If these new features continue to be problematic, Riot will kick in with the changes.
League of Legends' 2022 season kicked off last week and included a number of changes to the game, many of which were implemented in the preseason, such as new elemental dragons and objective rewards. Many of these new features have been accepted by players, but others stand out as problematic and overpowering.
In a new Quick Gameplay Thoughts developer post, new Summoner's Rift design lead Riot Phroxzon provided insight into how Riot feels about many of these new features and detailed that many of the game's teams are open to changing them further in the near future. Although this preseason includes fewer new features compared to previous seasons, many aspects of the game have been changed in various capacities, some a bit too much for healthy gameplay balance.
Phroxzon aimed to assure players that the design team was aware of the criticisms regarding both the Chemtech Rift and Soul, and acknowledged that both the stealth zones and buffs associated with Soul are too strong and generally not fun to play against. “If we find that the high moments are still not manifesting after both changes, but continue to disappoint players, we are very open to higher-reach changes, including reworks,” Phroxzon said.
A similar sentiment was expressed about the power of objective rewards, as the design team believed this feature would be welcomed by the community over time. They believe the objective rewards are not yet at the level of balance that will allow the winning team to maintain their lead, but maintaining the feature and working on it will open up better strategies for both sides of the Rift.
Regarding runes, items, and summoner enchantments, changes to all three of these categories are currently pleasing to the design team, but they're looking to improve each one further. Phroxzon acknowledged Lethal Tempo's power, especially over melee champions, and reminded players that nerds are on their way. The design team is happy with the state of the new Inspiration cornerstone First Strike, but the other keystone in this tab, the Glacial Augment, hasn't been used as much as the team had hoped, highlighting their hopes that mages will use it. this rune is more on Aery. The Teleport and changes to various Legendary and Legendary items were also successful, though the design team will be keeping a close eye on them in the coming weeks.
The league's 2022 season continues and players will be able to participate in the new ranked season until the end of the year.
