One of the reasons League of Legends remains consistently attractive is the sheer number of champions it offers. However, the same element that makes the game more interesting is also responsible for creating big problems for the community. Among so many characters, there are always some that are too powerful or too difficult to balance. A situation that worries the community, but also the employees of Riot Games. Even the big bosses of the company live in fear of certain champions, so much so that they have fantasized about their permanent elimination.
The champions that complicate the work of Riot Games
Matt Leung-Harrison, aka Riot Phroxzon, is the man responsible for balancing League of Legends in terms of its main game modes. It’s a tough job, which regularly brings him under fire from critics. However, he wanted to talk about game design on the Broken By Concept show. He was faced with an interesting question regarding which three champions he would remove from the game if possible. Although he started with a politically correct answer that it’s better to work on characters than to cut them, he decided to give his opinion on the matter.
The developer explained that they would choose to remove Zeri, Master Yi, and Akali. However, he did so with nuance. His answer wasn’t so much driven by them being overpowered champions or negatives for the game. Instead, he focused on the design quirks that make his job harder. In fact, it’s easy to recognize yourself in their opinion when you know that their issues are often reflected in the game. They are champions who, when viable, are often too powerful and generate a lot of frustration in the community.
- Akali : She has tools that break the weaknesses of her champion class, being able to survive too long and push the limits without risk. The problem is that balancing it around those abilities kills its options for use at low to mid MMR levels.
- Zeri : Matt doesn’t explain much, although we can understand why he would delete this character. The differences between his performance in ranked play and professional play are immense. In patch 12.13, she won 48.8% of ranked matches, but appeared in 96% of competitive matches. It’s not for nothing that he’s one of the most problematic champions in history.
- Master Yi : As the Riot employee explains, it is very difficult to balance because it only serves to annihilate enemies with auto-attacks. He also has a very easy way to reach opponents, which makes him much more frustrating and difficult to balance.
This is of course the opinion of the developer, who dared to react to illustrate the great challenges that the Riot Games team faces when it comes to balancing League of Legends. It’s not something we should feel like an attack on our favorite champions if they’re on the roster. Zeri or Akali are two very popular characters that have helped the game grow, but we can’t deny that we wouldn’t want to be in the shoes of those who have to make decisions about how much damage they do or how to make them viable at all skill levels.
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