League of Legends update set to address issues with controversial Bounty System

Riot Games are updating the Bounty system in the next major League of Legends update, Patch 9.6.

The bounty system, which was introduced with Season 9, means that as individual players build a lead over their opponents, they gain an extra bounty, increasing the gold reward for when they are eventually shut down.

The system is designed as an extra come-back mechanic, counter-balancing the tendency for League of Legends games to snowball in favor of the winning team, as each advantage only makes it easier to continue winning.

While the principle has been generally accepted, there have been mixed reactions to the execution of the system. In particular, it has been criticized for the fact that bounties can be generated simply by farming more CS (Creep Score), which is a fundamental element of the game that distinguishes better players, and something many feel should be rewarded as such.

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In response to these frustrations, Riot will be making updates to the bounty system in the upcoming Patch 9.6, reducing the bounties generated by CS leads.

Team Liquid’s Doublelift was among the outspoken critics of the bounty system.

Updated Bounty Rules (9.6+)

CS bounties will be roughly 25% smaller and account for support item gold.

• NERFED :: CS bounties reduced by approximately 25% (50 Bounty per 150g >>> 50 Bounty per 200g)
• NEW :: CS bounties decrease when you lose your advantage
• NEW :: Support item gold contributes to bounties
• TEAM AVERAGE :: Now account for the addition of support item gold and divide CS gold by 4.3 rather than 4. (This and the above line won’t have a significant impact on bounty values, but make the system a little more accurate.)

In addition, the scoreboard will also be updated such that it only shows the additional reward generated by the bounty. Previously, bounties would begin at “450g”, as the additional 150g would be added to the standard 300g kill reward.

Moving forward, the scoreboard will simply show the extra gold of the bounty, starting at 150g and progressing to the maximum of 700g. The actual gold earned from those kills will still include the 300g base reward, however.