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Black Market Brawlers failed, and here's why.

ShowMeTheBooty·8/1/2015, 1:48:29 PM·28 votes·3,548 views

In my opinion, this was either the 1st or 2nd worst event / game mode.

And here's why;

1st: BORING. Everyone picks their mains because they want to win. 2nd: No-one tries new stuff, all i've seen were meta champions, like, there wasn't a single game without Maokai top. 3rd: Enforcing people to win increases toxicity, afking AND surrender at 20. 4th: In my case i decided to get the GP icon, i regret it, i have to spend 750 KRAKENS AND UPGRADE THE BRAWLERS TO LEVEL 3 15 TIMES.. 15 TIMES... 5th: You get flamed at if you go duo bot with champions that aren't the standart Adc - Support 6th: THESE GAME MODES HAVE A PURPOSE, TO HAVE FUN. I don't want to blame riot, but it's their fault this game mode is so boring and toxic.

I was hyped to play this game mode because it looked fun, well IT ISN'T. You rarely find anyone trying new stuff, most people are toxic and surrender at 20 because of the EXTREMELY ONE-SIDED-GAMES. I guess riot didn't learn from ascension that forcing people to win increases toxicity. lol

45 Comments

Hupsis8/1/2015, 2:16:15 PM17 votes

Mistakes Riot did:

Summoner's Rift map without any big changes (compare to dominion vs ascension)
Too much new information. Basically a whole new learning curve for a temporary event
Reward grind. 750 Krakens for an icon that nobody's gonna use? 250 would have been enough.

Minions are not the point of League. Making them change into brawlers isn't going to change that fact.

If Riot wants to make an NPC oriented game mode where players are not fighting each other, then the brawlers would have been an amazing concept. In PVP they are just outshadowed by the enemy champions.

StoryDuck8/1/2015, 2:14:25 PM12 votes

Hmm... bummer. I've had just the opposite experience, I'm sorry you missed out on this:

Lots of different champs, I've been trying Taric in this mode with great success.
Saw a lot of new stuff. I myself have been experimenting a lot with the Murksphere and that pulling support item.
Had delightfully friendly teammates that were having fun even when we lost.
That does sound a bit intense. I'm glad I picked the other one as I only needed some wins and use each brawler once.
my ADC loved my Taric support.
Personally I hope they keep some of the items as they seem like really fun additions to the ranked game. However, if I had a similar game experience I would probably be of a similar opinion. I hope your future games are more delightful as it really is a fun experience when people are trying out the new items and using some fun strategy with the brawlers (had some fun with 5 of those chasing land shark brawlers. Quite funny when we got 10 of them chasing an enemy.)

Remlap12238/1/2015, 6:26:14 PM10 votes

This fucking game mode.

I really don't give a shit that GPs icon was a grind-fest. What absolutely pissed me off about it (and even ARAM to an extent) was the fact that I had to win two games BEFORE I could start earning credits towards the Krakens. Fine if you have a 100% win ratio for two games, like getting stabbed in the gut by GP if you're like me and lost seven of the nine games you played just to earn credits for the wins. So that's seven games worth of Kraken buying that I have to make up for because Riot pointed and laughed in my face and said "HAHA, HAVE TO GRIND MORE BECAUSE YOU SUCK!"

Blanchimont8/1/2015, 7:05:20 PM4 votes

I blame the fact that they make it so that you have to win to get the new icon rewards. Had they made it to just fulfill certain conditions in game, I feel that it would not have been as toxic.

Gunboobs8/2/2015, 6:56:41 AM3 votes

BMB: 5 wins, 3 losses. Only 260/750 krakens spent and 5/15 lvl 3 upgrades.

Shoulda picked the other icon.

Earl Eulrich8/1/2015, 2:06:10 PM3 votes

while i have seen quite many off-meta attempt i agree that making winning a necessity to get the icons just takes the fun out of the game a good deal, it´s usually frustrating enough to lose, but when it means you have to do even more games of a mode you donßt truly enjoy if you want the icon that just sucks.

for the mode per se: i really like some of the items (though there should have been some mr options aswell), but the brawlers just make the game snowball far too hard. i mean a single baron-buffed bloodhound lategame is more scary than a 6item udyr coming at you....a lot more scarry. and there are plenty of them.

Homebrew8/2/2015, 8:08:57 AM2 votes

{quoted}

In my opinion, this was either the 1st or 2nd worst event / game mode.

And here's why;

1st: BORING. Everyone picks their mains because they want to win. 2nd: No-one tries new stuff, all i've seen were meta champions, like, there wasn't a single game without Maokai top. 3rd: Enforcing people to win increases toxicity, afking AND surrender at 20. 4th: In my case i decided to get the GP icon, i regret it, i have to spend 750 KRAKENS AND UPGRADE THE BRAWLERS TO LEVEL 3 15 TIMES.. 15 TIMES... 5th: You get flamed at if you go duo bot with champions that aren't the standart Adc - Support 6th: THESE GAME MODES HAVE A PURPOSE, TO HAVE FUN. I don't want to blame riot, but it's their fault this game mode is so boring and toxic.

I was hyped to play this game mode because it looked fun, well IT ISN'T. You rarely find anyone trying new stuff, most people are toxic and surrender at 20 because of the EXTREMELY ONE-SIDED-GAMES. I guess riot didn't learn from ascension that forcing people to win increases toxicity. lol

I've played a few games today and had a shaco support. we killed. don't act like your games are like everyone else. toxic behavior is due to frustration. get better and stop pissing people off. it's people like you that make the game toxic. negative nancy

50000000000000008/1/2015, 8:10:31 PM1 votes

I bought two top laners (Master Yi and Tryndamere) who I've never played before just so I can try in this game mode. I rushed item 3924 and item 3652 , and kept on stacking and splitpushing. Sometimes they get ironback which is supposed "counter" to this, but Flesheater does true damage and Typhoon claws make it easy to pop their AA shield. Get a Hydra on top of that, and now you can do damage to them without even AAing them.

The sustain is crazy broken, and they're both really cheap items. I was Tryndamere against Heimerdinger and I sustained and farmed pretty well using that Flesheater active. We were losing, but I just splitpushed and got 5 towers and 2 inhibs. Strategies using new items are amazing.

New strats work. You just need to find them. Blame people who blindly follow LCS strats, not Riot.

PL558/1/2015, 8:41:10 PM1 votes

What would be worse than this game mode though? From the top of my mind I can only think of hexakill on summoner's rift.

EvilMerodach8/1/2015, 8:53:04 PM1 votes

Last game I had an enemy Katarina / Alistar bot and a Bard mid Kat got extremely salty when she wasn't winning. I mean, sure, try yer off meta shit, I don't mind, but..don't get mad when it fails. lol Was kinda sad when my 1st game everyone was just calling roles like normal. Feel like people are rather uninspired by the gamemode to play new stuff. Maybe it shouldn't have been on SR?

Tomate Cru8/1/2015, 9:26:12 PM1 votes

I don't think this game mode is boring, but I do agree that it introduced a little more toxicity, especially for ADCs when they are a standard AD champ against a duo AP.

Maybe it would be better to allow only the new Brawler Market items, forcing everyone to try new builds...

Beardyface868/1/2015, 9:45:26 PM1 votes

I hate that its a completely new mechanic AND catalog. I can barely remember to upgrade those stupid things when I buy, AND there's no information to tell you of the composition of brawlers present. You end up with 3 ocklepods and 2 razorfins. All that ON TOP of learning a whole new shitload of items with incredibly annoying mechanics (Looking at you FLESHEATER and POX ARCANA).

stealthfox948/1/2015, 9:48:08 PM1 votes

They could have promoted the different items more to. But yeah I agree worst gamemode IMO. To bad I kind of licked the graves/tf Icon. But winnign 8 games to do it when I'll be at the beach all next week doesn't seem worth it.

darkmatchwaldo8/1/2015, 11:52:19 PM1 votes

I've had a blast playing it, the new items open up a crazy amount of possibilities. TP boot enchants? Being able to clone your team mate? Minions that chase your enemy to the end of the earth? I was laughing my ass off when i hit a shen ult-trickster's glass-taunt. I haven't tried it yet but i'd kill to see a 5 man trickster's glass team with a shaco. 6 shaco's? What could possibly more terrifying than walking into the enemy jungle and seeing 6 shaco's? Nobody really flames me for weird picks or trying something new and if they do...screw them who cares? They may be talking shit now but if your off-pick actually works they'll shut their mouth real quick. If it doesn't work, you're 0/7 eight minutes into the game, and your team won't stop calling you a derp ass wood 5 fucker.....mute them... Most people i've played with have been just as excited about the new items and possibilites as i have.

Annapii8/2/2015, 12:21:22 AM1 votes

I enjoyed this game mode. I don't think there's anything wrong with a featured game mode where its just like norms with only a little extra.

Kuroi868/2/2015, 12:38:23 AM1 votes

Hm, never had any issues with it, least of all those you're experiencing. Seems you're just the sort to get queued up with toxic people, maybe you should look at yourself in this instead of blaming Riot.

Only Play Darius8/2/2015, 12:54:59 AM1 votes

I had fun. I will admit the games are pretty one sided and once a team gets ahead they usually stay ahead due to how the minions upgrades work, but I found the mode enjoyable overall. And I never even bought a single black market item.

WhiskerWow8/2/2015, 1:20:34 AM1 votes

I've had an average amount of toxicity. The brawlers are meh, but the new items, the new items are so fun! I really like kiting people with Netherstride Grimore, or disguising myself as DJ Sona and spamming dance ;^).

Saianna8/2/2015, 3:24:19 PM1 votes

I've uninstalled lol few hours after our new, glorious HUD update. I'm bit of sad that i won't play this event, but to hell with it. I made resolve. Won't be coming back like a whiny kid.

Jhindere8/2/2015, 3:31:10 PM1 votes

It was fun for me the few games I played it, I wasn't grinding for the icons though. I wish some of the items could find an iteration in the live game.

Ironclad Dragon8/2/2015, 3:32:14 PM1 votes

Yet whenever a new map or game mode that isn't URF is released, everyone slinks back to the normal Rift.

Dracid8/2/2015, 5:43:23 PM1 votes

they should have just made it "play 6 games" instead of "win 6 games". i think that would have solved the majority of the problems

Tenebrae Corvus8/3/2015, 12:22:32 AM1 votes

Don't know about the specifics of gameplay but the people involved can get quite nasty. Even if one likes the icon a lot to have to put up with so much abuse leaves you feeling bad and like time was wasted. This is nothing new and for all the resources that are supposedly spent on making the game better it's difficult to play without facing quite a few insults; especially if you aren't a pro player. To be fair, considering the griding involved in this and the prospect of future insults one wonders if time wouldn't be better spent in something else altogether.

The same could be said about posting in the boards: it feels like a waste of time because it feels like nobody from Riot listens. Regardless, sometimes the abuse is so persistent that you just have to let it all out somehow.

Kholdstare138/3/2015, 2:56:08 PM1 votes

{quoted}

1st: BORING. Everyone picks their mains because they want to win. I never gave a fuck about winning beyond the first 2. The only concern was begging both teams not to surrender or win too fast so it would last long enough to get a level 3 upgrade towards icon. 2nd: No-one tries new stuff, all i've seen were meta champions, like, there wasn't a single game without Maokai top. I fucking hate SR, but I've heard enough about its meta to know what i was seeing was NOT the normal meta. Graves+Jayce double ADC bot? Varus mid? AP+tank bot? AD Malz jungle? Granted I was responsible for most of this, but nobody seemed to care. Allies tended to go "meta" off instinct, but certainly weren't vocal about enforcing it. I never understood why SR players give all the gold bot to 1 champ and let the other starve. That's stupid, and I had to constantly tell my partner to go ahead and share the farm. 3rd: Enforcing people to win increases toxicity, afking AND surrender at 20. And surrendering increases toxicity since they required level 3 upgrades. A win by surrender is FAR worse than a normal loss. At least the loss has the potential to count a point towards the icon. Surrenders just waste your time. The icons were the worst part, locking you out from even starting progress on the massive shitfest grind until you get the wins was worse, and requiring a certain point in the game to even count progress was the worst of all. 4th: In my case i decided to get the GP icon, i regret it, i have to spend 750 KRAKENS AND UPGRADE THE BRAWLERS TO LEVEL 3 15 TIMES.. 15 TIMES... Again, this. If the wins had been simultaneous instead of needing to be done BEFORE this shitty grind, and the kraken count had been alone letting any length game count, or better yet count krakens earned instead of spent so no time is wasted, this would have been far more enjoyable. With no strict requirements beyond playing, you would be free to just dick around the mode and have fun with it, and the wins would come naturally over the course of the krakens. Instead the entire thing was toxic to the max over trying to drag the game out enough to earn 40 or 75, and any number below 40 or between those 2 was just a giant measure of wasted time. 5th: You get flamed at if you go duo bot with champions that aren't the standart Adc - Support Nah. I saw tons of not that. 6th: THESE GAME MODES HAVE A PURPOSE, TO HAVE FUN. I don't want to blame riot, but it's their fault this game mode is so boring and toxic. If they wanted it to be fun they wouldn't have set it on Farming Simulator 2009, the most boring unfun and horribly designed map in the world.

I was hyped to play this game mode because it looked fun, well IT ISN'T. You rarely find anyone trying new stuff, most people are toxic and surrender at 20 because of the EXTREMELY ONE-SIDED-GAMES. I guess riot didn't learn from ascension that forcing people to win increases toxicity. lol It's not about the wins. It's about the other conditions. Get wins before other progress can be started? bad. Just needing wins? Ok. Specific in-game requirements (lv3, PA) bad. Cumulative requirements that come naturally through playing? (ARAM towers for previous graves icon), ok. It's not hard to see what will be toxic and what won't, but when has Riot ever paid attention to what they're doing?

AmetDeCrypt8/8/2015, 6:21:22 AM1 votes

I have yet to get a single level 3 upgrade for the gp icon because my team will always ff at 20 or win easily and I'M SORRY IF I DON'T HAVE THE TIME TO PLAY 40+ GAMES TO GRIND THAT MUCH, RIOT! I do have a life and a job outside of league, so as cool as that icon is, I guess I'm just going to have to somehow not spend my entire week attempting to get it.

Lugg8/8/2015, 6:46:19 AM1 votes

I have to agree, the grind to get rewards wasn't fun at all. I gave up after I got the first reward simply because I didn't enjoy having to play the game to get it.

Rebonack8/1/2015, 3:18:31 PM1 votes

It honestly would have been more interesting on Dominion.

Normally Dominion has little (if any) focus on the lanes apart from bottom. Adding the brawlers over there would have added a totally new facet to the map that's almost completely missing right now.

RisenDarkKnight8/1/2015, 4:20:04 PM1 votes

I never saw a single toxic player in ascension. I thought it was a really fun mode. It was so much less snowbally because everyone was always the same level and gold

Kaipop8/1/2015, 5:10:43 PM1 votes

Maybe I don't have a right to say anything as I've never even played Black Market Brawlers but it just seems terrible to me. Gamemodes like One For All, URF, and Poro King which significantly changed the game were definitely the best.

Dracocrash8/1/2015, 6:34:21 PM1 votes

Dont know about the rest..But so many toxic people in this game mode ><

Lowvyr8/1/2015, 8:00:10 PM1 votes

I love this game mode and have seen very few toxic players in it. Maybe one person out of the 13 or so games I've played of it.

Rundus18/1/2015, 8:06:30 PM1 votes

I cant say I agree with the OP fully. Here's why: BMB adds in a few new elements to the game, and playing around them can mix things up a lot. If you can get your team to collaborate and all upgrade the same way, you can get outstandingly funny and good results. A wave with 10 razor fins and a cannon minion will practically negate any champion close to them without waveclear. The plundercrabs provide a massive boost to teams that run poke comps with 1-2 front liners. Ocklepods will be a constant pain for gank-heavy champs and AP, and Ironbacks make for extremely potent split-pushes. If you use these brawlers right, things get pretty fun (so long as you manage to keep the mood light). Also, if you get an inhib or baron, they go berserk and do monstrous amounts of work just by themselves. As for the wins, I agree with the toxicity part, but literally as soon as i got the icon i found the game mode to get immensely more fun.With the items and brawlers, the game mode has it's own meta. Shyvana and similar control junglers have a super strong spot that makes them often stronger than the full tank junglers, and even several devourer junglers (They get stomped on early) unless they have early clears that are strong, and even then Shaco can stomp them. AP people now have absurd amounts of CDR, so spam mages and assassins alike are strong. The tanks didn't get too awful much, but they're still pretty strong. Supports kinda got shafted as far as new items go. They can mix things up a bit, sure, but murksphere is pretty weak against anything but the ancient coin. ADCs have the mirage blade to play around with and puppeteer on anyone with a need for the utility can get fun as well. While the game mode is snow-bally, the same measures that stop snowballing in norms will still work in BMB. As far as flame goes, ive played 10-12 games, seen very goofy things (rengo adc was funny) and only had 1 flamer persist, as all the other people i was with did fun things too. I had a grand time with MF and AP Kog, but I also enjoyed my games with Mundo and Diana jg and Shaco and Tahm and Sona. Not all are off-mmeta, but all were fun and did fine. Sona even had a good amount of use for the murk sphere, and Tahm came in extremely handy for counter-jungling/camp stealing. The game isn't all that bad, you just have to play it for fun, and not just solely to win. If it takes 12 games to get 6 wins, so be it. You need 750 Krakens? Pick up a strong clear-based jungler (Shyvana or Shaco or Xin or Diana or Yi or something) and go to town on the enemy jungler's jungle. Oh, and btw, I saw excellently executed off-meta bot landes. Tahm-zillean was my favorite. They both built Ludens and had a fun time shooting minion bombs at enemies.