Ive heard people say it just ruins the hype for getting those every once in a while but why can't they just keep one special mode forever? I like to play little fun games in between serious games and aram is no longer fun...
Princess Emma2 votesMaybe not permanent to keep the game...er....fresh, but maybe have game modes come bi monthly or monthly for a week or so. It could be like the Darkmoon Faire on WoW or something ; The first Sunday of every month and last for a week (or the first sunday every 2 months)
Kouga1 votesWe have two. They're called Dominion and Howling Abyss.
Predatore1 votesDominion just.... why mention it. ARAM has been here forever and its jsut getting a random champion on a different map. Its not having mroe players on each team, its not having every person as the same champion.
Kouga3 votesARAM started out as a custom game type that people just came up with and coordinated. Go to custom games, find an ARAM server, everyone agreeing to stay in the mid lane and not recall, and getting furiously raged at if they did. Eventually, Riot conceded and not only made it an official "mode" but created a map and unique items for it.
Thing is, every time they do that, it taxes their resources; more game modes potentially mean 1) more "special" balancing for those game modes / maps that require individual attention, 2) adding/removing/banning/tweaking items for said modes, 3) listening to the rage and anger of people whining about how unbalanced the game mode is, and 4) having to consider those games modes, even if only to a minor extent, when creating Champions - "Will this completely break X game mode"
When URF comes through for a week, most players (excluding the true whiners) will just play the game mode and accept the lumps as they come. "Yeah, its super unbalanced, but fuck it, its fun." But as soon as you make it a permanent game mode, its a floodgate of "omg X Champion too strong on Y Game mode"
Minarde1 votesThing is, every time they do that, it taxes their resources; more game modes potentially mean 1) more "special" balancing for those game modes / maps that require individual attention, 2) adding/removing/banning/tweaking items for said modes, 3) listening to the rage and anger of people whining about how unbalanced the game mode is, and 4) having to consider those games modes, even if only to a minor extent, when creating Champions - "Will this completely break X game mode"
Small correction in that, yes, more game modes do tax Riot's resources, but mainly in terms of bug fixes. Crashing doesn't reflect well on Riot's product, so those bugs, like the recent Sion one, are fixed relatively quickly. Non-crashing bugs are lower priority and take a while to patch, like the "Azir leaves the fountain early" bug that was around for a few patches.
Balance changes for the alternate maps, whether item or champion, are rare. URF got about as many changes in one patch as TT and Dom combined got in years. (Skimming over patch notes since the start of 2015, it looks like there's been one champion change, a TT mini-rework, Mark/Dash added to ARAM, and about ten item changes to sync up with SR item changes.) Furthermore, alternate maps aren't typically considered when Riot makes new champs. Look at all the collection mini-games Riot's been adding in (Bard, GP, Garen) or the fact that Azir still has no passive at all on Dominion.
Basically, the main impact of more game modes is that Riot needs to do that much more bug testing to make sure nothing crashes League. Balance concerns are an afterthought at most.
Kouga2 votesBalance changes for the alternate maps, whether item or champion, are rare.
I'd still disagree there. Rare(r) than SR changes, absolutely. And understandably the bulk of the work is front loaded - the development of the map and resources and any unique/special items and such are mostly going to be introduced at the start and then, over time, there are relatively few changes compared to the massive amount of changes that SR gets.
However, its still something that requires their attention and resources. The 'mini rework' you mentioned is probably the same I'm looking at, 5.11 - but look how much was changed. 3 items (which don't exist in other game modes), the entire jungle, Vilemaw, the visuals, the altars, and so on. That's a pretty hefty amount of work that is going into a game mode & map that honestly I haven't played in years.
Basically I just think there is more to it than most people saying, "Just flip the URF switch on and leave it on" - a lot more goes into the upkeep of these games than that when they're on a permanent basis.
Minarde1 votesHowever, its still something that requires their attention and resources. The 'mini rework' you mentioned is probably the same I'm looking at, 5.11 - but look how much was changed. 3 items (which don't exist in other game modes), the entire jungle, Vilemaw, the visuals, the altars, and so on. That's a pretty hefty amount of work that is going into a game mode & map that honestly I haven't played in years.
All three items have been available on both TT and CS since last year. The visuals were reskinned versions of the SR stuff. I agree with your overall meaning though.
However, it's not like changes of that magnitude happen regularly. I actually think the last time was the full rework back in March 2012. In that sense, it's not that much work when the map hasn't had changes in years.
Anyway, I think we're arguing the same point from two different perspectives. You're claiming that upkeep balance changes would tax Riot, so more permanent modes aren't released. I'm claiming that the lack of balance changes tax maps' playerbases, so more permanent modes aren't released. So, yeah, "more complicated than just flipping a switch" sums it up well.
1080p PornHub1 votesI feel like it should be like the champion rotation you know? One week is one mode, the next week is another mode. Switch it up or do something like that. I would like to be able to stop from ranked, have a fun game with friends, and just play a fun game mode. I don't think dominion and aram is that fun. Don't make it a yearly thing, make it a weekly thing or something.
Nigma13371 votesUrf for ever pl0x Or like sandbox mode in customs for ever pl0x
Hellioning1 votesYou said it yourself. ARAM is no longer fun.
If any other game mode was permament, they would also be no longer fun. It might take more or less time than ARAM did, but it'll happen eventually when it's a mode that doesn't get much support and isn't balanced for.
