As Legends of Runeterra's next big balance patch 3.13.0 gets closer, Game Designer Steve "RubinZoo" Rubin took to Twitter to share his thoughts on ideal patch outcomes by listing them in five tiers.
- New Meta Loop - increased experimentation through viability changes.
- Regional and Archetypal Diversity - always the target but tough to execute.
- Updates to "never meta" Champs/Decks - not just via direct buffs.
- Reverts - bringing back old powerful archetypes.
- New decks - usually through new content.
Quote From RubinZoo I've been pushing this year for us to measure patch success more by overall metagame disruption. Which means more nerfs - extending beyond decks that are clear overperformers in our data. Here's my quick thoughts on what the best patch outcomes are and what we should aim for:
Tier 1: New Meta Loop Low/Mid tier decks become more viable. A new metagame experimentation loop ensues. We have a wide range of playable decks, and while the meta will eventually settle into "best decks" - the time period of fresh meta and experimentation is awesome.
Tier 2: Regional and Archetypal Diversity Redistribute deck diversity for overall regional playrates and macro archetypes. This one is a clear aspiration for any patch, but execution is the toughest. The more you do, the less accurate any foresight becomes.
Tier 3: Updates to "never meta" Champs/Decks Bring champions/archetypes that rarely see play into the meta. Historically, just buffing things isn't usually enough here. This both helps us design stuff in dev with confidence and ensures that new champs can be satisfying.
Tier 4: Reverts Patch brings back champions/archetypes that have been meta dominant before (especially in the last 6 months). If we nerf too hard, meta regressions without reverts are also possible. Reverts are an easy path to disruption, but it can feel bad to relive metas.
Tier 5: New Decks Create brand new decks from the patch. This can be a breath of fresh air, but it's also the most dangerous (Darrowing comes to mind). Generally, new content is the workhorse for creating the most compelling new decks, but new contenders can spice things up.
What do you expect the most from balance patches? Let us know in the comments below!
Comments
I have mixed feelings. On one hand, every bullet point in Rubin's list sounds like a good goal. I also want to see a lot of variety over time! But I also want to see healthy, fun metas at any given point in time. LoR has bounced between great metas and boring, oppressive ones, and it seems like the team may still consider that a success because things changed a lot. Also, I have enjoyed Hearthstone's recent approach in which they (usually) dial back the strong decks a little bit, still leaving them viable. It sounds like the LoR team may be too eager to kill current T1 decks just so new ones can arise.
Right now, Illaoi/Bard is clearly too strong, but it's a fun deck with a lot of healthy counterplay. Before this rose to the top, the first week or two of the new expansion was defined by really awful solitaire decks that raced to complete their win condition on turn 4 or 5. The upcoming balance changes nerf Bard more than everyone expected, nerf Illaoi slightly, and also hit Tentacle Smash. That feels like overkill, and I don't know if I can expect fun decks to arise back in its wake.
There are many ways I can describe Bard/Ilaoi or any Bard deck for the matter and fun isn't one of them xD
Fair enough. Fun is subjective, and I almost didn't put that second paragraph in my comment because I worried it would distract from the overall point.
In general, what I hope for is a variety of viable decks with a variety of play styles and no clear dominant one. As a secondary concern, I hope that today's viable decks are different from the ones we had 2 months ago or that we will have 2 months from now. It sounds like Rubin is making a lot of metrics that address my secondary concern, but none for the primary one.
True, it would suck if they were to nerf some of the new decks just to go back to a meta dominated by tralls or Azir/Irelia.