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Dissapointing Harrowing

Morgana Senpai·10/25/2014, 6:50:44 PM·72 votes·9,665 views

I've been playing this game for some time now. And usually riot really goes all out on season events but this one... is nothing but a massive let down.

Everything from the skins and icons to even the special game mode is disappointing. I am not sure if riot was trying its resources up in a separate project and didn't have the time to go all out like they usually do but if Riot has a set of standards this year they really failed to not only deliver but come any where close to the standards we are used to seeing from previous years.

Let's touch on some of the positive accomplishments from past years. Compare what was done.

Harrowing 2010

6 Harrowing skins, all unique and really cool designs that followed with a Halloween theme. This was a impressive feat Riot accomplished and really set the stage for the work and effort they were motivated to put into this game.

Not to mention the entire map dedicated to Harrowing with little Easter eggs.

They even changed some of ht item pictures into really cool harrowing inspired ones. (Frozen heart- Frozen Brain) That really goes above and beyond your average Halloween. Really impressive and FUN work done here

This was a huge deal, this marked an impressive display of work taken on by Riot to really create a fun environment for their players.

Overall Harrowing 2010 gets an A+

Harrowing 2011

Released 4 skins, all very cool definitely definitely Halloween style really brought some fun into this. "Pumpkin head fiddlesticks/ Franken Annie"

Had again really cool changes to the map as well as items. Still really gave off the impression that you are celebrating a spooky time of the year, really fun and great time had by all.

Overall Harrowing 2011 Still gets an A. Map work/ champions skins (multiple of them), items holiday'd up. Fun time

Harrowing 2012

Riot went pretty big this year and it was really fun experience

6 Skins, all REALLY cool. Haunted Maokai. To a legendary Zombie brand which was sooo cool to play. As well as implementing 5...yes 5 new summoner icons you could get. Honestly lot's of fun. I am disappointing that nothing was done about the map. It stayed its normal Summoners rift. The lack of Halloween map did disappoint a good amount of players but was still a fun time obviously celebrated by both Riot and community.

As well as unique ward skins (albeit temporary- could not permanently own them) Still really cool and used as often as i could

With the summoner icons, skins, and legendary Harrowing Skin you can tell a good amount of effort went into this. good job Riot

Overall Harrowing 2012 (B/B+) (not so much disappointing) but more could have been done

Now things start to fall off

Harrowing 2013

We have 2 skins released

Haunted Zyra/ Officer Vi...

Haunted Zyra really cool and unique skin really celebrates the atmosphere of Halloween.

However Officer Vi...kinda just seems like your average skin. Bringing little (but not nothing) to the Halloween experience. This skin could have been released at any normal time of the year and few if any would say ya that's a harrowing skin. Feel like a lack of effort was made towards creating any real Harrowing skins aside from Zyra. Disappointing 2 skin release for that time of the season.

More summoner icons were awarded this time through in game achievements for playing twisted treeline which was pretty cool, as well as Riot implemented permanent harrowing ward skins which upon purchase during the event would be on your account indefinitely. Was a cool addition.

Overall Harrowing 2013 (C+/ B-) was still fun wouldn't go as far as to say a let down, but obviously falls far from what Riot has set as a standard of work in the past. Really hoping they step things up.

Harrowing 2014

2-3 Skins Released

Wukong/ Leblanc...and maybe Soraka? at some point?

Granted some new summoner icons. None really look very appealing at least from my stand point.

The changes to Twisted treeline...were mediocre at best? Kinda cool, but what killed it was the special map...Hexakill. I've played it numerous times probably around 10+ already and the overall feeling i get to this is, it's not really fun. Most players on my team/ enemy team flat out say this game mode isn't fun

Riot had a massive opportunity to create a game mode revolving around harrowing. If you go into Boards and General Discussion there are a plethora of absolutely amazing and well thought out modes that would have been crazy fun to play. Really bringing Riot and the community together during this seasonal event. But dropping the ball doesn't even begin to touch on how this season is going.

Disappointing is the only correct phrase i can think of to apply to this. Feels like a lack of effort in every category.

With opportunities to make unique harrowing skins

More ward skins

More achievement based icons

Game mode actually having to have something to do harrowing.

With all of the new game modes released this season, and harrowing events from past seasons this one has been the biggest let down, and i truly hope doesn't foreshadow Riots position on future events or amount of effort put into Seasonal events.

I really expected more out of Riot this season

I hold Riot to a high standard because that is what they delivered many times before, however the current standard in which they performed this Harrowing isn't anywhere near where it should be.

You say you constantly look to your community for feed back. Yet i rarely see it. The community had so many fantastic ideas, so many hopes, and excitement for how this holiday would play out. And at least for me you failed to deliver on every single part.

Senpai noticed,

and

Senpai is sad

Morgana

76 Comments

Arkhan10/25/2014, 8:20:42 PM21 votes

I completely agree with you here.

So many points I want to hit on and agree with here.

  1. Officer Vi. Vi and Caitlyn are the Sheriff and Deputy of Piltover. Caitlyn's officer skin wasn't a Harrowing skin... so... why is Vi's?
  2. Last year, we had 5 Summoner Icons. And if anyone of you is like me, the Icons the equivalent of Achievements/Trophies. I remember going through and trying to grab them all last year. (which I did.) And this year, I saw that there were only 3. I thought to myself, 'I'm going to get them all.' And than I did... in like... 3 hours.
  3. The Map decoration. I have yet to play a game in the Season Altered Map. But... this one gets a complete pass, as Riot has been hard to work on the new Summoner's Rift.
  4. Hexakill. Was it fun? Yah. I give this one a pass as well for two reason. One, Ascension was just a couple weeks back. Got all the Icons, played it, ASCENDED!!!! and loved it. We can't expect them to make a new mode every couple weeks. And two, my number 5.
  5. I don't believe the Harrowing has pulled it's full experience out yet. Yeah, the skins are back, Hexakill is here, and that awesome video was released showing the puppets, but... the last icon you get is an easter egg for the new champion soon to be released. And I wonder... if he has something to do with The Harrowing, if no the Isles. :o

And as always. Even though I was a bit disappointed with The Harrowing this year, I still got the Wukong skin, I still bought the ghost ward, and I still played Hexakill and grabbed all the icons. It's a fun game, and Riot does a fantastic job at what they do. Sometimes... we have to be more than human. Because being humans means you will never be pleased with one thing for an extended period of time. Take it with a grain of salt, and understand all that they have accomplished this year. All the stuff they have released this year. They've worked extremely hard. VU's, New Skins, Ascension, Lore Rework, New Champions. I get you, but the evidence is clear, they have been working.

John Berserk10/26/2014, 12:31:21 AM10 votes

I definitely think it's too early to call. There is obviously more that Riot has planned, considering those 7 champion pages with the fog on them have yet to be explained.

There are rumors suggesting that Riot might even have some kind of lore event planned. First off there's this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Z1fP7ePU8o

Translation by reddit: "The black mist of the Shadow Isle is one of the most mysterious things in Runeterra. However, few champions dared to fuck(?) with it. This Harrowing, those will be facing nightmares. <7 champions> These champions come from different parts in Runetera, but they all have convicted a same serious crime. They thought that their pasts were forgotten. No, the black mist will never miss a thing. The black mist will make them pay for what they did. The black mist will come to League soon."

There is more to look forward too. Unlike previous years, where what you see at the beginning is what you get, I believe we may be getting more as the Harrowing continues.

Bad Ol Putty Tat10/26/2014, 5:51:22 AM4 votes

Why would they bring back Hexakill? No one liked that game mode...Everyone liked URF...riot is just a stubborn company. They do not care what any of us like. It's that simple.

Vellich0r10/25/2014, 8:37:00 PM4 votes

its sad that april fools got a better celebration than the harrowing. I mean we got summoner icons plus the best gamemode they've come up with as of yet.

ChimeiTekinaNasu10/25/2014, 8:57:52 PM4 votes

Harrowing 2014

2-3 Skins Released

Wukong/ Leblanc...and maybe Soraka? at some point?

Granted some new summoner icons. None really look very appealing at least from my stand point.

The changes to Twisted treeline...were mediocre at best? Kinda cool, but what killed it was the special map...Hexakill. I've played it numerous times probably around 10+ already and the overall feeling i get to this is, it's not really fun. Most players on my team/ enemy team flat out say this game mode isn't fun

You got another thing they did. Flash sales. Random skins on sale every 6 hours. I think it's usually 4-6, not sure, haven't kept track of how many exactly. Right now, there's 5 on sale. Right now, Pentakill Yorick, Pentakill Olaf, Mecha Kha'Zix, Junkyard Trundle, and Mafia Miss Fortune on sale. In addition to the normal sales. The random sales every 6 hours happens until the end of Harrowing. Mystery gifting has also been tuned to 2x chance for getting a Harrowing skin from it. Everyone also has the chance to get all the Harrowing skins from past season as well for anyone who missed it before. I got the 2012 bundle cause I didn't have an account that season nor had the RP for anything last Harrowing. I also gifted a friend a 2011 Harrowing skin that he's been absolutely dying to have for a long while now. Another friend also got a 2011 Harrowing skin that they really wanted. They also have ward skins bundles from all seasons, and I think the Bat skin ward is new this year.

Electro52210/25/2014, 10:10:34 PM4 votes

You seem to forget that Riot is obviously hiding something from us. The Black Mist? Everyone is thinking that it is either the teaser for a new champ (which is far more likely), or the next ultimate skin (which could go to Hecarim).

The reason why I think its a new champ is due to the Tales of the Black Mist video. Why would they make a video that seems to be pulled straight out of Pirates of the Carribean, if they're not releasing a champ whose name is even a reference to the series? (Kalista or Kalisto)

Reaver Soraka will more then likely be released at the end of the Harrowing (possibly due to technical problems, or Riot just wanting to time everything that goes out), as with the announcement of the new champ (more then likely, she won't be released until she has testing on the PBE).

As for Hexakill, its a featured gamemode, its not meant to be permanent. If people are saying it isn't that great, alright then, scrap it and try again. Although, I will admit that the Doom Bots probably would have had a better place with the Harrowing (this was probably Riots plan in the first place, but they soon found out that that gamemode wouldn't fit the core theme of this Harrowing that they wanted to achieve).

You also have to remember, Harrowing goes on until November 11th. Its been on for only a few days now. You really want Riot to release everything the day it starts? Yeah, they've released the majority of it, but they're saving the best for last. Be patient, you never know. This Harrowing might set the bar even higher.

TenSlashTen10/26/2014, 2:43:57 AM4 votes

I love the leblanc skin, I couldn't give two fucks about events lmfao.

Vortex IV10/26/2014, 3:20:50 AM4 votes

Last year was much worse, especially in terms of icons. We got a guy who looks like he belongs on the front of the boo berry cereal box, a girl face, a vilemaw and a book? Only one of those even came close to meeting halloween terms. Haunted Zyra was pretty good but officer vi had nothing to do with halloween.

And to top the event off as the worst failure they launched it on october 29th, when every other company that celebrates any holiday/event always starts it a week or two before.

2013 Harrowing was not just worse it was drastically worse.

Vivicide10/26/2014, 3:30:12 AM4 votes

i consider dunk master Darius a harrowing skin.

disregardable10/25/2014, 6:57:17 PM4 votes

"Some new summoners icons"? I only see one.

Otherwise, no disagreements here. Hexakill isn't fun, the two underworld skins are nice, and those are pretty much the only things of note they put out.

Zulgaines10/26/2014, 6:40:08 PM4 votes

This years Harrowing is pretty much just Katarina VIP mode.

LANWhale10/26/2014, 12:14:25 AM3 votes

What You say is true that compared to the other Harrowing this one is lack luster but they introduced something new, The Black Mist. Riot never mentioned anything about this in any of their past Harrowing and with them saying that the Black Mist get's stronger every year, I can't shake the feeling that there is more in store in this Harrowing that we have been shown. Maybe it might be a new skin or maybe a new champion but I doubt what they shown us is all there is to this year's Harrowing. Or maybe it is, because if I remember it correctly, every year the Harrowing comes buy in Runeterra people go out and celebrate in costumes and ask for candy. A lot people forget that other people are superstitious about the Harrowing and that dark spirits are stronger during that day, maybe they are taking that kind of point of view. I don't know this is just what I see that can happen this Harrowing.

Platinum rain6410/26/2014, 3:02:19 AM3 votes

the harrowing has just begun, you never know maybe we will be seeing some cool stuff this next week (still holding out for a new shadow isles champion)

also some points you missed:

  1. why no mention of the shadow isle champions released in the previous years?

  2. 2012 was huge because that was that years event (like freljord last year and shurima this year)

  3. also no mention of the fact at least 2 (i think 2011 and 2013?) of those years harrowing wasn't even ready on Halloween because of delays

  4. and give some credit for them bringing back the old harrowing skins (whether positive or negative it was at least something)

  5. and lastly give them some credit for the cinematic. I thought it was pretty cool.

Ps. and at least we get sales this year. i remember at least 2 harrowings were there were zero sales going on. we even have these flash sales which is a neat idea

BlueDreamZzZz10/26/2014, 4:24:11 PM3 votes

I just hate Hexakill. Like, when do you ever see people say "omg I miss hexakill riot pls." Never is when. The most fun I've ever had playing this game was URF mode. Idc about the skins, I'm not buying either. There are so many champs with like no skins too - so lame. How about a Halloween themed Velkoz or something ffs?

eztarg3t10/25/2014, 7:04:51 PM3 votes

I'm just going to assume that Reaper Soraka is not a Harrowing skin. My dream for Dr.Frakenraka shall live on!

bad penny10/26/2014, 3:32:13 AM2 votes

These last two were fairly disappointing. Absolutely agree about officer vi. Haunted Zyra is a legitimate skin. Granted I'd be fine with it being released any time of year, it at least has a scary theme. This year I saw the wukong and leblanc skins on surrender at 20 and it didn't even click that they were halloween skins. Because they aren't. They're 'harrowing' skins. Barely. Both could've been released whenever. I don't mind the underworld skins, they are fine, go ahead and release them during the harrowing as 'harrowing' skins. But make the rest Halloween skins. Pumpkinheads, witches, bats, candies, black and orange, spooky noises/voice things, ghosties, spider webs, characters wearing obvious costumes, bones/skulls... We like these things.

Are these skins really not worth your effort? You can resell them each harrowing and they don't go on sale probably ever. I mean, here's one I came up with just now. If you make a teemo skin where his mushrooms are now pumpkins and he yells 'boo!' when you break stealth (give him whatever costume, maybe a dracula cape who cares), I guarantee it will sell and make people happy, even though he has a shitload of skins. Obviously making a skin takes more than just coming up with an idea, but there is so much untapped potential.

Biscuits could be candies or cookies or whatever. Poros could be dressed up like spiders and do something different when fed for aram. Could reuse that every year too (granted you'd have to update stuff as the map gets touched up or whatever, but we'd appreciate it).

As far as hexakill goes... it's fine. For a random custom mode. It's not a harrowing mode or anything really (to me). Doesn't feel special, but it plays okay- it's just a big brawl fest. It could use bans, but there are ways to stop some of the more annoying champs. It can be snowbally and some team comps are annoying, but hey the variety is worth it. I'm still waiting for permanent urf (we don't need a queue, put it in customs and keep it up to date and people will host the shit out of it themselves), but this is fine.

Ultimately I'm not a huge fan of a shift toward 'the harrowing' from Halloween. Halloween has a distinct fun feel to it. I guess you're just trying to sell seasonal skins all year round by making them vaguely dark, which is too bad; it's weird selling pumpkinhead fid all year, but ravenwhatever leblanc? Heck, in a month no one will even remember it was from the harrowing. Sure you need to make money and I like seeing batches of skins coming out... but really I just wait on sales, unless there's some reason not to (like limited time headless gragas, who rolls his big fat head and it blows up in a gory explosion... pg13).

Xetelian10/26/2014, 3:01:43 AM2 votes

I bought a 25 dollar riot card with my birthday money Oct. 1st and I've bought 1 skin and that will be all...this is a very low octane harrowing

ModCaptainMårvelous10/26/2014, 6:40:27 AM2 votes

My guess is whenever they finish the new map (????????) We'll see a better version of the halloween map that was on SR. Like, new mobs and everything.

Also, I'm surprised you gave OG Harrowign way more points than 2011 Harrowing. Less skins but skins that in general had better animations/particles compared to the 2010 skins.

Xetelian10/26/2014, 8:37:33 PM2 votes

I hope this isn't a sign of how the Christmas season is going to be( IE 1 decent skin 1 lame skin bad game mode)....this isn't a good direction rito

Kuroi8611/2/2014, 4:08:42 AM1 votes

My biggest issue with Hexakill is... players seem to just get stupid with their champion picks.

I see so many people trying to play damage carries, then I pick a bruiser or tank knowing we'll need some tank... and they end up doing nothing because the enemy team thought to build some defense and actually get a solid front line and we can't do a thing because I can't hold the entire enemy team back while three ADC' try and act like they deal damage.

DarkLiquidDeath10/27/2014, 4:12:43 AM1 votes

The only thing you forgot was the cool video the added this year. Also, the new skins are pretty cool. One thing I really don't like, however, is the flash sales, as they not only barely reduce the prices on the skins, but they aren't even announced on the main page like Steam flash sales are. I haven't tried Hexakill yet (SR and TT) so I can't really comment, but I've never really cared about either.

apuig10/27/2014, 3:55:51 PM1 votes

I love the Harrowing but the only thing I can do right now is to agree with you. Harrowing left much to be desired. This should be a mega event with 5+ skins and rewards but no...I'm starting to fear for next year's Harrowing already.

Young Kush Clop10/27/2014, 6:19:50 PM1 votes

Last year's Harrowing was my favorite by far. Miss it. This year sucks all around though honestly

Morgana Senpai10/28/2014, 1:46:16 AM1 votes

I really hope this post doesn't turn into a...looks like i called it.

Please don't let this Harrowing continue to be like this/ end this way

Mr Mystical10/28/2014, 3:10:00 AM1 votes

I agree -- the website was cool and all but the rest of harrowing is just meh --- they are probably busy trying to push out the new SR update and if that's the case I forgive them as the new SR update is pretty amazing. Meantime I do like the two new skins but I do recall the days when holiday and event skins were pretty sweet.

Migrañaboy10/28/2014, 3:19:32 AM1 votes

At least we can hope for the winter map they have been optimizing for 2 years.... ohh wait.

AFK Push10/26/2014, 3:19:38 PM1 votes

I kind of disagree with the Vi thing. Think about it and headmistress fiora for a second. What do all girls do on Halloween? Break social norms by dressing as a slutty version of anything, because it is ok on this one day. That is why those skins exist.

Now these 2 new skins are a little disappointing, however they fit into the lore that is the harrowing of Shadow Isles. That is just my 2 cents though.