Big picture, League is in the best place its ever been

Hold your horses before downvoting.

Yes, currently there are some big balance issues with support tank itemization and lethality (just bring back flat arpen ffs.) That being said, I really feel like the game is in the best place it has been in a while. For one, general QoL is sooo much better than it was in season 4 (when I started playing.) Dynamic Queue, replays, sandbox mode, rotating game modes, soon-to-be free runes... this is a big deal. Secondly, I'd argue that recent champion design has been more fun. Riot went through an "edgy teenager" phase where they gave every champion overloaded kits (from Yasuo to Ekko) but they have calmed down, and now new champions add completely new mechanics to the game without being overloaded. Since Ekko, I;d argue only Camille and MAYBE kled have been particularly overloaded, yet every champion has added completely new things - Tahm's eating people, kindred with her ult, Illaoi's tentacles... I could go on, but these are completely innovative yet not overloaded mechanics.

Anyway, just my 2 cents. I'd argue the game went through a "dark phase" in seasons 4-5 (and this was reflected in Rito not posting increasing playerbase numbers), but has since improved (as has playerbase growth.)