So back when Summoner's Rift got a revamp I stopped playing. I got really frustrated with some of the jungle changes and just decided to give it a break.
I pop in from time to time to see the changes but haven't really stepped foot into even a normal game since the revamp.
I saw that season 6 had additional changes to the jungle and I got my courage up to play a normal yesterday and see that season 7 has brought a host of changes to the game and to the map.
I don't feel like I need to relearn everything, the basic concepts of team comp and map play are relatively the same. But I do feel a little behind the 8 ball. I still think its one of the better mobas out there, but with all this extra fluff I can't help but feel its lost a little of its greatness.
For me what always made LoL great and set it apart from other games is how deceptively simple it is/was. 4 abilities and 2 summoner spells for a total of a wopping 6 buttons to push... ooooh aaaah. EZ PZ right? Well we all know, not so much. The skill disparity that can exist while using so few options can be huge. That's the brilliance of it.
Think of any professional sport. Do those change every year? Would it be better with exploding fruit? Obstacles on the playing field? A snake trap? A tiger on a chain? A giant stone ball?
Ya it'd be fun to watch, but would that be fun to play? No. It adds confusion and detracts from the spirit of the game. It also makes it far more difficult for both new players and for old players to just pick up and play.