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Ask Riot URF Champion Update

Riot·9/8/2016, 12:54:03 AM·5 votes·66,051 views

Welcome to Ask Riot, where we focus on your questions and give you answers.

This week, we talk about the future of Champion Update and URF mode.

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What is the endgame for Champion Update? Will there be a world in which no more champions will need to be updated?

So I get this question a lot, both inside and outside of Riot and I want to to start by saying that strategies at Riot change all the time and that these are just my thoughts on the subject.

I don’t think there will ever be a time when there are no more champions to update. Most champions aren't considered “dated” or “old” when they release. Rather, as time goes on some champions just don’t hold up as well as others. We think a champion is in a good spot if it has strong and cohesive art, lore, and gameplay. However, while a champions might be in a good spot today, as the game grows and evolves from year to year, that champion could eventually be in a bad place.

As technology advances, our big VGU’s and new champions look better and better. For example, we could not have made champions like Aurelion Sol or updates like Yorick a year ago. Yorick’s black mist cape is actually using the same technology created for Aurelion Sol’s tail. That technology didn’t even exist in the LoL engine a year ago. As tech advances, our older characters look older and older.

Design values and design technology also advances over time and we can create more unique and diverse kits for champions. This also makes older champion kits feel more dated overtime. As our understanding of the game changes and the way players play the game evolves older champions may need new or revamped tools to compete with our ever growing cast.

Champion themes also age over time. Back when the original Batman series was on TV it was considered very good, then came Tim Burton’s take on Batman’s theme that was more serious and mature. Recently, Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy have created an even more gritty and realistic take on Batman for a modern generation of Batman fans. All of these were considered great in their time, but if the original Batman series came out today it probably wouldn’t resonate as well with the current generation of Batman fans. Much like Batman, champions that are popular today need to be updated to stay modern and fresh as the game continues over the years.

Currently, we have quite a few champions to get through, by the time we get through those there will probably be a bunch more champions thats look awesome today but won’t be as awesome 4-5 years from now.

-Reav3, Lead Producer, Champion Updates


We haven’t seen URF mode in a while, what is up with that?

In case you missed it, we just announced that URF will be coming back soon as an All Random mode for a trial in the RGM queue. We’re calling it ARURF (it kinda sounds like the noise URF would make)!

But why did it take so long for URF to come back? Well, regular URF was stagnating super fast and had some unhealthy play patterns. For example, it was probably one of the hardest hit modes for a 'stagnant meta' whenever it was released. Games quickly devolved into a slideshow of the 'perceived' best champs. Whether or not they were actually OP (hint, they usually weren't :P), seeing the same 20 champs every game got boring REAL fast. It took the RGM team a little longer to convert URF to be All Random, but we believe that countering the stagnant meta will go some way toward making it a much healthier mode. There’s still no guarantee it will be a silver bullet for fixing URF, but we’re hoping you have fun with it!

-L4T3NCY, Lead Designer, Rotating Game Mode

627 Comments

Hakumele9/8/2016, 8:43:18 PM456 votes

URF continues to confuse me from the developers' side that I can't seem to grasp exactly what's going on as it relates to design. Every comment I've seen about URF from the players has never been about stagnant metas, or 'perceived best champs' but more so just having it available to play. URF, in my eyes, isn't meant to be balanced into this finely crafted game mode that should be catered to be a level playing field. The beauty and appeal of it is the zany, imbalanced, off colored gameplay that allows you to spam abilities like crazy and then play a traditional Ranked game and forget what your cooldowns are and that having mana costs are a thing.

URF is a beloved game mode for a reason, and, from where I sit, that reason has always been about taking my favorite champs from 0-10 in a way that I can't achieve otherwise. Are there people that tend to abuse the same champs as they believe them to be "OP?" Absolutely, but that's why we have a ban system. You've been talking about possibly adding more bans (up to ten total); why not allow it in URF and use that to test the time difference between six bans to ten? You'll kill two birds with one stone (kind of) without sabotaging the ability to play whatever champ we'd like in URF.

With that being said, I think there will be a new level of excitement for most people playing and not knowing what champions they will get, until someone ends up with Soraka and ends up healing/wishing eternally. :'D

Bejazzy9/8/2016, 8:56:14 PM141 votes

This is honestly confusing, as even on the last day of URF, the que times were rarely reaching the double digits. None of the other game modes have gone that fast in my experience. Now i acknowledge that there were countless Ekko Fizz Hecarim Leblanc Maokai Ziggs Evelynn "broken"champions that were played n nearly every game. But I've gotten shithoused by a Nami, completely trolled by a Yorick (old of course), but I've also completely trashed a shaco, or a wukong. It seems like everyone is OP. And that there are few people complaining, seeing as the que times would usually not allow me the time to even take my finger off the mouse after clicking "join que", i don't know how it could not be getting high praise. the only thing i seen as a correct assumption is the stagnant gameplay. but thats why you pick a new champ you've never played against in URF, and see if you can pup stomp somebody who is playing a must "pick or ban" champ. I just want urf back. My friends and i dream of the day that it is a permanent gamemode, which would be multitudes more popular than dominion. Please rito. make love to my ears and bring back normal URF after this experiment*[zombie-nunu-tears]*

MAKEOUTHłLL6669/8/2016, 9:09:13 PM83 votes

Aw, i got excited. I thought for a second that URF The Champion was eventually being created. haha.[zombie-nunu-tears]

Poootato9/8/2016, 8:53:50 PM70 votes

We. Need. A Poro Rider Kled skin. Pls Rito make it happen.summoner 31 [slayer-pantheon-thumbs]

The Nami Goddess9/8/2016, 9:06:28 PM66 votes

this...this is like taking candy from a child and giving them the sugarfree version. it's not the same and won't be as good. aram is already usually decided at the load-in screen, we didn't need a second game mode to do the same thing

Wuju Lord9/9/2016, 12:59:50 AM65 votes

"there's still no guarantee it will... fix URF"... If you're trying to FIX urf mode, then you are actually contributing to our unhappiness. We loved it because it was different, BECAUSE it was unbalanced or "unhealthy". We could, God forbid, just play in a way that we just FELT like. In a world where you could actually jungle as literally anyone, or solo drag as literally anyone, or 1v3 as almost anyone, WE DIDN'T WANT IT TO BE BALANCED. WE LIKED IT JUST HOW IT WAS.

Scary Door9/9/2016, 1:24:05 AM43 votes

I guess I just don't understand why there's such a concern about 'balancing' a game mode that is intentionally whacky, unbalanced and fun. After a long day, why can't I just come home, sit down, play a couple of relaxing, button mashing games on the champion I want to play and wind down?

Being handed a random champion that I don't have interest in playing in a game mode intended purely for fun is just mind-bogglingly counter-intuitive to what these game modes are all about in my humble and accurate opinion. Furthermore, if you really ARE committed to "balancing" a game mode, then how is something balanced when it is totally dependent upon RNG?

Come on Riot, just give us the game modes we want to play the way we want to play them. Sheesh.

LuluUltedDzNuts9/9/2016, 12:34:28 AM43 votes

I have a question for a Rioter because I simply don't seem to get it. Since the launch of URF, the whole community has been shouting for URF and we've been teased with getting a week or so a year. Every time there's an excuse of why you all at Riot don't want to see it come back.(for example, its stagnating). But if its stagnating, wouldn't there be a steep decline in the playerbase for that game mode? From my experience and queue times, it feels a large amount of players enjoy and spam that mode.

I myself always theorized that URF was taken out because normal and ranked modes lost many players causing longer queue times for those players. Basically I'm just asking if you could show us some evidence of the comparison of players playing URF at launch versus the number of players playing 3 days later, a week later, etc.

This would help put things in perspective and help us understand why URF is such a challenge for us to get and for Riot to deliver. At a very basic level, it seems it should be simply to put up regularly, let us enjoy it(granted if the numbers of players are up to par to other game modes, which i believe is but that's just assumptions from the handful of people and comments I read), then take down at the end of the week when it's become "stagnant".

Thanks for taking the time to read! [slayer-jinx-wink]

Sri Syadasti9/9/2016, 12:12:27 AM39 votes

Why would you do that to urf, why?

Pawn2KING49/8/2016, 11:00:33 PM36 votes

I'm about to summoner 4 on you Riot. All I wanted was URF. I get trolled so much in this game that URF makes it all worth while. ARAM can be incredibly one sided with heavy siege comps so what is going to make ARURF any different on the rift?

nomomz9/8/2016, 10:57:44 PM30 votes

Will we ever get URF vs. Doom Bots? Especially, if you are re-modeling doom bots, I feel like it would be really fun to see the crazy mechanics of doom bots (insanity level of course) against the power of players with URF abilities.

Vhan87659/9/2016, 1:20:53 AM25 votes

"In case you missed it, we just announced that URF will be coming back soon..."

Ahem

"Of course you missed it, we forgot to update the NA News Section in regards to the Rotating Game Mode Queue last weekend!" http://na.leagueoflegends.com/en/news/game-updates/gameplay

GJ Rito, GJ. [slayer-pantheon-thumbs]

Rose Deci9/9/2016, 3:35:58 AM20 votes

Urf? Urf don't need nurf, urf is urf.... Bring back urf

FireStirringRuby9/9/2016, 4:41:22 AM20 votes

URF ISN'T BROKEN. LEAVE IT ALONE. PLEASE. JUST LET US PLAY IT.

Immex59/9/2016, 3:28:25 PM18 votes

Riot, You are completely and totally out of touch with the community. NO ONE WANTS YOU TO BALANCE URF MODE! and making it all random frankly just sucks. Stop trying to balance an april fools joke with no mana and no cooldowns. God damn! PLEASE JUST ADD IT IN AS A CUSTOM GAME MODE ALREADY!!! HOW HARD IS THAT?!

CyberGamez9/8/2016, 10:16:05 PM18 votes

I hate this. I recently finished obtaining every champion in the roster, and now I'll have a 1/132 chance of getting one I want for arurf. Besides the fact that Yasuo and Soraka, some of the worst choices, will be in that 132. When I played urf for the first time, I played weird champs, like old taric, tristana, nautilus, etc. and it was a blast. I hated playing the overpowered ones, like zed, hecarim, and and evelynn. Please bring back normal urf or at least bring both back together or I might have to skip out on this weekend mode. Plus, everyone will be dodging, like said in a previous comment. RITO PLEASE listen to your players! item 3070

Psi219/9/2016, 5:23:38 AM18 votes

A. URF mode never got stagnate. Not the first time you pulled we aren't doing URF because the mode loses players interest. And not after you said well it was fun but we learned a lot from URF this year it was getting played tremendously less the longer it was out. And this Garbage now saying the only way you can make the game less stagnate was to make it all random. BULL and you know it. 7 second queue times doesn't lie when playing URF last session. URF got more play than you precious ranked failed DQ system.

B. All you are going to do (no matter what the queue times) is, is get players to dodge over and over on their numerous smurfs then they will just burn off the time playing their games. 2 hours at most means nothing to the number of smurf accounts players have on this game.

C. Nemesis was terrible as was One for All. Want to know why RIOT? Because players were forced to play a champ they didn't want to play. And worse you get tons of players going AFK or just disconnecting. Can't dodge the game because you don't have tons of smurf accounts for some weird reason, you say? Just wait out the game who the F cares. Play the game where you "R-A-N-D-O-M-L-Y" get the champ you want.

D. Smurfs have only the champs they care about unlocked so.... "Randomly" you just made Smurf accounts Gold as they narrow down the champs they only want to play.

FIX YOUR GARBAGE BEFORE YOU IMPLEMENT A TERRIBLE BANDAID.

Did you learn nothing from the backlash you got when you forced unmodified mark and dash into ARAM when it first came out or your failed DQ system!?!?

THINK!!!

Shuyin1789/8/2016, 9:33:45 PM17 votes

"seeing the same 20 champs every game got boring REAL fast."

At least they admit how boring it was. I could never use for-fun champions like Bard after the 1st day it originally got put into RGM because by day 2 everyone figured out the spamtastic champions (Zed, Fizz, Sona, etc) making it all you ever seen. This pushed out the meaning of the game mode, to be for-fun. It was never fun being spam-combo'd to death by the same handful of champions over and over again when you were trying to use something different.

Roxx9/8/2016, 9:16:40 PM17 votes

hey RITO, just saying but arurf is just CLUNKY AS F*** call it "ULTRA RANDOM ULTRA RAPID FIRE MODE!" so much cooler!

Tawa Rhethma9/9/2016, 2:03:54 PM15 votes

I'm curious how seeing the same 20 champs in a large portion of URF games is a problem while I see the same 20 champs most of the time watching pro teams. If one qualifies as "stagnant meta" surely the other does too.

onebigbamf9/9/2016, 3:28:25 PM12 votes

Honestly, i don't really like the way riots department is handling URF mode. The game mode is meant to be fun, and it already is. Honestly a lot of people would play some of the same champions, but you don't think that we knew that when we qued? Yet que times were at the lowest of any game mode in league. It was a great was get out anger from ranked and calm down. I knew people would pick Ekko and Zed so i would pick AP Pantheon, why? because he isn't viable in normal meta. That is what made URF fun, it had a whole different meta.

xSkyLegendaryx9/9/2016, 11:21:16 AM11 votes

That really really sucks RIOT! Why was **TOO **hard to understand riot? URF was just to have fun even to distress from the normal game! Because if you ended with a OP champ then you will wreck the game and it was fun if not, then you could pick whatever it was fun to spam! It was a IZI mode! What it the issue with you guys to make every "competitive and balanced" URF was that "hack mod" that every game has and you guys try to mess it up. [slayer-jinx-unamused]

iAceTooBig9/9/2016, 12:08:50 AM11 votes

why cant riot put urf in the gamemode rotations? so we dont have to wait every year to get 2 urf in 1 year i mean it only last 3 days

FroggensLilSis9/8/2016, 9:11:27 PM11 votes

Okay your point is sound but why use batman as an example? Nolan's gritty batman is, while fun to watch, a TERRIBLE version of batman, and I'm enjoying watching the original animated series for the first time right now a lot more.

Junkoo Enoshima9/9/2016, 9:47:19 PM11 votes

Gota love the Q&A where it actually turns out Riot doesn't give a crap about its player base and only responds to a comment that doesn't have anything to do with the major URF commotion going on in the comments. I mean it really just.. invokes a good feeling inside you when Riot people are such gits that they refuse to answer people who give amazing and great points as to why they should not change URF. SO HOW ABOUT IT RIOT??? YOU GONNA ANSWER THOSE WHO HAVE GOOD POINTS??? OR COWER LIKE IDIOTS UNDER YOUR DESKS BECAUSE YOU DONT HAVE AN ANSWER??[zombie-brand-mindblown]

Naleagueaccount9/9/2016, 3:40:21 AM11 votes

Look at my name. LOOK AT IT! Bring back URF. URF is life.

GreenStarMario9/9/2016, 5:05:43 AM10 votes

To be honest I don't care who's on the enemy team, I just want to play me some AP Kog'Maw URF. I understand the balancing perspective, but its URF, I shouldn't be assigned a champion I don't want to play.

CapnDarkDuck9/10/2016, 6:38:36 AM10 votes

This is my first time commenting, I'm so disappointed that I just had to. I've played this game non-stop since season 3 and have loved and hated this game ever since on my journey to Plat. I just don't understand why you implement change after change without FIRST consulting a large cross section of players. Please stop fiddling with things and LISTEN TO US! Look at these comments and try to get a sense of what the community wants! Sure, there has been a response of "It's the same champions every game" with URF, but there has been a FAR LARGER desire to just have it available to play whenever we want. I'm in disbelief that you don't know your own product well enough to know that the main enjoyment we were getting out of URF was control over champion select; the question of "I wonder if Leona would work..." being able to lock it in and find out.

If you find it this hard to make good decisions then let the community help! Give us polls in the client or something, let us guide you! We are the ones that matter and we WANT to play your game. This blind decision making and the lack of respect to the general player base (none of these anti-arurf questions have been answered by a Riot employee) is making me want to jump ship honestly.

Final note: POLLS! GIVE US POLLS![zombie-brand-facepalm]

I am Razgriz9/9/2016, 7:53:24 PM9 votes

Have you guys considered that people pick the same 20 champs in URF because they are the most fun?

Eiddew9/9/2016, 1:42:45 PM9 votes

I don't know if I've ever seen such out-of-touch decisions as made by Riot. Jesus. Obviously, you can't sift through hundreds of thousands of "NERF LEBLANC" complaints each day despite her being easily counterable, or whatever, but at least consult SOMEONE before removing one of your most popular game modes by removing choice. Try more bans before all random, please.

Typically, tournaments also have a small roster of Champions that are picked. Why? Some are just better than others at certain jobs. That's incredibly difficult to fix. However, when it arises in URF, why do you wish to fix it?

ShadyDoorags9/9/2016, 7:15:22 AM9 votes

What is this nonsense? Who is the one guy going around complaining about stagnant champs in URF? Everyone just wants to play the mode. We were all willing to wait a few months for it to come back into rotation. I helped my friend rank up just so he could experience it. What on Earth made you believe that Randomizing the champions is what we wanted? We liked what we had, we were thankful for it. The whole selling point of URF was that it was chaotic, OP fun. I didn't care that Katarina's were constantly destroying me, I was having fun! I didn't care that Fizz's were dodging everything, I WAS HAVING FUN! Randomizing champs takes a good portion of that fun away.

macdshifty9/9/2016, 8:32:46 PM8 votes

URF to me was exploring my favorite champions in a new way, or finding a champion I didn't play much and finding it to be super fun. I think the main reason why people are complaining about OP champions (seriously...gamemode where things are supposed to be op and people complain about things being too OP) is because they can't have fun without winning, which is honestly just super sad. My friends and I would play things we knew wouldn't work (such as AP Ashe) but we wouldn't get mad because it didn't work as well as Zed or something.

Whenever I was first pick I would either ban nothing or ban super low playrate champions because why inhibit someone playing something they want? It makes no sense to me. Who gives a fuck if the enemy team is playing something op.

Making the queue all random means I don't get to choose the next champion I want to experiment with, or spam over and over, because of this I honestly couldn't care less when ARURF comes out because I won't be playing it.