User blog comment:Alartan/IP - are influence points a problem?/@comment-24420226-20150410212806

I actually can't remember the last time I used RP to buy a champion. I've been buying the newly released champs for 7800 RP each basically since Braum was released. I think I have around 9000 IP right now (the game is patching right now, and I'm not patient enough to wait for it). I feel like the numbers you calculated aren't really representative of how difficult it is to get champs/runes. I've been playing for a little over two years, and while I certainly do not own everything I have a respectable 73/124 champions which gives me a fairly diverse pool of options for whatever role I choose to play, along with 15 rune pages. I do admit some of those were purchased with RP, but thats a factor that you missed - Riot actually has a really well-built monetization system where you don't feel terribly pressured into buying RP, but it feels rewarding to do so (shoe of hands: how many people didn't think they needed DJ Sona until she was anounced). You make it seem like such a steep hill to climb for unlocking content, but it simply did not feel that way from my persepctive. As with the RP, I noticed you missed some key points in calculating IP and time investments.

1 - You get 480 IP from completing the tutorial, as well as some free RP. This enables you to own at least 2 lesser-priced champions right from the get-go. And it's important to note that simply because they are low in price, it doesn't mean they can't be competitive picks (*cough*Annie*cough*).

2 - Free champion rotation means its not neccessary to own all the champions, and even encourages players to be more selective about purchasing new champs. Certain champs show up more frequently than others, but for the most part players will have the opportunity to try all of the champs in the game without having to own them first.

3 - You don't need to own every Rune. It may be nice, but honestly not every rune available to purchase are effective and desirable. Riot has already phased a few out, and they will probably do so again. Even if not, there is an importance in having the bad options Imagine if players couldn't build their own rune pages, and they instead had to selected pre-constructed loadouts. Being able to make a bad decision is an aspect of design. Addionally, sets of runes show up multiple times across my 15 pages, and I bet they do for your pages as well, because many runes are just that useful. Let's face it: movespeed and CDR are OP.

4 - time invested for IP varies a little more than what you've stated for a couple of reasons. You can earn IP for game modes other than standard SR - ARAM, Dominion, and Twisted Treeline are a little faster paced. Additionally there is the surrender option, and you still earn IP for losses ''even when surrendering. ''Obviously you earn more for winning a 35 minute game than surrending at the 20 minute mark, but it does mean that 'lost time' isn't actually lost time. A matchmade win with FWotD gets me around 250 IP, plus maybe another 50 IP for a surrender@20 gets me 300 IP - which is almost as much as your proposed 350IP for a 'few' games (Two games? Three games? Tip: If you're going to bother with calculations, don't introduce wishy-washy terms like 'a few'). Time invested is, being generous, as long as 1 hour and 20 minutes. Not even half of the general 3 hours you stated.

There is one thing I would like to see renovated about the IP system though. Rather than a daily win, you have an energy timer - I don't mean the resource. Players could be able to 'store' small amounts IP when they are not playing and then cash in on that 'missed' IP the next time they win. Players that play more frequently would still numerically earn IP faster, but more casual players won't feel like they are falling behind as much. Maybe have it so that the IP earned decelerates; IP stacks up slower as the time between matches grows longer. That way there is a little more pressure to actually come back to the game, get the bonus IP, and reset the IP stack rate.