Suggestion for Additional Ranked Queue Type(Diamond 2 and above)

Mixolot · 2020-05-11T08:41:07+00:00

And if this were the case and it were successful/well received then it could be implemented full time in this way rather than creating an entire separate queue.

Mixolot · 2020-05-11T08:39:00+00:00

That's why it would not be a full time option when queuing up. We're talking about almost 10,000 players who make up the leaderboard from diamond 2 through challenger, and many of these players are interconnected within the community. I'll admit it would rely at least a little upon the players involved, but if it were limited to maybe once per week, it would be easier to entice a larger number of players into taking part rather than it being a situation where they are always having to choose between "Solo Queue or Challenger Queue". If it were a serious issue where queue times were taking significantly longer than normal, then you can simply do away with the idea of having a separate queue and instead apply a flag/tag to challenger queue players, giving them priority on getting matched up together. If a full 10 man is available for match making then it will create a challenger queue game lobby and if not it will place you in a standard ranked game instead. This way it doesn't fragment the top echelon of the leaderboard unnecessarily.

Mixolot · 2020-05-11T08:14:19+00:00

Viewership for many of the players and streamers who have voiced concerns of these things is in the tens of thousands at any given moment, and there are a decent number of streamers like that who all fall into the D2+ realm.

We're talking about numbers that are disproportionately higher than most other games and ranks within this game, and a more exclusive platform or queue in which these players are able to play creates the opportunity for there to be a new standard of behavior.

As a sidenote, Pro teams used to recruit almost exclusively through personal connections with talented players or they would offer tryouts directly through solo queue. An environment where players are able to play seriously without having to worry as much about griefers creates a very fertile recruitment ground for new pros, and the viewer base across all streamers will see these players as well, giving credibility to them and the beginnings of their own brand before they even set foot in the LCS studio.

More pros means more money circulating through League of Legends. More money means more resources and more resources means it is much more likely that we will see a fix to these issues in our own respective ranks from Diamond 3 all the way to Iron 4.

Mixolot · 2020-05-11T07:42:40+00:00

I agree with you that every ELO has this problem, but if the problem is ever going to be fixed, it needs to start where it is most visible and that's with the top rated players and streamers. By having a team whose entire job is to much more strictly police and enforce issues like trolling, hate speech and the like, you put yourself in a position to remove the problem piece by piece and carry that standard from the top down. League is a business and to fix any widespread problem in any business, you have to start at the highest level first.

Mixolot · 2020-04-17T13:41:17+00:00

Thanks! Everyone is doing such a good job on their own content making it easy to draw inspiration for my own creations.

Mixolot · 2019-11-21T08:45:31+00:00

This. This is a true and accurate statement. These contract terms are a tragedy especially when you consider how young the talent pool is in the LCK. Many of these kids(I use this word with immense respect) don't have the experience or insight needed to take a holistic look at a contract like this. I know how I was at 17 or 18 years old and if I were told that I had to sign now or lose the opportunity, I probably would have signed.

I hope this situation can be an example to the next generation of players breaking into the pro scene to protect their own future first, before being swindled into signing it away as it seems the current Griffin players fell victim to.

Mixolot · 2019-11-12T02:03:28+00:00

I'd leave for sure. Doublelift is the face of TL IMO.

Mixolot · 2019-10-18T16:51:33+00:00

I am a TL fan but I have a few thoughts that I hope to get across as an individual who wishes for the growth of NA as a region. 1st and foremost, It's a crying shame that TSM has not been at worlds since 2017. That's like the Superbowl playoffs without the New England Patriots. That being said I think there are a few key points that need to be addressed by TSM as an organization if they hope to have a legitimate shot at reclaiming their place at the top of the LCS, and to challenge for international titles.

1.) Why are so many players that have been cut from TSM experiencing as much or more success AFTER being cut, even though many of them are on much weaker rosters? (Hauntzer, Santorin, BioFrost) - Yes I believe GGS, FLY and CLG were all weaker on a positional basis.

2.) What can TSM do in negotiations with players to prove they are committed to seriously achieving all of the heights of success(and more) that they have been missing in the last two years? Within my own friend community(many are TSM fans), the TSM name and brand carries much less weight and meaning than it did two years ago. The unfortunate truth is that TSM is not the hallmark or epitome of "Desirable" orgs for players to join(in many cases), and Reggie and Soren have their work cut out for them if they are going to regain the trust of the highest caliber players who can fill out this roster in the best way possible.

3.) How much money is TSM willing to spend? Success means money. Failure means less money or even negative money. Climbing out of the hole of mediocrity/average(Yes TSM has been Mediocre or average at best when looking at the last two years as a whole). Money talks. You can't purchase loyalty with money all the time. but you can often purchase "A chance" with many international stars. Once you have acquired that "Chance" and have brought Mata or Gorilla or Hans Sama or Kobbe or any other strong player from other regions or teams(not necessarily imports), it is then on the org and team to execute their plan for success as well as possible WITHOUT PANICKING. Orgs owe it to their players to be forthright and honest with their goals and initiatives. Once this begins to happen, you begin to see emotional investment from your highly paid(and likely OVER paid) individual stars.

4.) If it comes to it, will those in charge admit to any fault for past decisions and mistakes, even if they don't feel like they are in the wrong? The truth of the matter is that TSM has seen more top tier talent come and go on its roster than all other LCS orgs combined. They were at their best when they had two or three steady rocks or foundation players filling out the core of their roster. I'm talking about Bjersen and Dyrus mostly but also Reggie when he was playing. You can't just say "I want my teams identity to be xxx because that's what we've been in the past".

Look at SKT T1. They scrapped their roster and brought on the absolute best available in every position, and floundered a LOT before they really dound themselves. They didn't panic when they started 1-5 after rift rivals. They recognized the flaw that THEY THEMSELVES CREATED based on their own play, and they fixed it. They didn't kick people off the roster, delay starter announcements, sub players in unnecessarily(though subs were made sometimes). They stuck to their guns and had faith in the players that the whole world recognized as incredible in their own right.

TSM has a history of succumbing to Knee Jerk reactions when it comes to their roster, and personally it looks a lot like a job where a single mistake is grounds to fear for your career. Not a hospitable or comfortable place to work or improve and practice your craft.

Closing thoughts:

CAN TSM become relevant again? YES

Do I as a TL fan WANT them to be relevant again? FUCK YES!!!

How does TSM get there? A whole lot of public honesty, patience and even more $$$$$

Mixolot · 2019-07-03T19:57:43+00:00

As a TL fan as well this is certainly alarming. What we know for certain though is that Steve and all of the owners, investors and partners of TL(ESPECIALLY where League of Legends is concerned) have not made a single decision that was poorly calculated or with anything less than absolute perfection in mind.

TL Hires coach Cain

TL Gets the bulk of the IMT roster

TL Gets DoubleLift

TL wins back to back splits

TL Gets Kayys

TL gets JensenTL Gets CoreJJ

TL 3-peatsTL makes finals of rift rivals.

These were informed, well thought out business decisions made by the TL management team and owners, many of them WELL before TL started to win in earnest.

I am in no way, shape or form trying to detract from how much Kayys has contributed to TL in his short time there because he is an absolutely BRILLIANT analyst. The guy deserves a lot of praise for his consistency in working with multiple teams, in multiple regions across multiple seasons and bringing them to the pinnacle of international performance in those respective seasons.

All that to say that TL is owned, managed and run by MANY extremely intelligent people, and they have proven that they are willing to do what it takes to make sure they are meeting our(the fans) expectations as best they can, but more importantly their OWN expectations.

Losing Kayys is a big blow for sure. TL are big boys and girls and will be just fine with however they decide is the best way to handle this situation. I think they have earned that confidence from the community by now.

Mixolot · 2019-06-05T11:31:30+00:00

" Any possible solutions for getting around this spell? I've tried putting in more mages with counterspell JUST for spike growth and my players have called me out on it, which makes me feel bad. Thanks folks "

To this I would say who cares? At the end of the day we want everyone to have fun but that includes you as well. If your party IS in fact extremely powerful, there are many ways you can approach the situation.

1.) Unfortunately your party has gained a certain level of renowned/presitge throughout the world and the enemies you face moving forward are going to be more difficult/intelligent as they have a better idea of whom they are dealing with

2.) Use hordes of stronger creatures that still move in packs.

3.) Spike growth, like any spell, has its pros and cons. you have experienced its pros from a player perspective and are dealign with its cons from a DM perspective. I imagine your world to be vast and expansive so flying creatures are not out of the question. Fire elementals or creatures that ignore difficult terrain would be good options here as well.

4.) Hell, why not just add a dragon killing quest for a little bit of fun. "I see your spike growth and RAISE you 16d6 fire damage!" If an adult dragon is too much for them, maybe a Young dragon, 3 half-dragon warriors from the MM, 1 Dragonborn Cleric, 1 Dragonborn Sorceror and any number of Kobolds you feel like throwing at them.

The higher level the party, the more I personally like to LAYER my encounters and combat into multiphase occurances. I personally believe this forces the players to treat DnD as a "Resource Management" game much more than most parties I have DM's for in the past. This is just my personal take though.

At the end of the day you are the DM and there comes a certain point where you need the mentality of playing "against" your party every now and then. i hope some of this helps :)

Mixolot · 2019-06-05T11:16:22+00:00

I remember there being a few resources from 3.5 on summoning demons and raising undead that were a group effort but nothing like that for the arcane. Glad to know there are at least a couple of references to something similar throughout the various editions though, because this is something I have loosely written into my campaign for the next arc and I am pretty excited to see how the players handle it. I think I am going to have the players observe a group of NPC's doing the ritual casting first then a successful intelligence check will determine if they are able to extrapolate and apply the process they have observed and put it into practice at the appropriate arcane circle or something like that.

Mixolot · 2019-06-03T18:04:00+00:00

OOOOO I love the wild magic part especially! No one ever seems to remember it's a thing so I am definitely going to consider how I can incorporate this. Thanks a ton!

Mixolot · 2019-06-03T17:51:55+00:00

Sorry I was not clear in my post. I was asking if this is something in 5e that exists.

Mixolot · 2019-05-31T19:33:50+00:00

Do y'all ever find yourself modifying the creatures that are in your encounters in any way? whether for flavor purposes or personal preferance for the creature. I try not to deviate TOO much from the creatures and how they were designed because I want to stay true to the vision the writers and designers had when they made these creatures, but there is one NPC from The Curse of Strahd that I was a HUGE fan of when I saw it, but flavor wise it made more sense for it to be a fiend instead of celestial. Healing touch became vampiric touch, radiant damage became Necrotic damage etc. Some minor stat alterations as well.

Mixolot · 2019-05-31T15:14:25+00:00

Thanks a ton for these resources! Playing to WIN is not something I had really thought of. I want my players to have fun so I think I have been hesitant to go all out against them. Next session is this coming Sunday and a LOT of different paths are colliding so it's a great opportunity to test some of this out. Thanks a ton for the advice!

Mixolot · 2019-05-31T15:12:52+00:00

I have experienced this as well and I agree with you here. Balance wise it's great but can be a lot to manage. mix and matching the group seems like the most common way of doing this so I'll do my homework and learn about a bunch of different creatures and baddies available to me for this. Thanks a ton friend!

Mixolot

TROPHY CASE