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Yes this is the right range.
I have nothing to do with eSports but have gone to many events and have seen how hard that team works to ensure that everyone gets what they paid for and then some. And how Rioters that aren't working the event generally sit in the cheap seats to ensure the best seats are available for other players.
That said, I assume each new event prevents unique challenges that are sometimes not handled perfectly for a variety of reasons. And I don't doubt that OP had a shitty experience in Berlin. I do however doubt that the Rioters there didn't try to make it right including a full refund, if what OP describes is what actually happened.
I can also imagine how disheartening it must be for the eSports team who works so hard to do right by players read threads like this where it seems like everyone agrees that they have the complete opposite attitude than they actually do. I'd expect that 95+% of players that have been to events at all price points feel like they've gotten way more value t...
Read moreAnd how Rioters that aren't working the event generally sit in the cheap seats to ensure the best seats are available for other players.
tfw you realise riot members are the true mvps
Also, are you suggesting that you go on Reddit in your working hours? Is that not prohibited? (just curious pls no hate sorry for the off-topic)
No Reddit isn't prohibited for anyone here as far as I know. But tbh I come here a lot less than I used to because it gets demoralizing to see massively upvoted posts that distort the motives, intentions, and/or competencies of people I know and trust day after day. But I get it that extreme views are often more compelling than rational thoughtful ones, and there's usually an element of truth behind most of them so I'm not saying it's all bs.
And plenty of Rioters read Reddit daily and take it all to heart, so I'll always hear about the big topics even if I don't check in for a few days.
Read moreI'm more interested in the fact that more than 5% of South Korea's population plays ranked games in League.
Took a quick look at this before jumping on a plane, and while the Korea numbers look like they could be accurate, the NA numbers don't look even close. So I don't know what to make of it.
When we launched League in Europe, the exchange rate was about $1.49 per euro. It is now about $1.20 (down ~20%) so we're still making less $ when RP is purchased in Europe, as we've only adjusted prices by ~10%, and we even offset some of that with bonus RP to minimize the impact on players as much as possible. This reply explains that and the VAT effect better than I can.
We don't try to make money from exchange rate changes (in fact we generally lose money) and we make negative adjustments as rarely as possible to limit the impact on players. And we're at least as fast with changes that help players, as we did with the pound before the Brexit mess forced us to eventually reverse that change.
If the euro gets back to $1.49, we'll look to bring the $/euro ratio back in line with where it was at League's launch.
-edited to correct euro price on League launch date-
Read moreRP prices in CAD and USD are still within 5% of each other (barely) and we don't look to adjust in either direction until the difference between USD and CAD is at least 10% and stays there for a while. Historically that's benefited Canadian players more often than not.
RP cards and Subway cards may provide slightly different rates due to taxes etc. and we're fine with players using that to their advantage whenever it makes sense.
Simply put,we cant.
The average skin in the League store is a little over 1000 RP which equates to less than 8€ at the new prices, although the average new skin is closer to 10€. Additionally, many skins are purchased on discounts through weekly sales or bundles or My Shop, so the average spent per skin is less.
That said, we do understand that in many countries that is still too high which is one reason we began giving more skins to players for free in recent years through Hextech Crafting.
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While I understand the pain caused by prices increases, we are not trying to obfuscate anything and want to be open with you about the changes we are making and the reasons for them. Here are the facts:
1) When League launched in October 2009, one euro was worth $1.49.
2) League's initial pricing was $10 for 1380 RP in NA and €10 for 1780 RP in EU, representing a 29% difference for EU players as compared to the ~49% difference in currencies. This price was selected so that Riot would pass along the majority of the VAT cost to players and receive roughly similar $ from RP purchased in NA and EU.
3) One euro is now worth $1.13 which is 36 cents or 24% lower than at launch
4) We have lowered the RP amounts for a €10 purchase in EU by ~22.5% in that time frame, roughly matching the change in currency prices. While the bulk of the currency move happened abruptly in 2014, we decided not to adjust pricing the full amount at that time, and hoped the currency would recover so we wouldn't ...
Read more1380 RP is correct.
When League of Legends was released in October 2009, 10 euro was worth $1.49 and today 10 euro is worth $1.13, a decline of 32%.
In October 2009 EU players received 1780 RP for 10 euro and after this change will receive 1380 RP, a decline of 29%.
That 1380 RP is the same as US players receive for $10 and is just enough to cover a 1350 RP skin. The reason those amounts are the same even though a euro is worth $1.13 is because EU countries charge Riot VAT averaging 20% meaning we still receive slightly less $ when a EU player purchases RP compared to an NA player.
Read moreExcuse me, why exactly are you basing the price of Riot Points in Euros on the price of a Dollar? I still get paid the same, regardless of what a Dollar was worth now or 2 years ago.
That’s a reasonable question. Unfortunately the costs of running and supporting League are mostly in dollars as the majority of Rioters work in the US. Every year those costs increase not just due to inflation but also the increasing investments we make in the tech, the game, esports, etc, and in supporting the game around the world. And currency movements impact our ability to make those investments, either positively or negatively, but unfortunately have been almost entirely negative since 2009.
the fact that it gives you slightly less than 1350 RP is a fucking slap in the face. so you can't even buy an epic skin anymore for 10€ after the change, that's rediculous
Posted this on the main thread but copying here for visibility.
1380 RP is correct.
When League of Legends was released in October 2009, 10 euro was worth $1.49 and today 10 euro is worth $1.13, a decline of 24%.
In October 2009 EU players received 1780 RP for 10 euro and after this change will receive 1380 RP, a decline of 22.5%.
That 1380 RP is the same as US players receive for $10 and is just enough to cover a 1350 RP skin. The reason those amounts are the same even though a euro is worth $1.13 is because EU countries charge Riot VAT averaging 20% meaning we still receive slightly less $ when a EU player purchases RP compared to an NA player.
Read moreWhat about the average skin price increase?
The average skin on the League site will now cost about 8 euros, but you're right that the average NEW skin is a little less than 10 euros given that 1350 RP skins have become the norm. We made that change only because players repeatedly told us that they preferred the higher quality skins, even at the higher cost. Otherwise we'd be making more skins, but at a lower price and complexity of changes.
Unrelated but similar scenario, what justified the price increase for UK players seeing how there was the 20% increase 2 years ago?Despite uncertainty these past 2 years and in the coming months, the GBP USD exchange rate has mostly stayed the same...
The UK has seen multiple price changes, including a price decrease in 2015 when the pound was showing strength. Unfortunately the weakness caused by the Brexit uncertainty has persisted, and while we didn't pass the full amount onto players originally, choosing to absorb some of it ourselves, we are doing so now.
Lets take the EUR/USD rate into consideration. In 2015 €1.00 was worth roughly $1.09. Which means if we put that as the base, for $1.00 you got 163 RP (because thats apparently how they calculate).
In one month €1.00 is worth roughly $1.14. and you get 118 RP for $1.00.
So how does that add up? It doesnt. The conversion rate from EUR to USD is 4,59% higher than in 2015. The conversion rate from EUR to RP should accordingly be 4,59% lower right?
Nope. Its 27.61% lower.
The euro was $1.20 when we made the last price adjustment in 2015. At the time we chose to only increase euro prices 10% even though the currently had moved closer to 20% from the 2009 launch. We absorbed the cost of the difference in the hope that the euro would rebound and bring prices back in balance.
Why not reward the American players by giving them more RP per dollar instead of lowering the RP from purchases in the euro market?
Fair question and that would be the ideal answer if our costs were declining each year instead of increasing. We employ many hundreds of talented artists and many more hundreds of talented engineers to improve the game and the surrounding tech, and also invest increasing amounts in other areas. So we need to maintain the revenue that comes in from skins if we are going to continue that investment.
Thanks OP - I very much appreciate this sentiment but also understand that players who love skins get frustrated about having to pay more for them.
You're right though that those purchases pay for everything else Riot does, not just the cost of making the skin, which is why we sometimes have to raise prices to effectively cover our costs. And the other great thing about selling skins (as opposed to power or progression) is that when your opponent buys one, you actually benefit (by getting to enjoy it) rather than suffer (by having to compete against it).
So we feel pretty good about our business model which helps us get through the negative feedback that comes on days like this.
Read moreSure here's a more detailed timeline of EU pricing.
1) When League launched in October 2009, one euro was worth $1.49.
2) League's initial pricing was $10 for 1380 RP in NA and €10 for 1780 RP in EU, representing a 29% difference for EU players as compared to the ~49% difference in currencies. This price was selected so that Riot would receive roughly similar $ from RP purchased in NA and EU, after accounting for the VAT we were required to pay for EU purchases.
3) By 2015, the euro had declined below $1.20 (a 19% decline) and we adjusted pricing by 11%, lowering the RP received for €10 to 1580 RP. We decided at the time to bear some of the cost of the euro decline in the hope that the euro would recover.
4) Instead the euro declined further and is currently at $1.13, 24% below our starting point, and so we are adjusting the value of €10 to 1380 RP, 22.5% below the original value.
5) Another way to look at it is that in October 2009, one US dollar spent on the EU server (after co...
Read moreAnd the UK was changed why?
The UK pound was stronger than the dollar and euro earlier in the decade and so we raised the value of RP that players receive for purchasing in pounds in 2015. But then the Brexit vote happened and the pound dropped substantially, and similarly to the explanation above, we lowered the RP value in two stages to where it is now balanced with the value of the pound relative to the dollar and euro (and also incorporating VAT).
it was already adjusted at least once if not twice since 2014 nothing has majorly changed since brexit vote which is when it was last changed. If anything the pound has improved as it was at 1.20 ish briefly
Yes it was adjusted in 2015 (more RP), 2017 (less RP) and 2019 (less RP) to reflect the movement of the pound. As with the euro, we did not make the full adjustment in 2017 because it would have been so large an impact to players, so we decided to absorb some of it ourselves and hope the currencies would recover.
Hypothetically, if the Euro/Pound was to drop even further, you wouldn’t consider dropping the 10£/€ below 1350rp would you?
I feel like this is what’s worrying most people as majority of skins are 1350rp now and it almost becomes a 15£/€ minimum spend if you have no RP.
I feel like the ‘adjustment’ would make us have to spend way over the amount intended as we’d have to purchase another £5 worth which doesn’t come close to what’s been adjusted in taxes
We do everything possible to avoid breaking those thresholds, although we have had to do so at times when currencies move too far below them. So a safe assumption would be that as long as the value of the euro stays above one dollar, we won't even consider it even though we'll be absorbing more and more of the VAT cost, but once it crosses a dollar we'll have to start looking for solutions.