Did generous monetization kill Legends of Runeterra? Not entirely, but there is precedent for it being a factor. Just as Riot Games made DoTA more accessible in the form of League of Legends, they tried this same hand at turning the digital trading card game genre into something that wouldn’t corrupt your mind and empty your wallet.
All of this packaged into something for the then drowning ‘League of Legends loreheads.’ The ever-punished whipping boys for the game that got hollowed out to be little more than a slot machine, where major players in their own lore events are phased out by the never-ending horde of pretty same-face models, where their biggest influencers are bribed to gleefully clap like seals when they twinkify Thresh for China. They didn’t remember Yorick Mori for the Ruination, because Vayne needs another skin, baby! $$$
So now the setting of the League of Legends universe- and yes, it does have a setting, as Arcane reminded all of us- is properly respected and fleshed out. Beyond champions, we have a steady rate of characters, landmarks and all sorts of other fluff padding out major places and events.
Or at least, that’s how it started.
OC characters in favour of getting people’s favourite champions in, the ‘lore’ being sidestepped for bizarre champion matchups, (Marrying Veigar to Senna, seriously?) making Lux, again, because you have absolutely nothing left to give- and Nilah is going up against Mordekaiser- because nobody, and I mean NOBODY, cares about Rell. Nilah is going up against everyone, actually. Sure hope you're a fan of Nilah! Legends of Runeterra ran out of steam by the end of year one, was on life support by the end of year two, and the plug was all but pulled by year four. That is unthinkable for the studio that made League of Legends, an absolutely colossal blunder.
But ultimately, there’s just nothing for the paypigs, that’s the fuck of it. It’s the absolutely worst thing you can say about a game, possibly ever, “there wasn’t ENOUGH microtransactions, actually.” The cards themselves were acquired so easily that it barely mattered. Within the first year I had everything I wanted- and enough currency that I would be able to buy whole sets that would come in the future, and that’s not even extensive play, mind you. That’s just idly completing dailies and practically nothing else.
The skins were garbage, highly selective as to who got special treatment (you’ll never guess). Animations, card effects, alternate card skins, all of which were applied randomly to some skins, with the others worthless buys with nothing to enjoy but different splash art. Wowie.
Never mind the glacial pace in which they responded to the meta, balancing being 'so twicky :(' that Riot just gave up and slowly turned LoR into a PvE game instead. They pulled their punches, the momentum was never capitalised on, and it killed the whole game slowly but surely. Should have just released Fiddlesticks, man.
All of this packaged into something for the then drowning ‘League of Legends loreheads.’ The ever-punished whipping boys for the game that got hollowed out to be little more than a slot machine, where major players in their own lore events are phased out by the never-ending horde of pretty same-face models, where their biggest influencers are bribed to gleefully clap like seals when they twinkify Thresh for China. They didn’t remember Yorick Mori for the Ruination, because Vayne needs another skin, baby! $$$
So now the setting of the League of Legends universe- and yes, it does have a setting, as Arcane reminded all of us- is properly respected and fleshed out. Beyond champions, we have a steady rate of characters, landmarks and all sorts of other fluff padding out major places and events.
Or at least, that’s how it started.
OC characters in favour of getting people’s favourite champions in, the ‘lore’ being sidestepped for bizarre champion matchups, (Marrying Veigar to Senna, seriously?) making Lux, again, because you have absolutely nothing left to give- and Nilah is going up against Mordekaiser- because nobody, and I mean NOBODY, cares about Rell. Nilah is going up against everyone, actually. Sure hope you're a fan of Nilah! Legends of Runeterra ran out of steam by the end of year one, was on life support by the end of year two, and the plug was all but pulled by year four. That is unthinkable for the studio that made League of Legends, an absolutely colossal blunder.
But ultimately, there’s just nothing for the paypigs, that’s the fuck of it. It’s the absolutely worst thing you can say about a game, possibly ever, “there wasn’t ENOUGH microtransactions, actually.” The cards themselves were acquired so easily that it barely mattered. Within the first year I had everything I wanted- and enough currency that I would be able to buy whole sets that would come in the future, and that’s not even extensive play, mind you. That’s just idly completing dailies and practically nothing else.
The skins were garbage, highly selective as to who got special treatment (you’ll never guess). Animations, card effects, alternate card skins, all of which were applied randomly to some skins, with the others worthless buys with nothing to enjoy but different splash art. Wowie.
Never mind the glacial pace in which they responded to the meta, balancing being 'so twicky :(' that Riot just gave up and slowly turned LoR into a PvE game instead. They pulled their punches, the momentum was never capitalised on, and it killed the whole game slowly but surely. Should have just released Fiddlesticks, man.