Lane Loyalty Bonus - a fix for double-dipping in the early game.

[aclitheroe]

Here's my punt at addressing the (possibly) dominant lane-switching strategy that exploits soul sharing during the early game:

When you first shoot a creep, you gain a Lane Loyalty Bonus for that creep's lane lasting X seconds (eg 40). Continuing to shoot creeps in that lane refreshes the timer.

While you have a Lane Loyalty Bonus, you gain souls from that lane exactly as you do now.

However, if you enter another lane and shoot or gain souls from a creep in that lane, you lose the bonus but not the timer.

Without the bonus, you only earn split souls from the lane you are in. THIS DOES NOT AFFECT HOW MANY SOULS OTHER PEOPLE GET. Once the timer expires, the next creep you shoot redefines your Lane Loyalty and resets the timer.

WHY THIS WORKS:

1. It eliminates double dipping via 2-1 roaming. Yes, you can get another 50% souls by switching lane after the first wave, but when you come back, you'll only get 50% of the souls from your original lane.

2. It doesn't affect anyone else. The huge, overwhelming reason why soul sharing is good is that new players don't get abused by potty-mouthed thirteen year olds for not knowing lane etiquette. Having a partner in a lane is always welcome. This doesn't change that, and it prevents anyone having their personal game spoiled because of others flitting around.

3. It doesn't penalise switching 2-1 lanes to help out. You dash across to help a teammate, and clear a wave in the process. 50% souls. Then you go back and clear your own wave. 50% souls. And It's like you never left.

LIMITATIONS

If you jump 1-2 into 0-3, or 1-1 into 0-2, you can gain the split souls from the other lane on top of the full souls from your own (because the loyalty bonus has no effect on a solo lane, so losing it doesn't matter when you return).

However, this leaves your lane empty, which is a risk and also entails abandoning denials, and the benefit is only 33-50% what it was. I think it likely this could be played around with other strategies.

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[Iggy]

Having seen their attempts to address this. This is all terrible ideas. Sorry. I'm currently having ppl jungle or be near a lane and I'm getting 14$ when I should be getting 42 or whatever.

There's so many unintentional ways this change is ruining the game, it needs to go back to what it was and just remove the 'bonus' double money.

 

[aclitheroe]

Having seen their attempts to address this. This is all terrible ideas. Sorry. I'm currently having ppl jungle or be near a lane and I'm getting 14$ when I should be getting 42 or whatever.

There's so many unintentional ways this change is ruining the game, it needs to go back to what it was and just remove the 'bonus' double money.

Why are you dunking on a solution that hasn't been tried and doesn't have the problems of the one they HAVE tried?

 

[Iggy]

Maybe I just don't understand it fully unless I see it. But sorry, I just don't see how it solves the problem. I apologize though and do appreciate the ideas. I did not mean to squash it. I would reckon you're as frustrated as many players are and this is at the very very least a thoughtful solution.

There's already a pretty large penalty for leaving a lane. There was prior to the adjustment.

I really do not like the past idea of a 'loyalty bonus' which is largely how you could name the current situation. If the game is balanced reasonably, players should be able to roam however they choose. I just don't like the base idea of simply moving around the map having an actual cost to it that is not on a time-value basis.

 

[aclitheroe]

That's fair! I may not have communicated it properly - but I think it addresses your worries. I'll try again.

The Lane Loyalty Bonus (which would only exist for the first 10 minutes) means you get the full benefit of souls from the lane with which you have the bonus (which is initially set to your assigned lane). It doesn't matter if it's a single or dual lane, or if someone else wanders into your lane, you get the full value. Nobody can take that off you, accidentally or on purpose. No bickering!

If YOU go roaming (and this is a slight update to my original version) you get no passive souls from creeps from other lanes while you have the bonus. So you can go jungle without passively benefiting from the actions of neighbouring lanes. No exploits!

If you go roaming and attack creeps in another lane, you lose the lane loyalty bonus. Without the bonus, you get split souls from any lane you're in, based on the number of nearby players. The bonus has a cooldown of X seconds, and every time you hit a creep from a different lane, that timer resets.

After X seconds of sticking to a lane, you regain the bonus and gather full souls regardless of how many players are in your lane.

So, how does this work in practice?

Obviously if everyone stays in their lane, it all works as intended.

You go jungling - no problem. Nobody loses souls just because you're nearby, and you get no passive benefit.

You dive into another lane to help out or gank someone - well, if you attack the creep, you'll get split souls (the person already there is unaffected so they won't complain about you helping) and then if you go back to your lane, you'll get split souls from that lane too. If your lane is empty, that means full souls! If it's a duo lane, you'll get half (but your partner won't be affected). If you then stay in your old lane (or in the new lane), the loyalty bonus will kick back in.

The upshot is that rapidly switching lanes gives the same benefit as sticking to one, without anyone who isn't in on the roaming plan being affected.