A toxic community - I know that there are many people that play League and are awesome people. However, the toxicity of a small portion of players has created an unbearable situation for some people. I know that many, possibly all the people, that try to play this game seriously often times get very frustrated when they run into toxic players in their game. I know that the tribunal was implemented to deal with this issue and it has had good results. However, I also know that toxic players will never disappear entirely. The anonymity of the internet gives too much power to these people and they abuse it by doing and saying things they never would in real life. Is there any other way to deal with this issue aside from ignoring such players and reporting them at the end? I say this because in games, the player knows they are being toxic and knows that they will probably be reported. They just don't care because they do not think the Tribunal will do much.
2.Influx of new players - It is a fact that some players that have been with League for a long time will eventually leave. You might not see it now, but can you really say that you are 100% sure you will be playing League in 10 years to come? 20? 30? As such I see that an influx of new players is necessary in the long run. The problem is I know many people that have tried League after I recommended it to them. While some stuck to it and are enjoying the game, others have quit for various reasons. A few reasons they gave me is the classic issue of smurfs. They are trying to learn this game from the ground up and any interaction with a smurf on the other team is bound to leave a sour aftertaste. Also, while the current players in League wait eagerly for new champions and changes to come out every week or so. The situation is opposite for newcomers. There's a VERY big learning curve right now for League. With over 100champions each with their unique skill, the large amount of items in the shop, the various gameplay mechanics, and etc, a new player might feel overwhelmed. Also, current players that have been with League for a while probably have a lot of champions owned and as such don't feel like the 6300IP is that big of a deal. On the other hand, for newcomers it must seem like an impossible hurdle to overcome in obtaining champions. I know that the free rotation and IP boosts try to alleviate that hurdle, but think about a couple of years from now. There will be even more champions and even larger hurdles to overcome for the new players.
3.Server issues - Throughout your experiences when playing with this game, I know there have been server issues that cause disconnects, lag, and pretty much hard gameplay. Riot has done a good job in trying to appease the players affected with the loss forgiven but there are still some server issues (mainly in countries other than NA). We also cannot forget what happened in Season 2 Championships where in the quarterfinals, the players kept disconnecting and numerous remakes happened. Riot did a good job handling that affair by handing out refunds+ and apologizing to the people that went to see the games live. Ever since then I've rarely gotten issues with the NA server but I know that people overseas still have problems that Riot might want to look into.
I know Riot has tried addressing all of these issues an I think they did a good job. But can you guys think of anything extra they could implement to make League's future a little more secure?
On an extra note, I cannot stop looking at this picture showing the season 1 championships and season 3 championships. It just shows you how much League has grown.
