Pick Order Over Call Order: Now for the Interesting Part

Riot recently announced their support of pick order over call order. Although they gave no indication that there will be any sort of enforcement of dynamic, this means that they recognize that the order in which players are able to pick their champions is more important than how fast someone is able to call out their preferred position. Which is probably the least interesting thing that came from the discussion.

Although it can be said that this endorsement is a good thing for the League community, it simply lends validity to a mechanic which is already in place. No matter who calls what position first, ultimately first pick will be able to choose whatever they want and those below them on the ladder will have to deal with it. The mechanics of champion select already enforced this process, so it isn’t surprising to see that Riot now officially endorses it. Whether they deal with it in a mature manner or not is still a matter of luck.

Now for the interesting stuff.

After all was said and done, Riots endorsement of pick order seemed to come up secondary to another method: Communication. More than even pick order, the message seemed to be that the following hierarchy was Riots true endorsement:

1. Communication and compromise
2. Pick Order
3. Call Order

In other words, players should make known their strengths and preferences, negotiate, and come up with a plan. Only if all else fails and there is a complete breakdown in communication does pick vs call order even become relevant.

There were, predictably, complaints from players regarding being forced into roles they could not play. Riots response was that individuals who cannot at least play every role are probably not prepared for ranked play. While not a condemnation per se, this is a statement from the makers themselves that specializing in a single or limited number of roles is not a realistic strategy for ranked play. No matter a players ability in a particular role, they should respect this need for compromise by occasionally playing another role they may not feel as confident with. Not having a familiarity with every role can and does make you a liability to your teams.

So, “I only play mid”, “I suck at support”, and “I don’t have the runes to jungle” aren’t so much excuses as indications that a player should probably work on their weaknesses in some more normal games before trying out ranked play.

Riot also said they were looking at potential solutions to player toxicity in champion select. Though they endorse pick order as the most ideal solution (barring communication) with the current system, they were exploring better options for pregame. What these potential changes could be are interesting to consider.

Riot has already said they do not endorse the current meta, so joining queues based on role are out of the question. No word was given on how solid any of these concepts are and only time will tell whether they even make it to the public beta. It is comforting to know that Riot is well aware that problems with player behavior can start before the loading screen and are working to improve every aspect of the game.

So from an announcement that would seem rather intuitive given the design of champion select in ranked play, we get a better grasp of Riots vision of gameplay and, perhaps, even some future changes.