Is Riot Games making League of Legends too easy to play?

League of Legends has recently seen some big changes and additions to its gameplay, and some players are raisng the question of whether Riot Games is making the game too easy for newcomers to play.

As far as MOBAs go, League of Legends has never really been in the conversation of being the most difficult or complex game. With titles like DOTA 2 playing host to extreme levels of depth, League of Legends is considered a better MOBA for newcomers to the genre, providing players with some easy-to-use champions who can make their presence known against players of similar skill levels.

Riot is no stranger to changing or adding to League of Legends, with many changes significantly revamping the gameplay. But with Riot providing new WASD controls and adding a champion who can reflect projectile attacks with the press of a button, is the developer making the game too easy?

Are new champions making League of Legends easier?

While League of Legends isn’t necessarily becoming easier to play on the whole, it’s definitely becoming easier to get into the game than ever before.

League of Legends has expanded into other forms of media and genres of games, from the popular animated Netflix show Arcane to a new trading-card game. Thanks to this, the game is getting a constant influx of newcomers who are curious about the game’s lore, characters, and general popularity.

Credit: Riot Games

Many recent updates have revolved around making things easier for newcomers. A good example of this is the addition of Mel, who is arguably one of the easiest champions to learn and master. Having a single-button reflect button and a passive execute, most players can likely learn the basics of her abilities without being accustomed to how MOBAs work. Of course, it helps that Mel is also a character from Arcane, so newcomers may already be familiar with her as a character.

While winning games as Mel is initially easy, it’s also fairly simple to learn how to counter the champion’s abilities. From baiting to her reflect unnecessarily to playing around her limited range, those who actually put an effort to learn the game typically know how to counter her. This doesn’t just apply to Mel, as other relatively simple champions like Yuumi and Garen often have strong counters, which is why they aren’t usually seen in professional play.

Those who want to play better and actually climb the game’s ranks ultimately have to spread their wings and experiment with a greater variety of champions.

Does increased accessibility reduce mastery?

The increased accessibility options for newcomers to LoL may be making League of Legends generally less reliant on player skill and in-game mastery.

Many champions, including Ryze, Swain, and Ivern, have had their abilities simplified. Riot stated that this was meant to remove unnecessary complexities, but it also threatens to isolate  long-time players who put in the required effort and time to master these champions and their abilities to utilize them at high levels of play. Riot likely wants new players to feel useful instead of having them scramble to learn the game through repeated defeats. The downside to this is that it lowers the skill ceiling and discourages more competitive and dedicated players.

Credit: Riot Games

While some of the most impactful champions in League of Legends previously relied on accurate combos and animation cancels, including LeBlanc, Lee Sin, and Riven, that isn’t always the case anymore. Champions like Vex and Mel are comparatively one-note and rely on single, impactful buttons. Of course, this is without even mentioning Yuumi, who doesn’t require knowledge or mastery of any of the game’s fundamentals in order to be relatively successful. This accessibility does make it easier for casual players to make an impact in most games, but it also shrinks the gap between casual and more skilled players.

Riot also introduced WASD controls to make the game more approachable for newcomers. Since the control scheme is widely used in many traditional PC games, some new players won’t have to adjust to the classic click-to-move system that LoL veterans have mastered. Some of those veteran players feel as though this addition gives newcomers an edge without requiring nearly as much practice.

League of Legends is continuously evolving. It wouldn’t be far-fetched to say that the game is now appealing to a larger number of potential players than ever before, which could be seen as a mixed bag for long-time veterans. How players can approach League is changing, and while it isn’t necessarily making the game strictly easier, it is unquestionably chaning where the title’s skill ceiling and floor sit at.

Feature image credits: Riot Games