Riot Games’ Bounty System in League of Legends Needs Fixing
Riot Games, the developer behind the popular game League of Legends, introduced changes in season nine to extend the lane phase and make it more exciting. They added features like turret plates to encourage players to be more aggressive in the early stages of the game. However, to prevent games from snowballing too quickly, Riot also implemented a bounty system that allows players to accrue farm bounties in addition to kill bounties. While the changes were meant to balance the game, the bounties have created several issues that need to be addressed.
The Problem with Farm Bounties
The new bounty system assigns bounties based on a player’s gold earned from minions and monsters, in addition to kills. This means that even if a player has not scored any kills, they can still have a bounty solely because of their farming abilities. Riot has made some adjustments to the system, but they have not gone far enough. The problem lies in the fact that some champions are naturally better at farming than others. Over time, champions have been balanced around their ability to farm, and introducing farm bounties disrupts that balance. It becomes difficult to differentiate whether the difference in gold earned is due to the champion’s design or the players’ skill levels.
The Negative Impact of Farm Bounties
Having a bounty placed on a player just for last-hitting minions feels unfair and discouraging. Players who receive a bounty tend to play more cautiously, which ironically leads to them earning even more gold from farming. This creates a double-edged sword that goes against the game’s intention of promoting player-versus-player encounters. Additionally, the introduction of farm bounties has given rise to new strategies to exploit the system, as seen in professional matches where teams intentionally manipulate the system to create bounties on opposing players.
The Real Issue: Game Speed
The inclusion of bounties is an attempt to address the increased speed of the game. Professional match data shows that games are now approximately one minute faster than the previous season. While the impact of faster games is still debatable, relying on farm bounties to solve the issue brings about unnecessary complications.
In conclusion, Riot Games’ bounty system in League of Legends needs further refinement. The negative consequences of farm bounties outweigh the intended benefits. It’s crucial for the developers to find alternative solutions that maintain balance and fairness in the game.
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