Is Riot Games Making League of Legends too Easy?
With the 2023 Preseason Preview being released, we are promised jungle timers, summoner spell and rune page recommendations, and much more. But has Riot Games gone too far with the new additions, and are they making the game too easy?
In the 2023 preseason, we will see some new features to League of Legends, which should assist newer players in getting the hang of the game we know and love. In particular, Riot Games is focusing on making the jungle role more available for low-elo and new players.
In the jungle, we will now witness the addition of jungle pets assisting in the jungle, jungle pathing recommendations, and jungle leash range indicators.
Besides the jungle role, we will also have certain timers on enemy vision, recommended ability level-ups, runes, and summoner spells.
Many Fans Concerned About the 2023 Preseason Changes
Some of these changes have people in the community concerned about the future of League of Legends. For example, LCS Caster Isaac "Azael" Cummings Bentley came out with a thread on Twitter uttering his skepticism about the preseason changes.
In the tweet, Azael explains he is nervous about the direction of added information in the preseason, as he feels these changes remove the advantages of having some actual game knowledge. He also brought an example of how far this can go if Riot Games continues in this direction.
How far are we from being given the ability CDs for our enemies?
He continues to explain that these changes don't necessarily break the game but that players who take the time to learn and study the game should be rewarded and finishes his statement by saying, "Please don't turn league into all hands no brain."
The Easiest Champions to Main
Attempt to Make the Game Enjoyable for Everyone
As a response to Azael's Tweet, the LoL Lead Designer, Riot Phroxzon, explained that he agrees with the concern but that these changes aren't there to remove the game knowledge advantage for older players, but rather to make it easier for newer players to get over the learning phase faster, and making the game more enjoyable for everyone. However, he still wishes for players to be able to experiment by interpreting the meta their own way and trying out new stuff.
I think we all know that League of Legends has a pretty steep learning curve. When newer players learn the game, they are met with close to no tutorial and smurfs flaming, not understanding that people are actually trying to learn the game.
The preseason changes will most likely tackle this issue pretty well, but are they ruining other aspects of the game when adding these features? One streamer that completely disagrees with the notion that LoL is getting too easy is League of Legends streamer Cowsep.
Cowsep sees the preseason changes as a great way to add new players into the game and believes players having the attitude that these changes are somehow ruining the game is what makes the game boring and deters new players from joining.
Similar Programs Already Available
Some of you might know that there are independent programs already out there, giving players the information that Riot Games plans to add to the game. For example, many services provide build recommendations, tell you which jungle route is the best, etc.
Riot deciding to add this information themselves could be a step in preventing other companies from doing so in the future and giving everyone the same advantages when queuing up for a game.
What do you think about the preseason changes? As Azael said so nicely, do you believe these changes will make League of Legends an "all hands, no brain" game?
Join us on Discord and let us know your opinion!