Today's cartoon is about the new 'Kleptomancy' rune in League of Legends and the chances to proc it.



The world has been arguing about whether TCG games should be accepted as a genre for eSports. The main issue of the argument was about chance; 'Luck over strategy'.



In 2011, 'Dodge' was deleted from League to avoid balance issues. Unlike critical strike or normal defensive mechanisms, the stat 'dodge' had the possibility to make luck essentially overwrite skill.



After a while, changes were made to the map and 'Elemental Dragons' appeared. This added, yet, another element of probability. This didn't raise much protest because the opportunity to kill the dragon was equal for both teams, and it did not vastly affect the match result. However, this looked like a step against Riot's direction to remove 'chance' from the game.



The new rune 'Kleptomancy' changes things. The 'Sly Sack of Gold' relies mainly on chance (never thought it would be this plain) and it sometimes gives certain items which are advantageous in early lane fights. As a result, Ezreal has gained an edge to his skills (hitbox, cooldown, range etc.) and has returned from his long journey off the meta as an ADC.



This isn't about how good or fun or OP the rune 'Kleptomancy' is. This is about reintroducing effective RNGs into the game. Does this mean that Riot has started to change their thoughts about elements regarding probability/chance? Will this RNG element create a huge impact on the pro scene? What counter-intuitive plan does Riot Games have in store after they had clearly gone against RNGs because of balance issues? In the midst of the newly implemented runes, I am concerned with the direction of Riot's decision.