A Case for Team Builder (X-post from LOL Reddit megathread)

[DISCLAIMER: I am posting this both as a Reddit comment and here for maximum exposure and dialogue regarding this feature.]

A case for Team Builder.

Let me begin by stating that I understand the logic behind removing this mode. You want to encourage cooperation and for players to diversify their champions and roles.

However, there are a number of features from Team Builder that brought value to my League of Legends experience.

• Matchmaking Adjustments. In Team Builder, the queue can adjust itself when I select a new champion. In Draft Pick, there is an expectation of competition that makes me feel uneasy picking a champion that I can’t play well or is not in the current meta.

• Playing with Friends. My friends and I are in their 20s and 30s working full time jobs, but we take the time each day to play a game or two in the morning or at lunch. Team Builder allowed us to wait for each other, select champions, skins, and work on runes and masteries during that wait without feeling rushed or not having something to do before our friends are ready.

• Ease and Speed. I rarely saw a Team Builder queue go beyond 5 minutes before getting into game. The lock-in system was very straightforward and clear. There were some people who would find a new group if the one they joined wasn’t close to full, and to address that I’d suggest instituting a small 30 second “wait period” to incentivize sticking around before jumping ship.

• A Casual Environment. In Draft Pick, the expectation lies on the general skills of the player in many roles, and you are expected to bring your “A” game in whatever you are assigned. In Team Builder, the feeling was “I’m going to play the champion and role that I feel like playing, and if that doesn’t go well it’s okay. This isn’t as competitive, and everyone else is playing what they want, too.”

• Collaboration. If my fiancee and I want to try two mid laners at bottom lane, we can find players who think that’s a good idea in Team Builder. Those who don’t can find a new game and everyone is happy.

• Practice. If I want to improve my performance in another role or with a different champion, I want to do this in a low pressure environment where I can let people know my situation before we’re committed to a game. Practice is about repetition. Plus, there’s the aforementioned Matchmaking Adjustment.

• Attitude. When I started playing Team Builder after draft and blind pick, people got extraordinarily nicer and more helpful. Of course, you’re always going to have some folks who are having a bad day, but trolls were very uncommon and often weeded out before starting queue.

I will say that I am still excited for this new Draft Pick. I did not play ranked previously beyond getting placed. This new design addresses many of the things that kept me from that mode. I’m going to try for gold this season! I will mirror the concern about trolling the pick intentions and lock-in related queue dodges, but other than that the experience is beautifully executed and rewarding.

Bring back Team Builder. Bring back the casual environment to balance out the competitive.

P.s. I LOATHE Blind Pick. My friends and I jokingly call it “toxicity mode.”