Support Gold Generation - The Power of Double Gold Generation Items and the Danger of Relic Shield

1. Intro
2. Shorthand Notes
3. GP/10 Values
4. Primary vs. Support Gold
5. Relic Shield on Primaries
6. Relic Shield Changes

Intro
Most players realized the power of Relic Shield pre-nerf.  It was quite obvious how strong it was and the lane opportunities that it opened up.  What surprises me though, is how quickly those new lane strategies were quickly dropped by the solo crowd when the nerf came around.  Mob mentality seems to have immediately dismissed the use of Relic Shield on Primary lane partners.

While the nerf to Relic Shield has brought its Tier 1 form more into line with Ancient Coin and Spellthief's edge, the nerf did nothing to address the true power of Relic Shield.  Relic Shield can still be used highly effectively as a means to give TWO gold generating items to the Support lane partner.  I will attempt to show why this is so effective, and how it can best be utilized.  Then I will talk about how this one item can effectively change the current meta, and how/if it should be changed to prevent this.

There will be a lot of numbers until the end of section 4, where I will start to bring everything together. If you're not interested in the math and numbers, just skip to there.

Shorthand Notes
AC = Ancient Coin
SE = Spellthief's Edge
RS = Relic Shield
T1,T2,T3 = Tier 1, 2, 3 respectively of the specific item.
M(x) = Mastery where x is the mastery name
Primary = Lane partner that takes CS.
Support = Lane partner that does not take CS.

Gold gain of each Gold Generation item as well as their combinations with Relic Shield on the primary.  All items are upgraded to T2 at the 10 minute mark.

GP/10 Values
This is a list of all the predictable gp/10 sources that can be found in a lane.
13 = Base GP/10
28.33+1.11(per 3 minutes) = Creep Wave GP/10 Equivalent
5.3 = Runes
1.5 = M(Greed)
2.11 = M(Scavenger)
0 - 12 = M(Bandit)
4.2 = AC-T1
10.4 = AC-T2
2 -10 = SE-T1
4 - 20 = SE-T2
5.55+.138 = RS-T1(On Support-Support's Gain)
.833 = RS-T1(On Support-Primary's Gain)
8.88+.222 = RS-T2(On Support-Support's Gain)
3.33 = RS-T2(On Support-Primary's Gain)
6.38+.138 = RS-T1(On Primary-Support's Gain)
12.22+.222 = RS-T2(On Primary-Support's Gain)
9.72+.222 = RS-T1 (On Primary/Support - Support's Gain)
18.88+.388 = RS-T2 (On Primary/Support - Support's Gain)

Primary vs. Support Gold 
A few gp/10 scenarios for Primary vs Support. M(Bandit) and SE will be evaluated at .25-.5 of their stealing potential for a medium to high realism value.

-----Primary-----  
13 = Base gp/10
28.33+1.11(per 3m) = Creep Wave
41.33+1.11(per 3m) = Most likely gp/10 for a Primary with perfect CS.

Add (Possible) - Only one real addition, if your Support picks up RS.
.833/3.33 if the Support has RS-T1/T2
44.66+1.11(per 3m) = New total if Support has RS-T2

Add (Unlikely) - For some reason Primary goes deep Utility Masteries
5.3 = Runes
1.5 = M(Greed)
3 - 6 = M(Bandit)
54.46 - 57.46+1.11(per 3m) = New total if Primary runs gp/10 Runes and Masteries.

-----Support-----
13 = Base gp/10

Add (Likely) - First Add the Utility Masteries
1.5 = M(Greed)
2.11 = M(Scavenger)
3 - 6 = M(Bandit)
6.61 - 9.61 = Total likely addition, Support Masteries
19.61 - 22.61 = Likely Base gp/10 for Support going Support Masteries

Total With Gold Item
25.11 - 28.11 = RS-T1, +5.55
28.41 - 31.41 = RS-T2, +8.88

23.81 - 26.81 = AC-T1, +4.2
30.01 - 33.01 = AC-T2, +10.4

23.61 - 28.61 = SE-T1, +4-6
27.61 - 33.61 = SE-T2, +8-12

Total if Primary buy's Relic Shield - Assuming Support has T2 item.
32.72 - 35.72 = T1, RS on Support, + 4.17
38.47 - 41.47 = T2, RS on Support, + 10

36.39 - 39.39 = T1, AC on Support, +6.38
42.23 - 45.23 = T2, AC on Support, +12.22

33.99 - 40.99 = T1, SE on Support, +6.38
39.83 - 46.83 = T2, SE on Support, +12.22

Add (Unlikely) - If Support runs gold runes
5.3 = Runes

Final totals if Primary runs RS-T2
43.77 - 46.77 = RS (add .22 per 3 mins for creep gold increase)
47.53 - 50.53 = AC
45.13 - 52.13 = SE

-----Primary vs. Support-----  
For ease of comparison I will leave out the creep gold increase over time and will assume T2 item on Support.
 
Likely - This the important one
41.33 = Primary
27.61 - 33.61 = Support
32.72 - 40.99 = Support w/ Primary RS-T1 (18.5% to 21.9% increase)
38.47 - 46.83 = Support w/ Primary RS-T2 (39.3% increase)

Unlikely - Maximum potential with realistic values for M(Bandit) and SE
54.46 - 57.46 = Primary, Utility Masteries, gp/10 runes
43.77 - 52.13 = Support, Utility Masteries, gp/10 runes, w/ Primary RS-T2

Unrealistic - Just for fun, if you could max the potential of M(Bandit) and SE
63.46 = Primary
66.13 = Support

-----Conclusions------
The ability for supports to gain gold is extremely high and in some cases it is actually higher than what their lane counterpart has the ability to earn.  On top of this, the Support receives less downtime on gold generation than the Primary does, they still generate gold outside of lane as well as generating even more gold when the Primary is outside of lane.

However, this hinges on your Primary picking up RS, and hopefully building it into its T2 version.  RS-T1/T2 is such a massive increase to support gold while also being extremely consistent, as RS is highly consistent and suffers from very little downtime.  While the numbers put the increase around 39%, I believe the increase is actually higher, just because of how consistent RS is compared to all other forms of lane gp/10 generation.

This allows Supports to plan for the extra gold generation and actually build in a manner to be just as powerful as their Primary counterparts.  It also opens up paths of sacrificing other forms of gold generation for more early game oomph.  This can include not using gp/10 runes, or the Utility mastery tree and instead running 21 in Offense or Defense.  In the next section I will talk about the trade-offs in lane that this can cause.

Relic Shield on Primaries
So we have established that picking up RS on the Primary lane partner is a huge increase in gold generation of the Support partner (the largest single increase possible). The question then becomes, what are you sacrificing by picking up Relic Shield as the Primary.  In most cases, the primary will be an ADC, picking up Doran's Blade.  Let's look at the differences between the two.

Doran's Blade
+8 AD
+30 HP
Relic Shield
+2 Health Pots
+Proc Heal

The regen on both items is pretty similar when you take into account how often attacks are made versus the constant hp/5, so we can call that similar.  Taking that out, Doran's Blade has slightly more hp and gives some damage.  With Relic Shield however, you get 2 extra pots.  These extra pots provide much more sustain than Doran's Blade, and can make up for the HP if used during a fight.  The biggest trade off, is the damage.  So lets look at what bringing a Relic Shield on your Primary, allows for your Support to bring, without sacrificing gold generation.

If your support moves from a deep Utility tree mastery build to a deep Offensive tree build, they can bring much much more damage at level one that the +8 from the Doran's Blade brings.  With AP blue/Quints, the change gives your support +11 AP at level 1, on top of all the other damage increase masteries like Havoc, Executioner, and Arcane Blade to name a few.  Not only does this bring more damage/defense in the lane, but it also brings more of the same to the late game, as your Support will scale even better.

Starting with a Relic Shield, and potentially upgrading it to Targon's Brace is a personal sacrifice yes, but its only a very small one, especially compared to the massive benefit it brings to your partner.  It's one that all Primary lane partners should start to consider.  In my opinion, its far superior to any other item you could start with.

Relic Shield Changes
Relic Shield has to change. In it's current form it has the power to be Meta defining.  Relic Shield is the only item in the game that has the ability to create gold for another player, there is nothing else like it.  With how strong Relic Shield is in terms of gold generation for your partner, on top of how strong gold generation items are for Supports, the ability to essentially give a support TWO gold generation items is borderline game breaking.  A single item should never define the metagame, but Relic Shield is very close to doing so.  If it comes to light that it is the vastly superior choice (which I think it is), there will no longer be a choice.  It will end up defining roles, and the champions that can fill them.  This is simply way too much power for a single item.

As much as I enjoy Relic Shield, one of two things need to happen.  First, they add in more items that give gold to your partner, essentially creating choice in items.  However this would not change the power that these items have, only solidify their role in defining the metagame.  The other solution, and seemingly more useful one, is to make it so that Relic Shield cannot share gold with someone who already has a gold generation item.  This simple design change would halt this item's hiding power without hampering it for supports who want to pick it up.

And as one last small note, I'd like to see the execute return for ranged champions, but at a much lesser amount, say 25-50 + AD.  Its a large quality of life improvement, especially in solo Q's for supports who have to deal with lane partners who do not let them last hit.

Ending
I hope this was informative.  I know I can be a bit long winded, but I actually love Relic Shield a lot in it's current form, I just believe it will become too game defining, potentially reversing the roles of Primary/Support as well as removing a dedicated jungler.  Until then, and if it doesn't, then I hope it inspires you to try out some more unique setups (Ashe + Volibear is currently my favorite).

Brainstorming a Next-Gen MMO

                                                      Brainstorming a Next-Gen MMO

The recent announcement that Blizzard is taking project Titan back to the drawing board comes with little surprise to anyone.  Over the past few years MMO’s have become a dying breed with each new release seemingly performing worst than the last.  They struggle to hold on to player subscriptions, quickly moving into mediocre F2P models just to generate a player base.  MMO gameplay has become routine and stale, compounding the problems generated by the “grind” model of design so prevalent within them.
Curious, and always up for trying my hand at design concepts, I've spent some time brainstorming what I believe to be some needed steps in creating a successful Next-Generation MMO.  There are four major issues to be looked at – Combat Design, the Grind, Endgame Content, and Social Aspects.  Aside from those, there are still many other design points to be looked at as well as the marketing issues.

Combat Design
In my mind, the most important aspect in any potential Next-Gen MMO will be the system of combat.  The vast majority of a player’s time in an MMO will be spent in combat.  It could be said that combat is the only portion of an MMO that is actual game-play, while everything else is just the game-experience.  Creating an engaging system that is both easy to learn, but difficult to master is going to be key for the future existence of MMOs.
Combat Design in MMOs is currently modeled after traditional turn-based RPG’s.  While nostalgic, this model has been in decline for years.  Compare the combat gameplay of all but the most recent Final Fantasy games to the Tales series, particularly the newer ones like Tales of Graces (if you've never played it, I highly recommend you check out the combat system design), and it’s easy to see which system is more engaging and full of potential.  While today’s MMOs have been changing and updating their combat systems as time goes by, the base system of design hasn't changed and that’s what needs to.  The days of auto-targeted, pre-programmed skill casting are long gone and while casting rotations, sub-routines, resource management, and dodging enemy spells have done a lot to make the combat more engaging, almost all of the current MMO’s combat can be boiled down and controlled by simple logic clauses and loops that could almost be executed more efficiently by a program than a person (Healbot anyone?).
So how do we create a more engaging combat system while still staying true to the RPG model?  The answer is quite simple, though the application of it is a little more difficult.  Rather than using the turn-based RPG model as the systems foundation, use a different foundation model and add the RPG elements to it.  Because news about Titan inspired me to work on this article and because I think it is also the right direction for a large-scale MMO to head, I will be using the Shooter system as the basis for my Next-Gen MMO combat design.

A  Brief Note
If you haven’t played Global Agenda or Smite by Hi-Rez Studios I suggest that you do so.  While not attempting to be MMORPGs, there are several gameplay elements within them that I believe are heading in the direction that a Next-Gen MMORPG should be.  I will stealing/adapting some of their designs as well as referencing them as an existing base example as I outline a conceptual combat system.

View Frame
A First-Person viewpoint is unlikely to be ideal for an MMORPG game.  Increasing the vision range and options a player has allows for more information to be given to and processed by a player, allowing for a greater range of informed choices.  On top of this, players enjoy seeing their character and the changes that new gear brings.  Using a Second-Person or Third-Person camera view is much more ideal.  This is already a common practice, but deserves to at least be noted.

Freedom of Movement
One of the most important aspects of a Shooter is a player’s freedom of movement and creating as much of a free range of movement for players will need to be the base of any Next-Gen MMO.  Movement is an extremely simple concept for players to understand while also potentially being one of the hardest to master as players discover the potential uses of it.  The wider the range of movement that players have, the more options open up for them.  Creating a free range of movement, as well as multiple ways for players to move within that free range allows players to choose, when and how to act preemptively or react to any situation.
A great showcase of the potential of movement can be seen in the comparison of Street Fighter to Smash Brother’s Melee made in this video, The Street Fighters Guide to Smash (http://crosscounter.tv/the-street-fighters-guide-to-smash/).  Make particular note of these time stamps.

1:45-3:30: Explains the difference between the Digital movement of Street Fighter and the Analog movement of Smash Brothers.  This is the difference between limited movement and free range of movement.
4:55-5:20: Show’s that the movement system allows movement in one direction while attacks in another.
8:25-9:30: Showcases various movement options other than Control Stick movement.
13:10-18:05: Displays advanced techniques of movement and character control, the options it opens up for offense and defense, as well as ways to counterattack this movement.

The greater the freedom of movement, and the greater the options of that movement (walk, jog, run, sprint, and dash for example), the more potential for control a player has over their character.  The more control a player has over their character, the more options for attack and defense, for preemptive action and reaction they have.  The more ways a player has to move, the more the need for a player to be able to read situations and react to them properly.  This raises the skill cap of a game that can be and is learned through playing and practicing rather than by researching technical information that much of the current MMO learning is about.

3D Combat
While not a requirement of a Next-Gen Combat system, it is a potential one.  A few, such as Aion, have tried unsuccessfully to incorporate all three dimensions into the combat systems of the game.  The major problem with this is that since MMO combat system are primarily devoid of aiming; the increase in movement range is mostly a gimmick, offering little to nothing in terms of practical use.  With the Shooter combat base though, 3D movement offers more directions in which to move, dodge, and aim.  While having constant 3D movement may require too many movement options to keep the system simple, a short burst full movement system can work extremely well.  Global Agenda is a great example of this.  The use of the short duration, recharging jetpacks allow for 3D movement and combat without it becoming overwhelming

Shooter Mechanics in an RPG Model
        While a Shooter base will be great for a Next-Gen MMO, not every mechanic of the genre is viable in an RPG context.  Mechanics such as precise hitboxes, headshots, or area specific damage will be more limiting to an RPG system than beneficial.  Movement, skill usage, dodging, and reactionary gameplay should be vastly more important than the need to hit small targets in precisely the right place.  So how do we chose what Shooter Mechanics and which RPG mechanics to use and when and how to combine them?

        Aiming
            Players would use a targeting receptacle like any normal shooter and would have to aim and fire at their targets (this would be a players auto or basic attack).  Enemies, and perhaps players, would not have precision hit-boxes however, but the hit-boxes would extend in a small area around the character model.  Any attacks that hit this area would be considered a hit.  For instance, shooting between the legs of a character model would still result in a hit.  This would make it so players would not have to focus to intensely at being 100% precise in their aiming, but rather that aiming at a target would be enough to deal damage.  This keeps the gameplay similar to the RPG "auto-targeting" while still retaining a good measure of the engaging and skillful play of managing movement with aiming.  In addition, with all the other elements that must be managed that come from MMORPG combat (skill use, resource management, group needs, etc.), not requiring precision aiming cuts down the required "player processing needs" to a manageable level.

    Vicinity Aiming
            Some skills and abilities in RPG's need to almost be guaranteed to hit their target; the best example of this is healing.  Players would throw a fit if heals could miss in MMOs.  In a Shooter Model however, its a little more difficult to make these things hit when you have to aim.  That's where Vicinity Aiming comes in.  Vicinity Aiming does not require you to actually hit your target, but to have aimed in an area near enough to the target to be considered accepted.  This adds at lot more leeway for extremely important things like healing, especially when movement is going to be a highly necessary part of combat.
Global Agenda is a great example of this with its Medic class.  When you are using your healing weapon, as long as you are aiming near to your target, you will auto-aim to hit it.  Additionally, the beam heal will stay on your target as long as you hold the fire button and are in range, allowing the player to further move and look around.

    Traditional MMORPG Targeting
         Traditional mob targeting would be less important with a Shooter model as the base design.  Floating hit-point boxes, or some other form of instant life recognition, would be used to inform the player on the fly about the current status of mobs.  On top of this your current target would show up in the traditional HUD targeted box with more detailed information.  Additionally, players should use (and be taught to use) focus target(s) to keep track of more important targets such as Bosses or CC targets.  Skills that do not need to be aimed should be able to easily be setup to fire at any of the specific focus targets or primary target.
For the most part, HUD targeting would be used primarily to keep track of important information about X target rather than as a means to target a mob with abilities.  A key press could also briefly highlight X target as a means to quickly find it in a hectic battle.

Skills Usage: Skill Shots
Just like your normal attacks, based on a Shooter model the player would have to aim a majority of their skills.  In the MOBA genre, these are referred to as skill-shots.  Be it something players are used to like a lobbed grenade, or something more difficult to hit such as a curved attack with a cast time, making players have to actively aim their abilities adds to engaging gameplay.  Nothing would be made overly hard, but it would be a player skill that they could learn and improve, outside of just game stats.  A good example is the heal grenades in Global Agenda.  Like most grenades they have a small delay and do not blow up on contact.   If they or their allies are moving, they must time the explosion to where they will be.  Poor aiming or communication could result in a missed heal or buff.  The explosion radius is quite large, however, making sure that being in vicinity is enough, not requiring a precise hit.  This can be compared to skills like Healing Rain in World of Warcraft.

Skill Usage: Lock-on – Cast Time vs. No Cast Time
Some skills will be guaranteed to hit your target when cast, as long as a target is in your targeting receptacle at the time.  These skills can be considered to have locked-on to your target.  They may instantly hit or chase down the target until impact or timing out.  For instant cast abilities, this is simple, but some variation can be added when cast time becomes involved.  Skills could be required to start and/or end with the target under the players aiming receptacle or have been targeted for a duration of the cast time for the skill to have been considered locked-on.  Variation adds a learning cap and keeps gameplay changing and engaging.  However, you would have to make sure that any system used would not overly interfere with a players ability to move.

Skill Usage: Targeted Skills
It will probably be necessary (or to just add variety) to have some skills be easily cast on your focus target(s) without having to aim.  While potentially unnecessary, Crowd Control skills, buffs,  heals, debuffs, agro control, and more may need to be handled in this way.

All the RPG Rest
While the combat gameplay in this concept for a Next-Gen MMORPG will be majorly changing, the rest of the mechanics will be handled primarily how MMOs already handle them.  Stat calculations, status effects, damage and healing numbers; everything will be pretty standard to your normal RPG.

Combat Wrap-up
MMORPG combat has always been very stale and as the genre has become played through, the majority of combat has been boiled down to math formulas.  The recent rise of competitive gaming, e-sports, and the MOBA genre have players engaged in way in which this generation of MMORPGs have been unable to match.  I believe the problem can be fixed by changing the underlying Combat Model (Turn-based RPGs) into one that is more engaging and proactive in creating and recognizing player skill.  In this case, I have set the Shooter combat style as the base, upon which we would build RPG elements into.  In doing so, we can create combat gameplay that keeps players constantly active and recognizes player ability while still keeping true to what makes an MMORPG an MMORPG.

The Grind
The majority of players hate the grind that accompanies your average MMO.  It’s time consuming, highly repetitive, often times mindless, and worst of all rarely engaging.  A lot of this can be changed by creating an engaging and active combat system, but there are a few key points in the Grind itself to take a look at.

Leveling Up
The largest grind in an MMO and one that has a love/hate relationship with most players.  Finding that right balance between not long enough and too long is hard when the right duration could take days worth of time.  As the current MMOs have built up expansions, leveling up from 1 to the max can take 100+ hours.  Time however, is a number that can be altered and while finding the right amount is important, what is more important is the experience that players have during that time.  What if the leveling experience of an MMO was so good, that players would play it for the sake of that experience alone rather than simply to get through the leveling process?  That is what a Next-Gen MMO needs to do.

Game Within a Game
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic had a great idea for the leveling grind.  They turned the leveling experience of an MMO into a story driven experience.  While the story was enjoyable however, the leveling process was still very grindy.  Long pauses between the main story, non-engaging side quests, and a few planets that felt disconnected from your character’s main story broke the experience’s cohesion and the suspension of disbelief of the story.  Coupled with a players desire to quickly level, the story itself was often times skipped.
The SW:KotOR team is on the right track however.  A story driven leveling experience can very well be the key to turning a grind into a glorious experience.  It is a monumental task however.  Crafting a story that crosses a multitude of zones, takes multiple leveling paths into consideration, balances dungeon and pvp experience, incorporates race/class/gender, considers solo/group play, and deals with player interactions in an open world would be a work of art, a masterpiece of storytelling and game design.  Maybe even multiple masterpieces.  It is possible though and for a Next-Gen MMO to truly be Next-Gen, maybe even necessary.  I will only attempt to scratch the surface of a few potential ways that this can be accomplished and be as brief as possible.  The design of this task alone would take great work.

+ Voice Acting - The majority of the lore and story of an MMO is told through the quests.  The problem, however, is that more often than not the quests go unread, only the objective being noted.  The solution to this is easy, though potentially expensive.  All quests would need to be voice-acted and accessible to listen to while a player is on the move.  Think of Bioshock.  Players would pick up a recording and could listen to it as they continued to play the game.  The same should be done in any Next-Gen MMO.  It’s an unobtrusive solution that doesn't slowdown the leveling process while increasing the gameplay experience.
+ Phasing – World of Warcraft has been using it for the past few expansions and it is a great way to tell a story, have zone/world altering changes, and limit player interaction while still keeping to the traditional open world of MMOs.  Phasing could be used extensively in a Next-Gen MMO in the telling of the leveling up story.
+ Story Zones – Used in SW:KotOR, story zones are smaller phased areas that only a player and his party can be in.  You will never run into another PC while in these zones.  This allows for small controlled environments perfect for storytelling.
+ Dungeons – Harder to incorporate into a storyline are dungeons.  Generally they are not forced upon a player (though that doesn't mean they can’t be).  A lot will have to be taken into consideration on how they interact with the leveling experience.  They could be completely stand alone and have no interaction or they could be pointed to for side quests.  Player’s first time through (or when the story called for it) could also be accompanied by an NPC “pet” that only they can see, who talks to them much like a quest would.
+ Exp Issues – Through dungeons, running around, battlegrounds, and whatever other thing in X MMO gives exp, the level range of a player’s current story arc often gets surpassed.  This causes the story to hiccup or to be crafted in a way to allow hiccuping, both of which draw a player out of the experience.  There is no way to craft a leveling experience where the player is always the level of his current story position, however this issue can be circumvented.  Through the use of Phasing it would be possible to scale the level of the enemies to match the player.  Small level ranges would be used to determine what phase a player resides in, or possibly the whole zone would be a phase just for them (this kinda runs counter to MMO philosophy though).  While you should be the max level when the story ends, that doesn’t mean you can’t experience the story while at max level.  It could potentially be possible to level to max doing very little of the story, then going back and experiencing it scaled to you.
+ Group Play – When questing in “story” mode as a party, one player will be designated the “story leader.”  The story being told would be theirs alone, and would only progress for that player.  The only exception would be if both players were on the same arc (this might require the same race/class/gender too).  For the most party, anyone not the story leader would be watching in on the story.

Professions and Raid Preparation
Another grind, though smaller, is the one to level up professions.  SW:KotOR’s system of crew member gathering is a nice addition to the standard professions collection/leveling process.  Players can send idle crew on missions to gather materials or to craft items.  The same materials can also be gathered or crafted by the player in the world.  This created two ways in which a player could level their professions.  One happened as you played and the other way you could force it.  This extra option to the gather/craft grind cycle was a welcome addition to players, cutting out a players downtime, especially when it came to collecting materials in preparation for raids.  With this players, could essentially prep while running dungeons, competing in PvP, or simply lounging around.  This same concept should be present in a Next-Gen MMO.  Anything to cut down the grind, while still keeping as much of the MMO experience is a good thing.
Another interesting option for profession gathering could be in the building of your own personal home/farm/colony.  Much like the highly popular city management or farm management games that flood Facebook, an upgradable home area that produces materials for a player could be a workable idea.  It would just be another option for players to use and in no way a necessary one.  For instance, a fully upgraded “home” could provide you in a week, the materials necessary to craft enough items for an average raid schedule.

Gear Grinding
This is just part of what an MMO is about.  It’s expected and desired by players.  However we can improve the experience.  By improving the experience of the Endgame content we automatically improve the experience of gear grinding.  If Dungeons, PvP, Dailies, and Raids are all enjoyable experiences (more on that later), then gear grinding is more of a reward than a chore.

Closing the Grind Story
The grind will always be prevalent in MMORPGs.  It’s part of what makes them an MMORPG and without it, it becomes a different type of game.  There are things we can do to make the grind an enjoyable experience.  A well crafted world and story, told through the clever use of design mechanics can potentially turn the question “Have you made it to max level yet?” into “Have you played through the story yet?”  By making the leveling experience engaging and entertaining, almost like a game within a game, we can hide the grind behind a pleasurable journey.
The same goes for the other grind aspects of an MMO, by changing the experience that surrounds them; we remove the feeling that they are a grind.  Providing multiple ways to accomplish a single task keeps things fresh while providing rewards not connected to the grind we can change the focus to something more enjoyable.

Social Aspects
The social aspects of a Next-Gen MMO can be boiled into one phrase, “Get players in touch and playing together.”  WoW has gone leaps ahead of the rest of the MMOs out there when it comes to this.  The LFG system is a great example of this.  It gets players into raids and in their desired roles as quickly as can be.  Simple and convenient systems such as this will be paramount to the success of any Next-Gen MMO.  The better these systems work, the quicker players can get into the multiplayer/social/driving aspects of MMOs.

+ Dungeon/Raid Groups – WoW already has a great system in place, just steal it and improve upon it.  Ban lists, player notes/commendations, performance ratings, item level parameters, and more options can be added or removed by players to increase/decrease their wait time and improve their experience.
+ Finding a Guild – A good system needs to be in place for advertising and finding a guild.  Options for guild leaders to display needs, requirements, play times, and guild purpose will be needed.  Those looking for a Guild should be able to search using a large variety of filters to match them to the right group of players.
+ Finding a Service – Say you want an enchantment but no one you know has the specific one you want.  You could pull up a list of services offered, type in the enchant name, and a list would show you players who have that enchantment and whether they are offline or online.  Now you’re connected to what you are looking for.  Players could also advertise a little bit on their “service” profile to easier communicate things like price or availability.  Players could also opt out of being found this way, choosing not to appear on the list when searched.  Services could extend past crafting to also offer more mercenary things like tanking/healing a dungeon or raid, raid leading, gathering materials, joining a PvP group, or anything else players could potentially think of.
+ Class Roles – Not actually a system of use, but rather a class design aspect.  The roles that each class can play are as much a social issue as what role you play is a personal one.  If every class had the ability to perform the standard 3 roles, Tank/Heal/DPS, then everyone would have the option to perform one of the lesser played roles.  This could potentially reduce queue time problems in the LFG systems.  An easy way to accomplish this is to provide 4 (or more) specializations for each class, one spec for each role and then a 4th spec in X role.  This would still create class uniqueness while providing more role options.

Get Connected
A huge appeal of MMOs is playing and connecting with others.  The more ways we can connect players and the easier it is to use the systems that connect them and get them playing, the better.  Driving players to interact and form friendships will increase both the longevity and the enjoyment of the game.

Endgame Content
A big problem with endgame content in current MMOs is replay-ability.  Once you have your gear, there’s no incentive (unless the gameplay is just plain fun) of replaying the endgame content.  Dungeons in particular lose their appeal once raids become an option for players.  A Next-Gen MMORPG needs ways to combat this problem and provide replay options that players would like to engage in, primarily when it comes to dungeons.  I’ll only briefly touch on a few potentials here.  In my next article “Creating Competitive PvE” I’ll be taking a deeper look at how to provide replay incentives for the endgame content of MMORPGs both in a competitive and non-competitive way.
+ Challenges – Small changes to existing dungeons that make them harder or put special conditions on accomplishing them.  Offers a new way to experience something you've played through multiple times.  Could be time trials, harder enemies, more enemies, player debuffs, death limits, etc.  Quick and easy to create, as their balance does not need to be precise (too hard might be a good thing) and its just tweaking existing content.
+ Records – A simple way to allow players to challenge themselves in something they have already completed.  Examples include time taken, damage dealt, damage taken, death counters, time spent out of combat (longest combo), etc.  Players can attempt to beat a personal best or the top records could be shown publicly for them to try to overcome.
+ Mercenary Runs – For players who do not need gear from a dungeon.  They can opt out of gear rolls, instead earning extra gold for participating; a way to encourage more people joining the queue, particularly the underrepresented roles.
+ Raid Downtime – As raids are the primary endgame of MMORPGs, a Next-Gen game might consider changing the way raid downtime works.  Aside from freely resetting the raids, or putting them on shorter cooldowns, raids could be reset by either the weekly (timed) reset or reset once a player has completed the raid.  Quicker raid resets could potentially change the whole feel of MMORPG endgame and research/testing would have to be done to reach the right balance point

Closing Downtime
The primary endgame of MMORPG’s are raids.  Raids however, have a lot of downtime and while removing or lessening that downtime is an option, it may not be the best one.  Creating additional incentive outside of loot for players to engage in the endgame options is a great way to fill that downtime and create “more” endgame content for little cost.  Getting players to compete against each other or themselves for records provides a more intangible incentive that can always be improved upon.

A Marketing Note
Most current MMOs are having a hard time keeping player subscriptions and the majority has switched to F2P models that are generally very frustrating and play on inconveniences and limitations to the player.  Micro-transactions are becoming a huge staple of sustained income for online games.  In the article linked below, I propose a F2P micro-transaction model to replace subscription fees, as well as providing additional sources of income.
MMO-RPG’s – An F2P Renting Model Idea
(http://snowspotsgamedesign.blogspot.com/2013/02/mmo-rpgs-f2p-renting-model-idea.html)

Closing
MMORPG’s are a dying breed searching for a breath of fresh life.  Many games have attempted to become the Next-Gen MMO, but they have all fallen short.  With the redesign announcement of Project Titan made by Blizzard we know that even they recognize the genre needs to change.  I propose that by re-looking at the base design model of the combat system is the first place to start.  If an engaging and skillful combat system can be built, then many of the rest of an MMOs design challenges will become easier.  After revamping combat, dealing with the grind, particularly by creating a masterful leveling experience, and increasing endgame replay-ability is next.  Once the game is set, systems for enhancing the social aspects of an MMO need to be put into place and streamlined.  These four things are an absolute necessity for creating the Next-Gen MMORPG.

A Look at League of Legends Season 3 Ranked System

     So I’d like to take a little bit of time (well, a lot considering how long this is >.>) to talk about the current ranked system and some tweaks/redesigns I have for it.  Currently there are a few problems with the in place ranked system that are very frustrating to a lot of players.  In order to try to cut down on a long post, I will jump right into the issues and try to bullet point them as easily as possible.

Current System Problems

+ Matchmaking is based on your MMR not your tier/division.
     -This makes your placement in the current ranked queue pretty pointless.  In example, while on a smurf in Silver 1 I have been placed with Gold 1/Platinum players.  As a Diamond 3 player I have been placed with Platinum 5 or lower players.  Both of these instances are extremely frustrating to all involved.

+ Because matchmaking is based on MMR instead of tier/division, the upper tiers/divisions have been filled with players that do not belong.
      - Gold/Platinum players have been able to climb to and through Diamond tier because their MMR is so low that they are placed against Gold/Platinum players even while being in and gaining points in the upper Platinum/Diamond tiers.  On the same hand, players that should be in a higher tier are stuck in lower ones because their MMR places them against players of much higher tiers/divisions.

+ Because there are no restrictions on duo queues, it is possible for extremely low tier players to be in high tier games.  Duo queuing in this way also brings down the MMR for matchmaking purpose of the higher partner, allowing them to face easier opponents.
      - This is extremely frustrating to players of higher tiers who have to play with lower tier players because of this.  Also, it makes it easy for a higher tier player to create/use a smurf to help their friend win a game/series by bringing down their team MMR to place them against lower tier/MMR players.

+ Clamping, the act of rewarding players with less and less points as they near 100 points is an extremely frustrating practice to players.
      - As the value of each game continues to decrease, value of playing to the player also decreases.

+ Progress starts to feel extremely slow.
      - Through the first 100-200 games, players gain 20-30 points and progress seems to be at a good pace to players, but as the games start to rack up, points gained dwindle to the 12-18 ranged, roughly half of what was gained before.  When this point hits, the ability to progress through the tiers/division begins to feel extremely slow in comparison.  A system that does not change the rate of progress, but still allows for faster correct placement would be much better.  Taking away from players often leads to abandonment of a game/game mode.

+ Inability to drop tiers.
      - Since players cannot drop tiers, and matchmaking is based on MMR, it is possible to “tank” your MMR each time your reach a new tier.  Since losses at the 0 point Division 5 level of any tier are basically meaningless, it is possible to lose a large amount of games at that position, so that as you climb you are facing players in divisions/tiers below you instead of on your level.

+ Challenger tier is too exclusive.
      -  There is too much protection for challenger players, especially for the higher ranked challenger players.  The tier is relatively safe; the upper ranked players only having to play a game week to keep their spot.  The tier needs to be more volatile and encourage playing games to defend your position.

System Needs

+ Conducive to progress

     - Any system based on tiers needs to conduct progress through them.  A system as such creates goals for players.  If these goals feel unattainable, then eventually the system will not be used.

+ Rewarding
      - Reaching a new division/tier should feel rewarding to players.  Moving out of a lower bracket of players and into a higher skill level is a great way to do this.  By basing matchmaking on divisions/tiers this can be created.  Players can and will know the range of players they will be playing against, rather than their matchups not changing when their tiers/divisions do because of matchmaking being based on MMR.

+ Easy to understand
      - Any system should be easy to understand by the players.  Currently this is not the case because of the high involvement of MMR in the system while MMR is currently a hidden number. 

+ Places people at the proper skill level
      - A ranked system needs to do this, and it needs to do this in a way in which their displayed skill level matches their actual skill level.

+ Allows quick passing of divisions.
      - Especially during a player’s placement and first hundred games, players need to reach their proper skill level quickly.  A system should be in place that allows players to skip divisions if their potential skill level is high enough.

+ Demotions should be defended against.
      - As promotions have to be earned, demotions should also be able to be defended against.  Currently they come without warning, and without a solid pattern. 

Tweaks/Redesign

     Over the next few posts, I will attempt to redesign the current ranked system in a way that involves both MMR and the current tier/division system in a way that is fluid and cohesive, rather than feeling disconnected from each other.  All of it is mere brainstorming and conception work, so please don’t take it as fully fleshed out fact.  But theories and ideas generate knowledge that lead to a final product.  I hope that these concepts can/will address some of the current issues.  If not, well I tried and the exercise was a decently fun one.

Division/Tier and MMR Correlation

     Currently, MMR plays a huge role in the ranked system, however, how it plays its role is very much hidden from the players.  As I start tweaking/redesign the system, it would be best to start with how the two correlate with each other.  So, here it is.

Bronze 5: 0 - 300
Bronze 4: 150 - 450
Bronze 3: 300 - 600
Bronze 2: 450 - 750
Bronze 1: 600 - 900

Silver 5: 800 - 1100
Silver 4: 950 - 1250
Silver 3: 1110 - 1400
Silver 2:  1250 - 1550
Silver 1:  1400 - 1700

Gold 5: 1600 - 1900
Gold 4: 1750 - 2050
Gold 3: 1900 - 2200
Gold 2: 2050 - 2350
Gold 1: 2200 - 2500

Platinum 5:  2400 - 2700
Platinum 4: 2550 - 2850
Platinum 3: 2700 - 3000
Platinum 2: 2850 - 3150
Platinum 1: 3000 - 3300

Diamond 5: 3200 - 3500
Diamond 4: 3350 - 3650
Diamond 3: 3500 - 3800
Diamond 2: 3650 - 3950
Diamond 1: 3800 - 4100

Challenger:  4100+

     This correlation will be the basis for how the rest of the system works.  Each division is assigned a range of MMR to it.  Players of X MMR should be found within one of the appropriate ranges and the system should place/match them in correspondence to this.

Qualification Series (New)

     First off, the start of any system deals with the qualifications.  If this doesn’t interest you, skip this section and the next, otherwise keep reading.  This first qualification section will be for players who have never entered the ranked system before.

     Your matchups and points to earn will be based on your current wins minus losses in your qualification series.  The more wins you have compared to losses, the more points you stand to earn.  Losing a match will net you half the points available. After 5 losses, anymore losses will result in you losing half of the available points instead of gaining them.

Wins – Losses            Playing Against         Points on the Line

0 or Negative              Bronze 5 – 3                125
+1                                Bronze 5 – 1                150
+2                                Bronze 1, Silver 5 - 4  175
+3                                Silver 5 – 3                  200
+4                                Silver 4 – 2                  225
+5                                Silver 3 – 1                  250
+6                                Silver 1, Gold 5 – 4     275
+7                                Gold 4 – 3                   300
+8                                Gold 3 – 1                   325
+9                                Plat 5 – 3                     375

     At the end of your series, you will be placed into the highest division/tier in which your total points fall into.  The highest possible division to be placed in is Platinum 5 while the lowest is Bronze 5.

Examples

Game  Score   Wins over Losses       Game Results             Points Gained            Total
1          0 – 0    0                                  Win                             125                              125
2          1 – 0    1                                  Win                             150                              275
3          2 – 0    2                                  Win                             175                              450
4          3 – 0    3                                  Loss                             100                              550
5          3 – 1    2                                  Win                             175                              725
6          4 – 1    3                                  Win                             200                              925
7          5 – 1    4                                  Win                             225                              1150
8          6 – 1    5                                  Loss                             125                              1275
9          6 – 2    4                                  Win                             225                              1500
10        7 – 2    5                                  Win                             250                              1750
Final Score:  8 -2, 1750 Rating, Placed into Gold 4

Game  Score   Wins over Losses       Game Results             Points Gained            Total
1          0 – 0    0                                  Loss                             62.5                             62.5
2          0 – 1    -1                                 Loss                             62.5                             125
3          0 – 2    -2                                 Win                             125                              250
4          1 – 2    -1                                 Win                             125                              375
5          2 – 2    0                                  Win                             125                              500
6          3 – 2    +1                                Win                             150                              650
7          4 – 2    +2                                Loss                             87.5                             737.5
8          4 – 3    +1                                Loss                             75                                812.5
9          4 – 4    0                                  Loss                             62.5                             875
10        4 – 5    -1                                 Loss                             -62.5                            812.5
Final Score:  4 - 6, 812.5 Rating, Placed into Silver 5

Qualification Series (Old)

     For players that have been in the ranked system during the preseason and/or the season before.  This Qualification System will attempt to place them in the appropriate tier/division.

     Your previous MMR will be cut in half to give you your current MMR; however this will be up to a maximum of 1500 MMR.  From this point, your divisions/tier will be the highest that your MMR falls into, and the opponents you face will be in a range of 1 division down and 2 divisions up from your own.  For example, if you are at 1500 MMR, you will be considered in the Silver 1 division and your first match will be played against Silver 2 – Gold 4 opponents.

     Your matchups and points to earn will be based on your current wins minus losses in your qualification series.  The more wins you have compared to losses, the more points you stand to earn.  Losing a match will net you half the points available. After 5 losses, anymore losses will result in you losing half of the available points instead of gaining them.

Wins – Losses            Points on the Line

0 or Negative              80
+1                                100
+2                                120
+3                                140
+4                                160
+5                                180
+6                                200
+7                                220
+8                                240
+9                                260

     At the end of your series, you will be placed into the highest division/tier in which your total points fall into. 

Examples

Staring at 1500 MMR
Game  Score   W>L   Facing             Game Results             Points Gained            Total
1          0 – 0    0          S 2-1, G 5-4    Win                             80                                1580
2          1 – 0    1          S 2-1, G 5-4    Win                             100                              1680
3          2 – 0    2          S 1, G 5-3        Win                             120                              1800
4          3 – 0    3          Gold 5-2          Win                             140                              1940
5          4 – 0    2          Gold 4-1          Win                             160                              2100
6          5 – 0    3          G 3-1, P 5        Win                             180                              2280
7          6 – 0    4          G 2-1, P 5-4    Win                             200                              2480
8          7 – 0    5          G 1, P 5-3        Win                             220                              2700
9          8 – 0    4          Plat 5-2            Win                             240                              2940
10        9 – 0    5          P 3-1, D 5        Win                             260                              3200
Final Score:  10 - 0, 3200 Rating, Placed into Diamond 5

Staring at 750 MMR
Game  Score   W>L   Facing             Game Results             Points Gained            Total
1          0 – 0    0          B 2-1, S 5-4     Win                             80                                830
2          1 – 0    1          B 1, S 5-3        Win                             100                              930
3          2 – 0    2          B 1, S 5-3        Win                             120                              1050
4          3 – 0    3          Silver 5-2         Win                             140                              1190
5          4 – 0    2          Silver 4-1         Win                             160                              1350
6          5 – 0    3          S 3-1, G 5        Win                             180                              1530
7          6 – 0    4          S 2-1, G5-4     Loss                             100                              1630
8          6 – 1    5          S 1, G 5-4        Loss                             90                                1720
9          6 – 2    4          S 1, G 5-3        Loss                             80                                1800
10        6 – 3    5                      Loss                             70                                1870
Final Score:  6 - 4, 1870 Rating, Placed into Gold 4

Ranked Progression

     The rest of the sections will be of interest to more people than the previous two.  This section will talk about moving through the tier/division system, how it relates to MMR, and dealing with promotions/demotions.

     Currently, progression through the tiers is not straightforward.  Because points earned vary from game to game and clamping exists as you get closer to your goal, it is hard for players to judge what it will take for them to reach the next tier/division.   One game may earn them 20 points, while a few games later they may be earning 5 points.  The difference can be quite large and the reason is unexplained to the players.  This just leads to frustration.   Using the division/tier and MMR correlation chart above, here are a few of my suggestions for ranked progression.

+Players will gain and lose a set number of League Points per game.  This number will never change and can be set between 10-20 points per game.
      -This will give players an easy to understand and consistent method of progression that still requires a higher win than loss ratio and removes player frustration over instances of losing more points on average than you win on average.

+MMR will still gain/lose points based on a second (the current) system.
      -Tackling an MMR system is a little beyond me.  Using the one already in place would be fine in my opinion.  MMR will be primarily used in promotion/demotion decisions as a check/balance to progression speed, rather than determining your matchups.

     As an example, a player would earn/lose 15 LP every game, but their MMR rise/fall based on the MMR’s of those they are playing against.

Promotions

+Upon reaching 100 League Points, the game would check to see that your current MMR is => the minimum MMR of the next tier/division.
      -Prevents MMR tanking at Div 5 of new tiers.  Attempts to control lucky win streaks by having a second check to make sure a player deserves to be promoted.

+If your MMR is below the minimum MMR of the next tier/division, your promo series would be delayed.  During this period you would enter a state of MMR acceleration.  While your LP is => 100, winning a game would continue to add League Points past 100, but your MMR gains would be increased to 150% (or perhaps a scaling bonus on win streaks: 110% -> 120% -> 130% -> etc).
      -Allows for players who have improved to raise their MMR to promotion levels at an accelerated rate, moving them through the MMR promotion check/balance at a fair speed.

+Once both your League Points are => 100 and your MMR is => the minimum of the next tier/division.  Your Promotion Series will start as normal.  During your promotion series, MMR acceleration will cease.

+Matchmaking for Promotion Series will consider you as in the next tier/division.
      -Promotions should be played against the tier/division you will be joining, not based on the one you are already in.

+Upon winning a Promotion Series, you will be placed into the lowest division (but at least 1 higher than your current) in which your MMR is within the range.  Allows for skipping of divisions but will not allow you to skip a tier.
      -Allows for players to skip divisions if their MMR is high enough, helping them to reach their appropriate skill level faster.  Also deals with undeserved promotions losses.  For example, you might lose your Promotion Series 2-3, but afterwards reach it again in 3 straight wins.  A continued cycle of 5-3 or 6-3 should still be rewarded even if those 3 losses are all promo

+Winning a Promotion series will make you immune to demotion status for 1 day or 10 games, whichever comes first.  Your MMR will still drop during this time period.
      -A quality of life improvement for players, it is extremely frustrating to win a promotion series and quickly get demoted to an unfortunately timed losing streak.  Player’s will still have to regain their MMR, but this will protect them from bad luck.

     This system will provide two measures to a player’s skill, hopefully able to best place players in the tier/division appropriate to their skill level.  While it does limit a player’s ability to speed rush through the system on wins streaks, it still allows for quick progression if MMR is high enough.  The consistency of earned points makes it easy for players to understand and the removal of any clamping is a simple quality of life improvement.  Also, since points are consistent, players who improve their gameplay and deserve to be higher tiers will be able to progress based on their current skill level rather than their progression rate having been clamped because of the number of games they have played.

Demotions

     I find that there are three problems with the current demotion system.  First, you are not warned about them.  Second, you cannot defend against them.  And lastly, you cannot be demoted from a tier.   I believe that the first two should change simply for the quality of life of the players, while the last issues should change to remove MMR tanking exploits and to better place players at their appropriate skill level.

+If a player is at 0 League Points and their MMR < their current tier/division’s minimum MMR, they will be placed into a Demotion Defense Series.
      -Sets when and why demotions will occur and lets players track how close they are to them.

+Players must win 2 out of 4 or 3 out of 6 games to prevent their demotion.
      -Sets the demotion prevention requirements at a 50% win rate.

+Upon surviving their demotion series, players will gain LP equal to 2 wins. 

     -Prevents hitting a demotion series immediately after winning one, even if your MMR is still below your current division/tier’s minimum MMR.

+If a Demotion Defense is lost, players will be placed in the previous division/tier with 50 + Demotion Defense wins (max of 75) LP.

+Players CAN be demoted from tiers.
      -Counteracts “elo boosting” and large lucky win streaks.  Also allows for redistribution of players as more skilled players make their way into the appropriate tiers.

      I think that having a system in place that notifies players of incoming demotions and allows them to prevent them is a good quality of life improvement as opposed to the current, surprise you’re demoted, system.  Having players being able to be demoted from tiers will make sure players are in their appropriate tiers as well as devaluing the worth of “boosting.”

Matchmaking

      Matchmaking is probably the most important issue with the current system.  Currently the division/tier system seems to be nothing more than a fancy user interface.  I believe (I could be wrong) that matchmaking is based entirely or almost entirely on your MMR and has nothing or little to do with your division/rank.

+Currently the matchmaking system is too broad.
      -Matches can consist of players across up to 3 tiers.  Diamond tier players have and can be matched up against Gold tier players and vice versa.

+Basing matchmaking on MMR can create highly skewed teams.
      -On a smurf whose MMR is very high, I’ve been on teams full of Silver 3-1’s against teams full of Gold 4-1’s.  One player’s MMR can highly skew the team composition in terms of divisions/tiers.

+MMR is not a visible stat to players and as an invisible stat should not be part of determining matchups.
      -This is for the quality of life of the players, reducing frustration on seemingly so varied team compositions.

     Changing matchmaking to be based primarily on the divisions/tiers in place would make them much more meaningful, reduce player frustration, and cause players to be placed in divisions/tiers more appropriate to their skill level.  Here are my thoughts.

+Matchmaking should first pull from the closest two division within your tier.
      -In example division 3 would first pull from divisions 4,3,2 but division 5 would pull from division 5,4,3 within that tier.

+As time in the queue increases matchmaking will open up to all divisions within your tier.

+As even more time passes by without a match found, matchmaking will open up to Division 5 of the tier above you and Division 1 of the tier below you.

+Queue times should increase to better match players.  Something along the lines of 1-2 minutes for the first search bracket, and 1-2 additional minutes for each new search bracket. 

     -Personally, I would rather spend a longer amount of time to find players within my skill level and have evenly matched teams than to find unbalanced and broad games quickly.

     I feel that a matchmaking system based on the visible ranked system would make the tiers/divisions much more meaningful as well as make the matchmaking system easy to understand by players.

     Lastly, two small suggestions on possible improvements to either matchmaking system.   Not so much changes, but rather additions.

+Duo Queuing should be limited.  I feel that requiring players to be within in one full tier of each other is fair.  For example, a Plat 5 player could duo with any player within Gold 5 – Diamond 5.

+In a players profile they may set their ability level in each of the lanes/roles (Skilled, Average, and Unskilled).  In the champion select screen, these could be seen by teammates as small icons underneath the player’s name.  This would convey more information during champ select for team coordination.
      -Players can also choose to not mark anything (so players do not feel pigeonholed into the current metagame).  Could be used in the matchmaking decisions or just left as an information conveyor only.

Challenger Tier

      Last on my list of things to talk about, is the Challenger Tier.  I find that there are a few problems with its current incarnation:

+Challenger Tier is extremely exclusive.
      -Only allowing 50 players into it at a time is an extremely small number with how many players League of Legends has.

+Safety period is too long.  1 week of demotion immunity is a long period of time for a tier that should promote volatility and competition.
      -Being a Challenger should be a position that demands it be defended.  Players should not be able to sit back once reaching it and safely hold onto it.

+Only rotates the bottom players in the tier.  Top players are nigh untouchable.
      -The players that reached challenger tier first and have now reached the top 30 or maybe even 40 are relatively untouchable.  Their points are so high compared to the lower end and new entries that it’s almost impossible for them to be in danger of demotion, even while playing only 1 game a week.

     Currently, there are a lot of players in Diamond 1 who cannot even begin their promotion series because the players they can replace are locked in demotion immunity status.  There’s a decent sized queue to get into Challenger because there effectively only a few slots open that are constantly being protected.  If a player is not on top of when immunities will expire and do not claim that promotion series spot as soon as it opens, they may never make it to challenger even though they deserve it.  I’ve brainstormed two ways to potentially counteract these problems and make the Challenger tier a more competitive and volatile tier.

Tweaking the Current Challenger Tier

+Drop the safety period to 2 or 3 days instead of 1 week.
      -Gives players enough time to get out of the bottom end of Challenger while not locking up the position if they don’t play.

+MMR acceleration at 100 points in Diamond 1 will allow players to earn their promotion series faster by reaching the MMR of players in the Challenger Tier.

+Allowing points to go past 100 will hold on to Diamond 1 player’s promotion without fear of losing a game or two while at 100.

+MMR acceleration in the Diamond 1 tier will cause the players rotating between Diamond 1 and the bottom of the Challenger tier to catch up to the players in the top of the Challenger tier.

Challenger Tier Redesign

     This idea I like a lot more than just tweaking the current Challenger Tier.  I feel it creates a tier of fairly constant competition that promotes defending your position rather than simply idling in your position once you move out of the lower end of the tier.

+The Challenger Tier will consist of a shared point pool.  For my example the total amount of points available in the Challenger tier will be 50,000 (1,000 to each player).  Once 50 players have reached Challenger status, the points will be distributed evenly and the tier will officially begin.

+At the start of the Challenger tier, all players will be given 1 week immunity from demotion while the ranking within it settles.

+Every game that is played in which a Challenger plays against a Challenger, the points within the Challenger tier point pool would be affected.  If a Challenger(s) plays a game but does not play against another Challenger(s) only their MMR will be affected by the outcome.

+In Challenger versus Challenger games.  Non-participating Challengers and the losing Challengers will lose 1 point per Challenger on the winning team.  The Challenger(s) of the losing team will also lose an additional 25 points.  These points will be split evenly among the winning Challengers.

Example using even teams

Challengers on teams            Winners          Non-participating      Losers
1v1                                          +74                  -1                                 -26
2v2                                          +73                  -2                                 -27
3v3                                          +72                  -3                                 -28
4v4                                          +71                  -4                                 -29
5v5                                          +70                  -5                                 -30

+The specifics will be different for teams in which Challengers on teams are uneven.  Points lost by the non-participating Challengers will be based on the number of winning Challengers.

+For Diamond 1 players, their promotion series will start when reaching the lowest MMR in the Challenger tier but will replace the lowest ranked Challenger.

+New players will enter the Challenger tier with 1,000 points.  These points will first be taken from the replaced Challenger and then stolen evenly from the rest of the Challengers (starting from the #1 rank)

     I believe that this system or a similar one would promote a volatile and competitive Challenger tier.  A shared point pool prevents infinite climbing while still allowing for you to create distance between you and the others in the tier.  Play becomes about your comparison to those in your tier rather than the amount of points you have accumulated.  By having every game siphon points from all Challengers, the system will deal with the stagnation of the top ranks.  All players in the challenger tier will have to play a decent amount of matches to maintain and defend their position while all of the challengers will be targeting and “dragging” down the rest of the challengers, realistically making them targets that can be passed.  Challenger tier should not simply be a position that is reached and held, but one that must be defended and maintained by all Challengers, not just those at the bottom of the tier.

Summary

     The current ranked system is nice, especially in a visual/player goal oriented sense.  There are however, still problems, especially in how matchmaking occurs and how much of an affect MMR has on matchmaking, unfair/fair tier/division progression, and the Challenger tier.  This is compounded by the fact that MMR is an invisible player stat and is never stated to the players as being such a huge part of their ranked experience.

I hope that some of the tweaks/changes I have put worth have value in alleviating the current problems.  I especially like the Challenger redesign, but that may just be me =).  I hope this can generate some discussion about how to best solve the current issues of the ranked system and I will be checking and responding to this thread on a consistent basis if discussion picks up.