Riot's Lead Gameplay Designer Matt "Phroxzon" Leung-Harrison has responded to growing criticism from pros and streamers about the current state of League of Legends – acknowledging that gameplay feels "a bit stale" at high elo. Major balance changes, however, aren't coming before the end of the year.
Pro criticism: "Riot has killed the game"
Several well-known former pros have recently spoken out sharply about the current state of League of Legends. Former Los Ratones and Witchcraft jungler Veljko "Velja" Čamdžić says Riot has "killed the game" – while sitting in an 18-minute queue himself. His former teammate Simon "Baus" Hofverberg called top lane "so f*cking frustrating to play," asking Riot to "fix the role."
Phroxzon's statement was prompted by a detailed critical post from CGN Esports mid laner Mike "Phantasm" Thiele, who laid out in depth what he does and doesn't like about the current version of the game.
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Phroxzons Antwort: Stale, aber stabil
Phroxzon doesn't fundamentally disagree with the criticism. "Agree that the gameplay is balanced, but for high skill players might be a bit stale," he wrote in the original thread on X. At the same time, he points to the broader numbers: "Satisfaction and enjoyment for the vast majority of players seems very high given how popular the game is right now."
That's why Riot is being cautious about further changes, Phroxzon explains: the types of changes still possible before the end of the year – mostly balance adjustments – wouldn't actually resolve the staleness anyway.
Ranked system and "Aegis of Valor" also under fire
Phroxzon also addressed the contentious apex-tier (Challenger/Grandmaster) distribution in Europe: the state of apex in EU "needs improvement," and Riot is "thinking about how we can deliver durable improvements here for next season." The frustration, he explains, stems partly from the fact that EU West has roughly the same number of Challenger and Grandmaster slots as much smaller regions, making the "length of the ladder" feel "demoralizing." In the short term, though, Riot doesn't want to touch it, citing the risk of further instability.
- Phroxzon also acknowledged issues with "Aegis of Valor," a limited-time LP "shield" for autofill players that removes LP loss on defeat and grants double LP on victory: the system "doesn't create great incentives" right now and overly favors certain role combinations. Changes, he says, are needed.
- Phroxzon also weighed in on another contentious point: negative LP gains at the top of the ladder. Some players favor the system, others see it as unfair and as degrading the ladder – Phroxzon called it "a reasonable debate" without taking a clear side.