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Quick Gameplay Thoughts: October 30

Champion Complexity Philosophy.

DevAuthorRiot Scruffy
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Disclaimer

These posts will often contain talk about future work we're doing, or planning to do, that isn't yet guaranteed to ship. The work or goals could change depending on what we discover, and projects mentioned may get delayed or even stopped. That said, I believe it’s important to share as much as we can even if plans may change.



Champion Complexity Philosophy

Recently the champions team has done an audit and refresh of our principles around champion complexity. At a high level, we want League to have champions across a wide range of complexity profiles to help us deliver the perfect champion for every player.

A few of our high level goals when it comes to champion complexity

  • We want champions to have a rough bell curve on the complexity spectrum with a few very low and a few very high complexity but most falling somewhere in the middle.
    • As a sub point to this we want to offer a range of complexity options for each class and position (eg a high complexity ADC and a low complexity ADC)
  • Theme and complexity are well matched - an assassin with elaborate ninja tools attracts a player that is usually looking for a challenge while a fluffy teddy bear would attract players looking for a simpler kit.
  • For VGUs, we want to keep a similar complexity level to keep the current players of the champion feeling at home with the new kit
  • Avoid extreme playing AGAINST complexity - Players shouldn’t have to complete a PHD thesis to understand how to play with or against a champion, there is a limit to how much we want your game disrupted by someone else’s pick. Worth noting - playing AS some champions can require this much research because it is an opt in experience.

We evaluate complexity using 3 axis:

  • Mechanical complexity
    • Low mechanical demands. Spells are straightforward and “just work”
      • Rammus, Warwick
    • Medium mechanical demands. Sometimes requires higher apm or timing sensitive combos
      • Kassadin, Kaisa
    • High mechanical demands. High APM and punishing combos that demand precise execution
      • Kalista, Azir
  • Knowledge Complexity
    • Low - Skills learned from other champs teach you how to play this one
      • Miss Fortune, Sona, Lux
    • Medium - Playing this champ repeatedly is needed to learn correct play
      • Yasuo, Draven, Thresh
    • High - Reading a guide needed to learn how to play this champ
      • Riven combos, Aphelios
  • Playing with/against complexity
    • Low - Other players don’t need to change their playstyle when this champ is in the game
      • Ahri, Jinx
    • Medium - The champ requires other players to be aware of new mechanics or strategies when it is in the game, they can still play the game normally for the most part
      • Thresh Lantern, Nocturne’s R
    • High - The champ requires other players to think about the game completely differently on a strategic level when it is present
      • Ivern, Proxy Singed

To put it in perspective, here is how we rate our champs this year:

  • Sett
    • Mechanical - Medium
    • Knowledge - Low
    • Playing with/against - Medium
  • Fiddlesticks
    • Mechanical - Low
    • Knowledge - Medium
    • Playing with/against - High
  • Volibear
    • Mechanical - Low
    • Knowledge - Low
    • Playing with/against - Medium
  • Lilia
    • Mechanical - Medium
    • Knowledge - Low
    • Playing with/against - Medium
  • Yone
    • Mechanical - High
    • Knowledge - Medium
    • Playing with/against - Medium
  • Samira
    • Mechanical - High
    • Knowledge - Medium
    • Playing with/against - Medium

Thanks again everyone for playing. Stay safe out there.



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