Chapter 724: Call Everyone from the Design Department Over

On the post-match interview stage, Ziezietai was also asked by Yu Shuang about VG team's view on the incense burner equipment.

Ziezietai had already received instructions from Zhu Xiaolong and Liang Yan, so he spoke without hesitation.

Our goal is this year's World Championship, after all; when the time comes we'll face many, many strong teams, and because VG won the mid-season tournament this year, I also know our team has attracted a lot of attention from other regions, they'll definitely have a lot of research targeting us, I don't know what awaits us.

So to make sufficient preparations, we researched many versions and tried various compositions and tactics in practice matches.

Then we discovered that the incense burner item is really strong, high cost-effectiveness, each time it's made it helps the team a lot, so we are actually considering some special compositions and tactics designed for it...

This can be said to be directly giving the answer.

Netizens debated heatedly.

【Is this VG's new version understanding? Just crush them outright!】

【Zitai's remark is indeed explosive; I feel his desire to show off is too strong, because this can actually be considered leaking VG's tactics, right?】

【Don't worry, you didn't hear him say that, VG has made sufficient preparations!】

【I'm not worried at all, VG has plenty of trump cards, feels like last year's G2】

【Zitai said all that, maybe what Rita said is true, even without Jiao Shen they can crush IG like this, the incense burner system is too terrifying】

【If the incense burner really is the version answer, will future matches just be about whose support gets the incense burner out earlier?】

【We usually use three words to describe a support who has the incense burner: incense burner monster!】

【Honestly, watching such a match might actually be a bit boring】

【No way! Although it's a macro game, VG and IG fought a lot in this match! I think it's great, the atmosphere is especially fiery!】

【Quite fun, in this version the AD can free up both hands, feels like later we'll see players put their feet on the table and use their palms as mouse pads to one-hand control team fights~】

Ziezietai's post-match remarks represent VG's attitude; all sides have focused on it, and many teams that didn't watch the livestream have noticed the online discourse and hurriedly started to replay the footage.

In short, the version answer VG has already been thrown out; how much other teams can learn depends on their own fortune.

Moreover, VG's match not only sparked widespread discussion online, but also brought considerable impact to all major regions worldwide.

Even within Riot, it caused a stir.

However, what caught Riot's attention was not the version answer shown in VG's third game, but the EZ jungle in the second game.

In the second match, Liang Yan picked EZ jungle and crushed IG; Riot co‑boss Taidami'er, after watching the livestream, angrily slammed the table in his office and shouted: 'Shit! I buffed Ezreal not for you to play jungle! Stop it, you bastard!'

Female assistant Kaitelina quietly reminded beside him: 'Um, boss, the LPL hasn't been updated to version 7.15 yet, so he's actually using the unbuffed Ezreal.'

Taidami'er heard that, froze for a moment, then became even angrier.

"Call everyone from the design department over..."

Taidami'er gathered the balance team for a meeting to discuss whether to continue releasing the upcoming Ezreal buff plan.

Because Ezreal's hero mechanic relies on skills for income, he gains neither the bonus from crit items nor the benefit from supports building the incense burner; his version standing is already lower than some extremely niche champions, causing countless Ezreal fans to complain bitterly.

Riot noticed the boiling 'public resentment', urgently launched the Ezreal buff plan; after half a month of rushed work, they have actually prepared a series of Ezreal buff patches and have already deployed them on the test server, but the current latest official version only has a Q skill nerf, because Riot intends to first collect player feedback before deciding whether to roll out the next buff patch.

In this meeting, supporters of following the original plan versus opponents were roughly six to four, and both sides had ample reasons.

The supporters believe that buffing Ezreal is mainly to serve players, and has little to do with the competitive scene; we must not forget our original intention of appeasing angry Ezreal players.

The opponents argue that although the original intent of buffing Ezreal was to serve casual players, it has unintentionally affected the competitive scene; Ezreal jungle is an unstable factor that could greatly impact the entire competitive environment, especially as the World Championship is already in formal preparation; if the competitive environment undergoes drastic change at this time, there is no doubt that this year's World Championship trajectory will escape Riot's control, possibly triggering catastrophic events that Riot is utterly unprepared for.

——for example, the Metal Master Mordekaiser skin from the S5 World Championship.

Although viewers' impression of the S5 World Championship was not bad, and indeed that edition created many world‑famous breakout memes thanks to the special performance of the champion Iron Man, for Riot, such an occurrence is actually a disgrace, a mockery of so‑called fair competition. Every time Chinese netizens use the phrase 'fire man forging iron' as a joke, it's no different from slapping Taidami'er in the face—because the reworked form of Iron Man was the very idea Taidami'er first proposed.

Iron Man left an indelible shadow in Taidami'er's heart, causing him to treat every champion rework, and even every buff or nerf, with especial caution.

For this occasion, Taidami'er's attitude is the same; although the original purpose of buffing Ezreal had nothing to do with the competitive scene, it unexpectedly happened—Firrrrrre pulled out Ezreal jungle on stage and achieved explosively good results.

That guy is now the number one most popular LoL player worldwide; his every move attracts global player attention, and the champion he uses in matches will be studied and eagerly copied by countless players and even pro teams.

Taidami'er must carefully consider—will this thing have a huge impact on the already‑determined game environment?

However, the votes for and against did not give either side an overwhelming advantage; Taidami'er has always been relatively 'democratic', so since a decision cannot be made directly from the vote results, he lets the balance team continue discussing.

As a result, both sides started arguing nonstop.

Taidami'er felt a headache, and could only temporarily shelve this decision.

Ultimately, the one who made Taidami'er decide was his old partner—the other Riot co‑founder, Ryze, who usually rarely interferes with game content and mainly handles company operations.

That night, the two Riot founders engaged in a lengthy discussion.