Can OP.GG Keep Up with Gamers? An Usibility Evaluation of OP.GG

By Tiancheng Qin

What is OP.GG? A Gamer's Helper

Every 'League of Legends' match is a new battle, demanding not just skill, but also knowledge. If you play it, you might use OP.GG to get better at the game. It's like a helper that gives you lots of information. You can find out which champions are strong right now, what items to buy, and how other players are doing. We've talked to real players and looked at how they use OP.GG to find out what works well and what doesn't.

Clarity or Confusion? Real User Feedback

The Ambiguous Search Box 

Issue

Fig 1 – search box in OP.GG’s homepage.

 When you go to OP.GG, the first thing you see is a search box on the main page (see Figure 1). But it's not clear what you should search for. Is it for player names or champion names? This confusion can waste your time, especially when you're in a hurry to choose your champion before a game.

Suggestion

Fig 2 - search box in OP.GG Esports’ home page. 

OP.GG could make this easier. For example, the esports stats page (see Figure 2) has a search box with clear labels. If OP.GG did the same, it would help a lot. They could add labels like "Search for Players" or "Search for Champions" to the search box. This will make players more aware of what the search box does to find the information they need faster.

The sorting function is not intuitive

Issue

Fig 3 – Tier table sorted by Tier (descending order) of champion statistics in OP.GG’s champions page

Fig 4 – Tier table sorted by Win Rate (descending order) of champion statistics in OP.GG’s champions page

Fig 5 – Tier table sorted by Win Rate (ascending order) of champion statistics in OP.GG’s champions page

Players often want to sort champions based on various criteria such as win rates or specific performance metrics to inform their game strategy (see Figures 3, 4, & 5). However, this crucial feature of OP.GG is not immediately noticeable. This lack of intuitive functionality can be a major obstacle, especially when time is of the essence.

Suggestion

Fig 6 – tier table of heroes sorted by pick rate (descending order) in HSReplay.net

OP.GG can make sorting champion stats much simpler. They could look at how HSReplay.net does it (see Figure 6) and do something similar. For example, they can add clear signs or buttons to show you can sort by win rate or other stats. They could also add up and down arrows to show if the stats are from high to low or low to high. These changes would help players find the best champions faster and make better choices in their games.

lack of a 'back' button

Issue

Fig 7 – Champion page for Zed on OP.GG

Fig 8 – Zed’s champion page in OP.GG desktop apps. (image from op.gg apps, which can be downloaded here)

Have you ever clicked on a champion's page in OP.GG and then wanted to go back to where you were before (see Figure 7)? It can be annoying. On OP.GG, if you go to a champion's page, there's no easy way to return to the previous page. Even if you use OP.GG's desktop app, which has a back button (see Figure 8), it doesn't remember the filters or the page you were on before. This means you might have to start your search all over again. 

Suggestion 

OP.GG can make things better by adding a 'Back' button that remembers where you were. This button should not just take you back, but also keep the same settings or filters you had before. So, if you were looking at a list of champions with certain filters, and then clicked on one to see more, hitting 'Back' should take you to that list with your filters still there. This would save time and make the site easier to use.

Confusing Matchup Descriptions

Issue

Fig 9 – The list shows Zed's win rate and the number of games played against a given champion on Zed's counters

Fig 10 – A list of counter champions indicating which are easy and which are difficult for Zed to play against

Imagine you're on OP.GG looking at champion matchups (see Figures 9 & 10). It's not clear whether the win rate shown is for Zed playing against other characters or the other way around. Furthermore, the terms "weak against" and "strong against" are ambiguous as to who is weak or strong - Zed or the other character. This confusion can be a big problem. When you're planning for a match, you need to know clearly who is strong or weak against whom. If you get this wrong, you might pick a champion thinking they have an advantage when they actually don't. This could lead to a tough game where you're already at a disadvantage from the start.

Suggestion 

OP.GG can make this easier to understand. They should change the way they show who's strong or weak against whom. For example, they could use clearer terms like "Champion A is strong against Champion B" or "Champion B struggles against Champion A."This way, players can quickly see which champions are good or bad against others, helping them make better choices for their games.

No Help with Spelling Mistakes

Issue

Fig 11 – search box at the top of Champions pages

When you use the search boxes on OP.GG, especially on the Champions pages, there's a problem (see Figure 11). If you make a spelling mistake, OP.GG doesn't help you fix it. This is really important in 'League of Legends' because the names of champions can be tricky. For example, if you type "Daruis" instead of "Darius" by accident, OP.GG won't correct you. This can mess up your search and waste your time, especially when you're trying to quickly find information about a champion.

Suggestion 

Fig 12 – search daruis in Google

OP.GG could improve by making their autocomplete feature more forgiving. For example, even if you type 'Daruis' instead of 'Darius', the system should still suggest 'Darius' as a possibility. This is similar to how Google works. When you make a typo in Google, it still understands what you mean and helps you find the right thing (see Figure 12). By making the autocomplete smarter and more tolerant of mistakes, OP.GG can help players quickly and accurately find the information they need, even if they're not sure about the exact spelling of a champion's name.

Understanding What Gamers Need

I talked to real 'League of Legends' players to see how they use OP.GG and what they think about it. This feedback is really important. Players told me that they need more than just numbers and statistics. They want OP.GG is easy to use and understand. When they're getting ready for a game, they often don't have much time. So, they need to find what they're looking for fast. My evaluation with gamers showed that a website that is easy and quick to use is just as important as having accurate stats. Players need a tool that helps them make decisions quickly, especially when they're about to play a game and every second counts.

Conclusion

For fans of 'League of Legends', OP.GG is a really useful site. It's full of data that can help you play better. However, our review found a few things that could be improved. The site could make it easier to find what you're looking for and move around. It could also help more with searches, like fixing typos. These improvements would make OP.GG is not just a place with lots of information, but a place where you can find exactly what you need quickly and easily. This is crucial because, in the game, fast and right decisions are key to winning. We hope that OP.GG listens to what players need and makes these changes. 

Acknowledge

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