User blog comment:Lykrast/Runes: why I hate them/@comment-24087642-20140326142114

There are two reasons riot made runes:

1) To drain your IP. When you're spending IP on runes, you're not spending IP on champions. When you're not spending IP on champions, you're not getting new champions- unless you're paying money. If you you're not getting new champions, you're getting frustrated. If you're getting frustrated, you're smashing your computer's keyboard. Don't smash your computer's keyboard; instead, pay money!

Yes, it sucks. Deal with it, it's how riot gets cash to keep the servers up and stuff.

2) (This is much, much more minor) To give people a few customization options for their style. Some people, for example, prefer scaling AP runes as they don't play aggresively during the first 5 levels.