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League of Legends might be one of the most finely tuned esports in the world right now, but according to some of the biggest names in the scene, that balance has come at a cost: fun.

At the Esports World Cup 2025, legendary mid laner Faker shared his thoughts on where the game is heading, and he didn’t hold back. “League has seen many patches that emphasise team movements and plays,” he said. “If future patches focus more on individual skill, I think players would really like that.”

It’s no surprise coming from someone like Faker. Known for his jaw-dropping Zed outplays and pixel-perfect mechanics, Faker built his legacy off the back of fast reflexes and pure mechanical mastery. He wants to bring back the style of gameplay that made those plays possible, not just in highlight reels, but as a regular part of the meta.

To make that happen, Riot would need to tone down jungle influence in the early game and reduce the power of roaming supports. The goal? Give players the chance to win or lose lanes through 1v1 skill, not constant third-party interference. Buffs to champions like Akali, Zed, and other high-skill-cap champs wouldn’t hurt either.

And Faker’s not alone.

Other pros at EWC 2025 chimed in with their own wishlist for Season 2026. Jojopyun wants nerfs to support champs, Tarzan, Levi, and JunJia are all calling for jungle buffs (with JunJia asking for more carry options), while Elyoya reckons dragons have way too much impact on the outcome of games and need to be dialled back.

On the more radical side, Bwipo suggested removing free boots entirely to reduce early aggression, BrokenBlade wants Teleport gone, and Caps is just out here asking for fun — he wants AP Kog’Maw back in the mix.

Even quality-of-life didn’t escape scrutiny. Busio wants queue times fixed. Fair call.

But perhaps the most brutally honest take came from Nemesis, the former Fnatic mid laner, who now plays in the NLC with the Los Ratones roster. He reckons League’s biggest problem right now is that it’s become “too bland.”

“The game isn’t too balanced,” he said on X, “it’s too boring.” Simplified items, stale runes, identical-feeling objectives — and patches that barely shake up the high-elo ladder — have all contributed to a meta where risk-taking isn’t rewarded, and creativity is punished.

And while features like Fearless Draft have helped shake up champion pools, players are still defaulting to meta picks and same-old builds. Innovation is low, and the game’s feeling a bit soulless — at least at the top.

Interestingly, League’s lead gameplay designer, Phroxzon, seems aware of the issue. The dev team worked hard to balance things out, but ironically, that might’ve killed some of the charm. As Nemesis put it, the game might be too fair, and that might be why it’s feeling stale.

So What’s Next?

With feedback rolling in from every direction, and pressure from icons like Faker and Nemesis, Riot’s going to have to make some big calls. Do they double down on balance? Or bring back the chaos, risk, and individual pop-off potential that helped put League on the map in the first place?

Not everyone agrees with the pros, though. Popular streamer TastyPotatox, known for his spicy Alpha Mundo plays, offered a different take.

It’s a fair point. For a lot of casual and ranked players, the current patch might be the best League has felt in years, which is stable, wide-open champion pools, and fewer “must-pick” bans.

So who’s right? Maybe both sides are. While the balance team has hit a sweet spot technically, the feel of the game, especially at the highest level, might still be missing something.

For now, the community watches and waits. But one thing’s clear: the pros aren’t holding back anymore, and they want League to be fun again.