[2022] LS | Why Pro-Play Lacks Innovation

This is a space we've thought about a fair bit on our end, what's the best way to incentivize/assist pros in innovating?

Maybe it's figuring out a way to give potent tools for practice, maybe it's draft format changes, maybe it's changing the pace of pro-focused balance changes, could be a ton of other things. I don't think the solve is easy nor is there likely any single solution that solves it, but I'd love if this conversation was kept alive. Pro play is at its coolest when there are constant new champions and constant evolution.

I do think the costs to innovate are decently high right now, and rewards for innovating can be kinda low. Regular season means the temporary advantage you get washes out after a few games and bans means the actual advantage you would gain turns into one free ban for your team. I would expect middle of the pack teams in regular season games to innovate though, you shouldn't expect to win by playing the same meta against a team that's more coordinated/skilled/better/whatever.

These kinds of changes are super exciting for me, could do all bans are permanent or whatever too.

Complexity of draft is very dangerous and something that we'd have to be very careful of. (If draft is super fiddly and complex the pro game gets really hard to understand for most ppl, etc)