@Riot: ARAM Updates Headed in Right Direction, but Still Something Missing
The following post is divided into two sections. The first is the core post while the second is my own personal context. Don't waste your time on the second portion if you just want to get to the point.
The ARAM updates included in Patch 5.8 are headed in the right direction, but there is still something missing. The player-base will greatly benefit from a permanent champion selection component to the Howling Abyss. Not only that, but I'm confident that I speak for everyone when I say the community wants a game mode where players can learn skirmish, team-fight and champion specific dynamics in an accelerated fashion without the stresses that plague SR, ARAM, TT or CS. This concept is most likely one of the reasons LotPK and URF were so popular. The Howling Abyss is the best candidate simply because the single lane, 5v5 mode offers a fast-paced, fun, accelerated learning environment for new and veteran players alike.
The argument for Champion Selection on Howling Abyss
- SR is a complex game and it takes new players a long time to learn each aspect of the game.
- The least important part of the game is the laning phase, but the most important part is team engagements centered around objectives.
- Players start the laning phase on equal terms, but are never guaranteed an equal skirmish or team-fight environment.
- ARAM offers a skirmish and team-fight centered environment, but it is not always fun and never on the player's terms.
- One of the most common complaints from players is how matchmaking can seem so inaccurate.
My theory: Since players are given a disproportionate amount of time to practice the least important part of the game and have no way to routinely access a fun, team-centered environment, there is a huge skill discrepancy between players, even if they are at similar MMR.
My suggestion: Offer a permanent champion selection component to the Howling Abyss so that players can routinely access an environment that focuses on the most important part of the game: team engagements. If players are given a game mode that allows players to learn skirmish, team-fight and champion dynamics more quickly and easily, then players will be better equipped for SR and will be less frustrated with their team.
Let me give you some context: I started playing LoL with a friend in the Fall of 2013. I watched him play Tryndamere every once in awhile and eventually I expressed enough interested to download the game. We did have fun, even if my pre-conceived notion of game mechanics was way off. Fun fact: boots don't stack and Trinity Force isn't the best item just because it's the most expensive, but I digress. At some point we faced considerable frustration because our ability to succeed was so dependent on a pool of players whose skill level seemed remarkably inconsistent. After the Season 4 changes, I stopped playing entirely. It was too much frustration and I felt powerless to the constant bombardment of feeders, AFK'ers and trolls. Winter of 2014 I decided to try once more after I built my new computer. Unsurprisingly I found that the core game hadn't changed much and became even more frustrated than before, but then something special happened: we found the Legend of the Poro King.
It was so much fun, the Poro King was so cute and the Mark/Dash spell was so interactive, but more importantly LotPK gave me a mode that I could choose to play Thresh, my favorite champion, in a 5v5 brawl. I was in my element and even if my team wasn't particularly good, we had more opportunity to make up the difference. We were having so much fun and through so many skirmishes and team-fights, I was given context to engagements. Context that I hadn't been able to find in any other game mode because I didn't have access to a fast-paced, dynamic environment on my terms. If it wasn't for all of those LotPK matches, I have no doubt I would not be playing LoL right now. I would have stopped just like I did in Season 4. Now that I have been able to build a bank of positive experience, I've found Summoner's Rift to be rewarding when I have a team ready to work together, but I still can't access a game mode where I can quickly and easily learn new champions and try new strategies in an accelerated learning environment.
Some aspects of this accelerated learning environment can be found in some places, but there still isn't one core game mode that specifically caters to this environment. Team Builder can help players focus on a particular role, but queue times vary and you still have to wade through 10-15 minutes of a laning phase before any notable team interactions occur. The Howling Abyss offers constant, direct team interaction, but the only way to access that map is through ARAM, which isn't on the player's own terms. In closing, I ask that you seriously consider implementing a permanent champion selection component to the Howling Abyss. I have no doubt such implementation would be exceedingly positive and may even help remedy one of the most common complaints from players: inconsistent matchmaking.
Thank you for your time, have a nice day.
