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Balance Team Q+A #2 - Ask Us Anything (Again!) [COMPLETE]

RiotScarizard·10/23/2015, 7:34:52 PM·23 votes·116,755 views

EDIT: AMA'S DONE FOR TODAY! Thanks for coming out and asking questions - If you're reading this and missed this one (or if we missed yours D:), we'll be doing two more this month at the same time! We'll see y'all at 12:30pm pacific, on Friday 10/030!

If you have follow-up questions or want to stalk us on the internet, you can follow almost all of us on ze twitters at (@RiotJag) (@RiotFeralPony) (@RiotTimeWizard) (@G_mang) (@ManWolfAxeBoss) (@SmashGizmo) (@ricklessabandon) and (@RiotScarizard)

Hey folks,

We're back again for our 2nd AMA this month - another week of worlds has gone by and a new patch is on the horizon, and we still have tons of your questions to get to! Got something to say about balance, your favorite champions, or how free SmashGizmo's sheik is? We've got you covered.

If you want to check out our Q+A last week, here's a link to that one too! M O R E C O N T E X T

http://boards.na.leagueoflegends.com/en/c/miscellaneous/vWEoZ6X0-balance-team-qa-ask-us-anything

On deck, we've got:

RiotTimeWizard (thousand-year-dragon in training)

ricklessabandon (all lowercase, all the time)

SmashGizmo (plays 5 colors in EDH like a scumbag)

ManWolfAxeBoss (fire and blood)

**RiotGmang **(keeps talking so nobody explodes)

**RiotJag **(has a cool motorcycle)

FeralPony (photoshop artiste)

and yours truly! Got a burning question or top-of-mind curiosity? Fire away and we'll start answering in an hour! (1:30 PDT)!

If you want some more behind-the-scenes insights on how League's balance goes, check out these devblogs by RiotJules and King Jag The King, RiotJag himself!

http://boards.na.leagueoflegends.com/en/c/riot-official/xORLd02r-data-and-champion-balance-part-1

http://boards.na.leagueoflegends.com/en/c/riot-official/cBUqHAm5-data-and-champion-balance-part-2

484 Comments

Malicious Metal10/23/2015, 7:51:58 PM16 votes

Hey there, thanks for doing these AmA's. Love 'em. Now then, Let's address the Elaphant in the Room; Mordekaiser.

Yes, we Mordekaiser fans have been pestering since day one to make his Slo lane viable again and Meddler even mentioned trading his duo lane power for enhanced base stats. Hooray!

His base stats are in fact abysmal; 1750 base health 20 base armor, 325 MS. It gets worse if you compare him to Darius with 2300 base health, more MS and 30 base armor. So here's an avenue where to buff him for Solo since he should be scaling really well into the late game. AKA give him more health/level and maybe even nerf his base health to compensate.

His Iron Man passive feels rather lackluster if compare to pre-rework and I'd like to know your stance on it. Due to the loss of 10% shielding ratio and nerfing his AoE damage it's rather difficult to maintain a strong shield and actually make it FEEL impactful. Any thoughts on buffing its champion conversion rate to pre-rework levels around 30-35 % BUT cap his minion rate at 10 % (For reference; his current shield gain from minions is 12.5% and pre rework it was 17.5%) It would entice him to actually brawl more and make his bully nature somewhat more bearable. It's a fair trade off that would make him healthier, allow his passive to feel like the real Iron Man again and still make it balanced.

And lastly the worst offender; HIs W being restricted to duo use. Can we just get it back? Please? Heavy Metal please with cherry on top? On a serious not though, it is where most of his frustration and problems in solo lanes comes from. Might be worth looking at.

Anyways, I'll be happy for ANY information regarding the Master of Metal...Erm...I mean IRON REVENANT :D

~M.M

warpenguin55510/23/2015, 7:49:00 PM15 votes

I have alot of questions to ask, i even split them up in multiple posts XD.

Are there any plans to add more summoner spells to the game?
any plans for AP mages to get a new CDR + AP item? most CDR + AP items aren't very good on very many AP midlaners.
Any balance ideas you guys thought would be a really good idea on paper but just were hilariously bad when tried out?
Why are Azir, Ryze, and Kassidan so hard to balance?
Have you ever considered allowing a Community made patch of sorts, where most, if not all, changes would be sugestions from the comunity. (if not, this could be a pretty entertaining idea for a featured game mode XD)
How closely does the balance team work with the design and reworking teams?(also, tell the design team to do Q&A's as well XD)
Any chance of ranked ever getting more bans?
What patch will the preseason start?
People like to bring up crit removal, is it a thing that might happen or not.

so yeah thats pretty much it for my questions (for now) Thanks for hosting the Q&A

Sweetie Brella10/23/2015, 7:42:45 PM9 votes

Well, after you managed to "miss" this on the last Q+A, I might as well have another go.

I think the changes to Zilean's passive are interesting, though I still think there are a lot of passives that are incredibly outdated or are just downright bland. Is there any chance you are reviewing things like this to make the game more interesting? Here's some of the worst offenders IMO

Heimerdinger His current passive (techmaturgical repair bots) has neither interaction or impact IMO. When his gameplay was reworked, the only interesting thing about it (the unique ability to heal towers) was stripped away, and that was really it. All we're left with is half an Aegis aura that also heals your turrets absurdly slowly. Is this really the best thing the inventor can come up with?

Shyvana I know this is partially because of the clarity demanding you shift the wording, but this is really little more than a ball of stats (which I'm pretty sure you're not too fond of, right?) Again, can't we make it more interesting.

Karma Jayce I'm pushing these two together because for me, they both suffer from the same problem. Their passive is literally an extension of one ability (both being their "not" ultimates). It feels like a band-aid fix to a problem you had in development of putting too much "power" onto their active abilities then compensating by effectively giving them no passive at all (even if this isn't true, that's the conclusion I've drawn). How is this right in a world when there are new champions with effectively two passives?

Zyra You've probably heard about this one a few times already, but I'll throw in my two cents. The problem here is that plant thematic cohesion aside, this passive just doesn't work. Apart from Karthus, all the other "strike back after death" abilities allow the player to chase down their killer or allies to some degree. Karthus still works due to his devastating E damage and uninterruptable Requiem making dying a viable option. None of this is true for Zyra. You get one restrictively narrow skillshot on an immobile mage who is trying to be as far away from the enemy as possible. It is way too easy to sidestep them attack with the time before you can make the shot. Not too mention her lore specifically highlights the new risk of dying. Why should anything in her kit require her to die if this is the case?

That's probably not an exhaustive list, but that's the ones I personally dislike the most. I doubt anything's going to change from this, but I'd like to at least know some of the designer's thoughts on these particular abilities.

VersaceLemonade10/23/2015, 8:04:41 PM9 votes

How do you guys deal with the stress involved with the game? I feel like every time I go to see news about League of Legends on twitter, Reddit, Facebook, or the boards there is ALWAYS some commentary about the game not doing enough in terms of skins, balance, server management, etc. I can easily see how being a part of the balance team (or any team at Riot) can quickly become overwhelming, and I would love to hear how some of you deal with stress involved.

I know for a fact that I can deal with stress in a much more safe and constructive manner and I was hoping to see what things you lovely folks do to help manage.

Thanks for all your hard work in making an incredibly fun and diverse game! Hope to hear from you all soon!! Yasuo Yasuo Yasuo

Fchyo10/23/2015, 8:59:40 PM7 votes

Hello there, I'd just wanted to know if u guys have anything planned for Lissandra.

Lissandra - Since she was out you guys nerfed her damage howerver always putting more and more utility, but i guess she kinda needs to have her mana costs lowered; or i'd like to suggest an addiction to the passive ,along with the no mana cost spell, she could have like extra damage maybe scaling with level only. Another suggestion would be lowering the E dmg ,since it's mostly used to escape/engage, and put some damage on the other abilities.

Thanks for the time!

MasterVidallis10/23/2015, 7:52:08 PM7 votes

Any plans to make upgrading the warding trinkets less awkward? Right now due to both the lv 9 and 250g requirement there is a lot of randomness that goes into being able to buy it early enough to matter, if you're forced to back at lv 8 you can't even if you have the gold. If you're forced to back at lv 10 but can either upgrade it or finish a key item, that's not a fun strategic choice. The cost just feels awkward to fit into your buy progression.

A lot of players just put it off until it's too late in the match. You already pay for extra trinkets, and items, and pots. I feel like the FREE trinket upgrade should also just be, free, at lv 9. Since the counter to it, scanners, would also get a free upgrade. Seems like it balances itself out. Thoughts?

Fedora Genocide10/23/2015, 7:47:10 PM7 votes

I'm interested in what you all speculate will become of Kindred, buff or nerf wise. I heard that for the most part, she seems like she's in a pretty good place. I'm curious to hear a/some rioter(s) personal opinion on it. I personally agree with the team. She is not too strong, and when played right, makes a pretty balanced champ.

droodftw10/23/2015, 7:51:05 PM6 votes

Hey thanks for the Q&A! My questions are a little more about a career in game balance.

Did you know that balance was what you wanted to work in when training to work in the industry? If not, what brought you to balance?
What's an average day like with you guys? Do you get reports/feedback from somewhere and asked on how you would want to balance it? I would imagine you do a lot of testing, but what else?
How do you feel about the current meta? How would you define the term "balance" in terms of League of Legends? (i.e. For me, I'd say having as many champions be competitively viable in high-level/professional play as possible.)
I myself am recently graduated from college in Comp Sci/Game Design and balance is a topic I'm very interested in working in. Any tips for how to be (for lack of a better word) more attractive for being hired as a balance specialist? For example, what could one do with their resume/portfolio that makes a balance team say "We really should bring this guy on!"?

TerraRising10/23/2015, 7:40:28 PM6 votes

With Flash almost a necessity for most players in most situations (Hecarim and Singed notwithstanding), is it time to make Flash a mandatory selection and have a third Summoner Spell?

If not, is there a consensus why?

Setts ßoyfriend10/23/2015, 8:37:37 PM6 votes

Which champions do people ask you guys to nerf the most?

Toony10/23/2015, 8:33:46 PM6 votes

A few things, thanks for the AMA I do quite love these.

? I don't really think I need to say more, he's arguably unbalanced. Are there plans to tone him down without taking him completely out of meta?
.. The hit on tailwind, Howling Gale, and Monsoon all at once? Any tone-up in consideration?
How do you feel about Kindred's current state?
Lastly, the adc "Rework" that's appearing. I'm not too informed on it, but has proper consideration been taken as to how supports will change as an inevitable result? Or are the changes not significant enough to entail such? Then again..if they aren't significant enough, could you really call it an adc rework? That's about it. Even one answer would satisfy me I'm sure you guys are getting flooded with questions though (:

Jeddy01710/23/2015, 8:00:28 PM5 votes

Ok,I don't have a lot of original questions.So I ask for some simple stuff.

item 1054 - On a scale of 1 to 10 what do you think of this item?1 being a "must rework or delete" & 10 being a "must buy 6 of these on every champ".

Nasus - My favorite Dog in League.If he was made today,what would he be like?

Crazy ideas - If you could come up with a crazy idea that would completely change league,for better or for worse,what would it be?These ideas could range from stupid ideas that only exist in your head to ideas that maybe be worth considering to.I'll provide an example,add an area past top lane with an epic monster.The idea here is to make top lane a more important part of the map rather than the "island" full of tanks & split-pushers.Plus it would help with the whole "Party down Bot!" TP meta.What are you crazy ideas?

summoner 4 - Is it possible for just one patch during preseason to remove Flash temporarily?Just to see how hard things shake up.

Abyssphere10/23/2015, 8:25:27 PM5 votes

I'm not sure I really want to know the answer to this but I've been wondering about Elise

She's been really dominant at Worlds up to now, so I think we all know a nerf is inevitable, but I'm really worried about what it'll be. The recent Elise changes have been really good in my opinion, with the ratio buff on spiderlings and the Cocoon change allowing her to max W second both being changes that favoured her being built with pretty decent amounts of AP. Her nerfs have been good too, removing quite a lot of the free damage she gets in her kit, which is something that's caused huge problems in the past.

What I'm wondering is how intentional this has actually been - do you want Elise to be an AP fighter? As much as she's overtuned right now it feels easier to balance her as an offensive champion than as a tank (seeing as she's actually building damage to do damage now, and is only really viable as a tank when she can blow people up without building AP), and I think she's delivering on her gameplay fantasy right now better than she ever has. Even when tank Elise was undeniably the best build a lot of people still preferred maxing W and building some AP just because it was way more fun than going tank, even if it was bad. But I never really got the impression that you guys preferred AP Elise, particularly as you seem to have a preference for what we see in competitive play, and that means you'd like tank Elise more.

tl;dr is there a particular direction you want to push Elise in? Am I right in thinking that the playerbase seems to find AP Elise more fun, and if so will you take that into account when you do her next balance changes? It's very self-involved of me but I've been having a blast with AP Elise recently (even though lots of losses over the last few days ;_;) and I really can't imagine getting the same satisfaction from "tanky stun bot Elise".

hey im joesu10/23/2015, 9:01:31 PM3 votes

Thoughts on Nami? I thought she was strong even before her recent buffs, which only made her better. Is there anything more planned for her in the near future?

Solidair310/23/2015, 9:03:34 PM3 votes

Will you guys revisit options for Syndra after preseason changes settle down?

Vanillite10/23/2015, 7:54:43 PM2 votes

What are your thoughts about ap Rek'sai? :)

HesitationMarks10/23/2015, 9:04:21 PM2 votes

Hi! Any plans for Katarina? If you look at the rework announcement back in 2012 you'll find something along the lines: "The first problem that Katarina players often faced was weak performance very early on, primarily related to the steep damage curve of her core damage ability, Bouncing Blades." and other things concerning Kat being weak early, unreliable etc... well I think it describes her current state, which makes me super sad... She was my first main, I really love her lore, concept, well generally her whole persona, but it makes me super sad to play her nowadays. Either I get smashed early, pray for ganks or pray for some random kills or successul roam... ooor I'm lucky enough to snowball and then enemy team will flame the heck out of me for playing a "facerolling champ, which doesn not require skill at all, and they wish me all the worst" Let's say she's a pubstomper in bronze- low gold divisions, and then let's say not that great in higher divisions. At this point I don't care about what changes could be made I just really want to play her again.