Starting point and questioning
The first point Riot focused on with Legends of Runeterra was how to make sense of the progression. It went through longer periods of experimentation and discovery. The teams noticed from the Preview Patches that there was still work to be done before LoR reached its final form.
"One of the major topics of discussion between us concerns the fact that the players are limited by time: They have only one new quest per day, the safe is restricted by a maximum level and the number of jokers available weekly in the store is limited. This is the compromise we have chosen to emphasize our approach, you have a direct way to get exactly what you want, but it may take you some time. that this is the best option? We sincerely believe so, but in the end, you have the answer. "
Limits and purpose
While many of you were happy with the control you already had, others were hitting the limits. One of the most telling examples was the management of randomness in the safe, especially with regard to champion cards. We couldn't ignore this problem, given the importance of getting champions to build a deck quickly (the time it takes to build a deck is a key factor in measuring progress in LoR). Bad luck was particularly punitive for those who relied on the safe (rather than the store) to get the champions they wanted.
Certain aspects of the progression system, such as the limit of stock in the shop and level for the safe, seemed to slow down the evolution of the meta. But these benefits were weighed down by the disadvantages. For example, you couldn't experiment as you wanted with a majority of the cards. For some, the meta lost its flavor all by itself while for others, those who have the most fun in innovation and experimentation, it was a very real limitation which prevented them from simply appreciating LoR. Although we want to keep a constantly evolving meta, we also don't want to frustrate players by forcing them at a certain rate.
And we have also seen a rather annoying optimization technique put in place: the retention of wild cards (and, to a lesser extent, fragments). We consider this to be a problem for two reasons: First, it shows that players believe that in the end, it is better to keep the jokers than to use them to regularly get new cards and try them out. It is in total contradiction with our objectives of progress and discovery. Then, if players save their jokers, the new expansion will have no chance of taking advantage of a "slow-evolving meta". All you have to do is use all your wild cards to instantly unlock the majority of new cards (a problem that will only repeat itself in the future). Whatever we decide to change elsewhere, we will necessarily have to do something to resolve this. Only for new players who will otherwise remain desperately behind the veterans.
Once these problems were clearly established, we finally had two options: continue on the current path by accepting that some players have a significant advantage over others (and a very different progression experience), or else change everything.
Progress 2.0
We always have the same objective: we want to create a game offering a pleasant progression while giving pride of place to phases of experimentation and discovery. But we do not want the second part of this objective to be done at the expense of the first.
Trying to keep a slow-evolving meta at all costs would simply lead to disappointing results. For example, we could not only have limited the number of wild cards you could buy per week, but also the number of wild cards you could use. Or, create wildcards specific to an extension, so that you cannot use the current wildcards in the next extension.
Admittedly, that would have slowed things down, but it was out of the question to lower ourselves to that. Even if we did, it wouldn't necessarily have favored the kind of evolutionary meta that we saw in the open beta. There is a good chance that the community will simply play the best decks already in existence without experimenting with new, less powerful decks. You might as well wait until a complete and competitive version of a new deck is available before investing in it.
Which brings us to big change # 1: we make wild cards, or in the end direct card purchases, unlimited. From the moment we ruled out the frustrating option that would have made it possible to find the same kind of meta as that of open beta, it was this change that made it possible to most simply resolve the three problems at the same time. In this way, beginners do not stay behind indefinitely compared to players who have built up stocks, those who want it have full access to the extension for experimentation, and we eliminate the incentive on purchase induced by the limited weekly stock
This is probably the most visible change, and yet it is not what we started with. The other goal that we are committed to achieving since the beginnings of LoR is to create a game where it is not the amount of money you spend that ensures success. So, before we even got into jokers, we had to find a way to give more control to those who invest time rather than money in the game. In the end, it was not that difficult: we had to make XP gains and the vault unlimited and guarantee wider (and better controlled) access to champion cards. This translates into a safe that offers a random champion from level 5 and a champion joker at level 10. With a continuous level increase for all the capsules you get.
Taken together, these changes go a long way to giving you more control over overall progress. But if they are well suited to those who invest a lot of time or money, they leave others aside: those who do not want or cannot invest as much.
Above all, we don't want LoR to be considered a game reserved for the relentless or those who are ready to line up tickets. We also know all too well the fear of missing something or being too late if we ever give up on the game for a while. That's why, in addition to the champion safe from level 5 (which is made to be obtained as long as you complete your daily quests), we add multiplied XP levels to give a little boost to those who are too late.
In the long term, other levels of multiplied XP will be added according to the progression rate of the active players, in order to avoid too much disparity between the collections of cards. If a significant part of the community ends up far behind the rest of the troops, the others can play in draft mode to catch up. We hope that a return to play after a break is easy and pleasant, and that it is always the right time to start playing LoR.
These are the big changes you can expect to see soon. If you were struggling to progress so far, this update should get you out of trouble. You wanted fewer barriers? XP gains are now unlimited, like the level of the safe and direct purchases. Want better accessibility? The safe gives you better rewards, launching expeditions is easier and you have multiplied XP levels. Each week, you hoped to receive a champion? There it is, it's yours. The meta may evolve faster now but your progress should keep pace and you will have more control than ever.
