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@riot, can someone offer an explination?

usul1202·4/6/2015, 8:34:21 PM·6 votes·731 views

So, I've been thinking about rune pages, and I'm honestly pretty confused. Why do they cost anything? They're more or less mandatory to do well in the game, and to play ranked without them is rank-suicide. I can understand them being a barrier of entry time wise, but lets be real. The last number i saw on it said that the 2 basic rune pages cost 18000 IP, not including extra rune pages to truly optimize. 18 thousand is a lot of IP. I'm not saying they should be free, but can someone explain to me why this still exists as an extremely time consuming barrier to keep people from playing on an even playing field?

(note: I'm pretty new to the game, and didn't learn about the necessity of runes till I was level 30. i have like, 60 normals wins or something like that. And those initial games hurt a lot, because i was matched with people with 500+ wins. They hit so much harder in lane that it was crazy to lane against them. now i have one rune page i really like, and another sub-optimal one, and i can feel the difference. the runes are mandatory to play well, which is the source of my confusion)

20 Comments

Deep Terror Nami4/6/2015, 8:41:30 PM2 votes

It's meant to be frustrating and hold you back and take up your IP. The purpose is to make you either A) Play more to get the IP you need, or B) Spend money on RP or Boosts so you can get them easier without sacrificing getting new champions. It's a win-win for Riot. If they wanted it otherwise they'd just unlock them the same way as Masteries.

Raptamei4/6/2015, 9:57:27 PM2 votes

Heroes of the Storm does not have runes, making it much easier to unlock heroes.

I bet when HotS is released, Riot will have to make runes free.

Aerothal4/6/2015, 8:47:02 PM1 votes

you wont get one!!!

Riot is already very slow to dish out Explanations.

But I have NEVER seen them give anyone an explination ever

Aerothal4/6/2015, 8:51:41 PM1 votes

tbh though, i agree that the rune grind is awful. runes are way to pricey. its a financial incentive for Riot to keep the price up though. If you want to successfully level fast, you kind of have to spend $ on ip boosts.

Kazaashi4/6/2015, 9:13:30 PM1 votes

They allow you to tweak your play and provide a bit more customization to your champs. Do you need a bit of extra survival on your first clear in the jungle? Slap some armor seals on there and see how that helps.

Other than that they are an IP sink. Since the game is F2P they have to monetize it somehow, and if you could just save your IP for champs only, They wouldn't have made any money. This is a throwback to when LoL was brand new. There are a lot more things to spend cash on now, so I bet we'll see a revamp of the Rune system soon. I think Riot has even said as much.