All games are just cosmetic crap, they're all made of pixels.
It adds zero gameplay. It's not even a skin for your character.
It adds zero gameplay. It's not even a skin for your character.
I mean, I appreciate the sentiment, but I can't imagine this will sway anyone's opinion about it. Say I believed this introduction was 100% nefarious, would I just expect you to go into threads and admit it?
I agree it would be short-sighted to sacrifice satisfaction for sales, that's why I'm concerned in the first place.
I enjoy unlocking achievements. Achievements for doing (sometimes) remarkable things by playing a game.To some people, achievements are 100% gameplay. Why would they be one of the oldest bastions of gaming if they didn't add to the experience?
This happens with my game as well and I would really like you to consider not everything in F2P games is a giant pyramid scheme. Not every decision is made to rob peoples money and not everytime an employee posts online (to zero benefit to themselves, btw) is a lie. I dont like this feature any more than you do (and I dont play the game so it doesnt impact me at all) but if people with experience take time out of their day to engage with you on a random forum,. they probably mean what they say and shouldn't be a target for your cynicism.
I enjoy unlocking achievements. Achievements for doing (sometimes) remarkable things by playing a game.
This is different, it's literally just a badge saying you bought something. That is not gameplay. Being called achievements doesn't make it gameplay.
I'm sorry but this is not my job as a consumer. I'm not just going to change my opinion because someone from a corporation chimes in, if anything they are the last people that will influence my feelings because they have the most reason to spin the message in their favor.
If a company has built up good will then I'm more willing to listen, but certainly not Riot/Tencent.
Heya - actual Riot employee here.
Game & system designers, as well as most people in the company, don't even have permissions (let alone have a need) to view this kind of data. If anything, the separation between revenue-generating stuff & core systems stuff (aka balance, champ design, matchmaking, things of that ilk) are kept intentionally separate because of fears of this, but also because it doesn't improve the design/product quality of things they work on.
In my four years here, I think the only thing that's close to "they make balance or game system changes for $" is the idea about not making cosmetics or big system changes for champions that are up for some type of rework in the near future, which is mostly due to how that would feel as a player, than revenue reasons. Even in that scenario, a champ rework team isn't being held accountable to champs or skins sold, because sales != satisfaction. It's also pretty shortsighted shitty business to chase profit over game balance, so even the revenue people don't want them to care about that.
As for Eternals, I don't work on that feature so I can't really speak to the why and how, but can say that the team in charge of it (the publishers, the designers, the bean counters, and leaders) are paying attention to all the feedback players are saying about the system, including threads like this. It might not be the most satisfying answer, but it is the truth, and the teams involved with it are talking about what's being talked about.
Thanks for the engagement and information despite the skepticism.
Star Guardian Urgot when though?
I haven't touched League in years, are there any kind of rewards available to get by just playing? Last thing I remember there was some other currency besides Riot Points that you could use to unlock champs (at insane high prizes, you needed to grind like crazy) or get cheap stuff live avatars. Also saw that you can get fragments of boxes/keys free, but those also needed some heavy time investment.here was a comment I posted with my take on the matter
This feels like a double-down on the community already beyond dedicated to playing this game, almost exclusively. Instead of trying to find ways to improve the community and draw in new players, you're going to focus on more hooks for the people already playing. This year alone, the introduction of things to pay for has reached ridiculous heights. Favorite champ? Pay for their skins, their prestige skins, their borders, their icons, their battle pass, and now pay for achievements. Grind those mastery points, play those ranked matches, but please spend money on the ideation of a champ being to your liking through thick (buffs) or thin (debuffs).
Can't uninstall a game if you've put over $1000 into it, right? Let alone risk it all being for nil. So many hooks.
I haven't touched League in years, are there any kind of rewards available to get by just playing? Last thing I remember there was some other currency besides Riot Points that you could use to unlock champs (at insane high prizes, you needed to grind like crazy) or get cheap stuff live avatars. Also saw that you can get fragments of boxes/keys free, but those also needed some heavy time investment.
I didn't say that. Obviously analytics are a big part of game balance and design.Can't speak for Riot Games, but "nobody tweaks the game design based on game analytics" is just what.
First of all, you're right about champ prices. The only way to 'earn' champs is to progress in the leveling system which gives you "champion shards", and despite the name the shards cannot be combined to unlock champions and must be used to turn into blue essence which is the new IP. Boxes/keys are not easily obtainable at first, as you're able to earn a chest every week (unless you have 4 available already then it's capped) and key fragments (3 = 1 key) for being honorable (which has a level system). There's a lot of intricacies and outright for anybody who has been away from the game, they've made it impossible to want to return.I haven't touched League in years, are there any kind of rewards available to get by just playing? Last thing I remember there was some other currency besides Riot Points that you could use to unlock champs (at insane high prizes, you needed to grind like crazy) or get cheap stuff live avatars. Also saw that you can get fragments of boxes/keys free, but those also needed some heavy time investment.
Riot does tend to overdesign. My humble opinion—it's because of their lack of budgetary restraint.First of all, you're right about champ prices. The only way to 'earn' champs is to progress in the leveling system which gives you "champion shards", and despite the name the shards cannot be combined to unlock champions and must be used to turn into blue essence which is the new IP. Boxes/keys are not easily obtainable at first, as you're able to earn a chest every week (unless you have 4 available already then it's capped) and key fragments (3 = 1 key) for being honorable (which has a level system). There's a lot of intricacies and outright for anybody who has been away from the game, they've made it impossible to want to return.
Have you run away yet? Because this shouldn't be how a game should be 'played'.
All I can say is, I feel for the people who oversee the wiki for all this information. They're doing the work Riot really refuses to do.Riot does tend to overdesign. My humble opinion—it's because of their lack of budgetary restraint.
You're right about it being unapproachable to reactivations. I had the same experience jumping back in. A million currencies and confusing launcher UX.
I'm not really upset by the monetization so much as just how lame their implementation of achievements, especially after all this time, is.But they're both equally cosmetic. You can just ignore both without having your game impacted in any way.
As far as monetization schemes go, this one is pretty harmless IMO.
These idiots are really trying everything they can to get some kind of regulation, huh?
Yeah, was checking that you need shards for every single champ to unlock them and jesus christ, what a grind. Good thing I already escaped everything MOBA related some years ago lol.First of all, you're right about champ prices. The only way to 'earn' champs is to progress in the leveling system which gives you "champion shards", and despite the name the shards cannot be combined to unlock champions and must be used to turn into blue essence which is the new IP. Boxes/keys are not easily obtainable at first, as you're able to earn a chest every week (unless you have 4 available already then it's capped) and key fragments (3 = 1 key) for being honorable (which has a level system). There's a lot of intricacies and outright for anybody who has been away from the game, they've made it impossible to want to return.
Have you run away yet? Because this shouldn't be how a game should be 'played'.
I wish more people would take the Fortnite Battle Royale approach (no, seriously). I think Epic Games has made a good job in that regard. Fortnite could be a game riddled with MTX in the form of loot boxes and be showered in lil' kids and their parents' credit cards money, but they chose to just sell everything upfront with no luck-based boxes, I respect that. Yeah, it may be more expensive, but is far more transparent. Also they are gonna remove the llamas from Save The World, or at least letting you see what you are getting. I wish that was the rule for this kind of stuff, but gambling makes more money at the end of the day.When i left league you could only buy skins in the shop. No loot box crap.
It was poorly worded. I should've been more specific in saying that I am familiar with their balancing process and business KPIs do not factor into it. I also know that directionally, Riot does not let business interfere with their game design, and in fact, tends to keep their business performance shielded from the company (aside from announcing major milestones) in order to keep development focused on giving players a good experience.Your direct [albeit anecdotal] experience pales in comparison to baseless guesses and wild accusations!
The problem with the Fortnite approach is that it doesn't work for most games.I wish more people would take the Fortnite Battle Royale approach (no, seriously). I think Epic Games has made a good job in that regard. Fortnite could be a game riddled with MTX in the form of loot boxes and be showered in lil' kids and their parents' credit cards money, but they chose to just sell everything upfront with no luck-based boxes, I respect that. Yeah, it may be more expensive, but is far more transparent. Also they are gonna remove the llamas from Save The World, or at least letting you see what you are getting. I wish that was the rule for this kind of stuff, but gambling makes more money at the end of the day.
It was poorly worded. I should've been more specific in saying that I am familiar with their balancing process and business KPIs do not factor into it. I also know that directionally, Riot does not let business interfere with their game design, and in fact, tends to keep their business performance shielded from the company (aside from announcing major milestones) in order to keep development focused on giving players a good experience.
Now that I've spent a few years in the cutthroat mobile world, I'd say it's a curse and a blessing to not have to worry about business as a designer, but I'd expect most Era folks to be all on board with that.
I figured, just covering myself in case it went in that direction. I've noticed an overall...tendency here of people to assume that every person in every company has full input and knowledge about everything going on, and everyone in every company should be held responsible for the worst single examples of anyone in said company.It was poorly worded. I should've been more specific in saying that I am familiar with their balancing process and business KPIs do not factor into it. I also know that directionally, Riot does not let business interfere with their game design, and in fact, tends to keep their business performance shielded from the company (aside from announcing major milestones) in order to keep development focused on giving players a good experience.
Now that I've spent a few years in the cutthroat mobile world, I'd say it's a curse and a blessing to not have to worry about business as a designer, but I'd expect most Era folks to be all on board with that.
Yeah, was checking that you need shards for every single champ to unlock them and jesus christ, what a grind. Good thing I already escaped everything MOBA related some years ago lol.
I wish more people would take the Fortnite Battle Royale approach (no, seriously). I think Epic Games has made a good job in that regard. Fortnite could be a game riddled with MTX in the form of loot boxes and be showered in lil' kids and their parents' credit cards money, but they chose to just sell everything upfront with no luck-based boxes, I respect that. Yeah, it may be more expensive, but is far more transparent. Also they are gonna remove the llamas from Save The World, or at least letting you see what you are getting. I wish that was the rule for this kind of stuff, but gambling makes more money at the end of the day.