http://www.reddit.com/r/dataisbeaut...the_competitive_rankings_of_super_smash_bros/ Nice job @forrestthewoods
Good blog post. I'm generally of the opinion that character balance is overrated as far as competitive play is concerned. If something is terribly overpowered it'll either be banned(if not fun) or the meta will center around it(if fun).
With regards to LoL, there can be horribly overpowered or simply not fun. Case 1 was the snowballing Yasuo that could 1v5, case 2 is the silence assassin meta that removed all counterplay. ("silence, do damage, dash away. no counter, no defense, no skill involved") The case Forrest talks about is the cases where a few points more or less is largely flavor.
I think you missed my point entirely. The relative power of something isn't what determines whether or not it should be removed. It's how fun it is. The core issue is almost never balance. LoL is also weird. It's competitive scene doesn't allow for global bans because it's run by Riot. And Smash characters are by no means a point more or less. The good and bad can be miles apart. I'm not finding any current matchup lists, but looking at a Melee matchup list can be disgusting. There being changes doesn't mean there weren't years where a character was dominated by 30% matchups across the board.
Nah, i agree that it's about fun. I just don't believe it's entirely a separate issue from balance. Also unlike Bros, League has dozens and dozens of champions. It would truly be a shame if only ~10 of them could be played (since that's the minimum you need in a draft pick game). Even now, not EVERY champion is perfectly viable, but i like to pick that 1% (or less) pick rate champion because it can be fun.
Well done forrest That article was discussed in the latest Melee It On Me podcast (famous podcast of Smash community leaders) and was well received in thecommunity. Also nice to see that you like Smash . Too bad I'm in Europe, would have loved to play you online but I guess it would lag ^^
