For League of Legends gamers, Riot’s title is not just a recreational game but also a source of intense ranked matches and joyful moments spent with friends. Some players have been with League of Legends since its inception, and it is a game that does not discriminate by age. Of course, the ideal age to experience League of Legends is generally considered to be 16 and older, yet there are still many younger players who achieve high ranks and even get recruited into professional League of Legends teams.
Recently, a post by a 54-year-old gamer has drawn significant attention from the international League of Legends community. The presence of players in their middle age and beyond in Riot’s game demonstrates the game’s appeal. These “veteran” players, both in terms of playtime and age, provide a more comprehensive perspective on the game; for them, League of Legends truly embodies the essence of a game: entertainment, experience, and relaxation after the stresses and challenges of daily life.
However, this older gamer recently posted with the intention of announcing his retirement from the League of Legends scene. The reason he provided is that he feels he is too old to try hard anymore. After 10 years of “battling,” this player also shared some insights about the current state of the League of Legends community, capturing the attention of the international League of Legends community.
The first issue he mentioned is that at low ranks, jungle players are often quite… “useless.” Specifically, he believes that the jungle is one of the most important positions in a team to ensure the gameplay operates smoothly. However, at low ranks, junglers often do not ping, do not gank, and appear extremely passive. Moreover, these junglers are also very poor at objective control and sometimes struggle when teammates in the lanes fail to look at the mini-map or notify them of movements in the lanes.
Another important factor this gamer pointed out is that there are too many “smurf” players in League of Legends today. From low ranks to ranks like Diamond and Platinum, smurfs are rampant, and players in low ranks have little chance of winning against smurf players. The issue is that while smurfs flood the matches in League of Legends, Riot has not taken any steps to improve the situation of “matching with smurfs” as it currently stands.
The post by this player received agreement from many League of Legends gamers. Setting aside the jungle issue, the presence of smurfs in ranked matches is a problem that exists in every region, and players who are just looking for fun or are at low ranks easily have their gaming experience ruined when encountering such smurf situations. The majority of opinions expressed admiration for this older gamer still having a passion for League of Legends and suggested he try Teamfight Tactics or ARAM – modes that are much more casual.
At the end of the post, this player also confirmed that he will not quit entirely but will occasionally hop into the game for some ARAM matches. However, to try hard again in the Summoner’s Rift, he will likely have to give that up due to his age and lack of mental energy to try hard regularly. As for the issues he raised, surely, not just this gamer but everyone hopes Riot will improve the matchmaking function so that we no longer encounter the situation of “Gold rank but Challenger skill” in the game.