League of Legends Implements New System to Handle Toxicity
League of Legends is well-known for its reputation of toxic behavior during matches. Notably, developers have introduced a new 'remedial' ranked system that aims to rehabilitate player behavior by mandating them to play normal matches if discordant conduct is observed.
Instances of players deliberately sabotaging games to create content and rampant poor in-game behavior even among its professional player base have added to its infamous status. However, Riot Games, the developers of the League of Legends, have stated at the outset of 2023, that they are experimenting with numerous methods to combat this toxicity and penalize players exhibiting obnoxious actions like leaving games, bad-mouthing teammates, and similar unsportsmanlike activities.
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The freshly introduced system presents a rigorous approach to this issue. As per the system, those indulging in negative behaviors like going AFK or bad-mouthing opponents will find themselves compelled to play normal matches. Furthermore, they will be unable to queue ranked matches until they complete a specified amount of these games.
Debate Sparked by the New Ranked Behavior System in League
Riot's new system to penalize toxic players and consequently, deter such behavior, has sparked a debate. Allegedly, dedicated players, who regularly hit ranked queues, have found ways around the restrictions so far imposed by Riot. Despite stiffer penalties for leaving games or dodging lobbies, these players switch frequently among several accounts to continuously queue games.
While the existing timed penalties and chat restrictions manage to control this behavior to a limit, more disruptive ranked players often switch to another account to continue queuing unhindered. Nevertheless, the recently revealed system by Riot promises to inhibit players from swapping accounts.
The developers state that offenders are now required to play remedial games in a non-ranked queue demonstrating good behavior as part of their rehabilitation. These alternative modes seemingly consist of any type of game barring those that are ranked. Furthermore, players are only allowed back into ranked games when they've proven their improved conduct while playing these remedial matches.
The exact number of such remedial games needed to get back to ranked matches is not yet known. However, what's certain is that players involved in toxic behavior can no longer wait out a timer, and must play a few matches before they can get back to their rank striving games.
Public Response and Official Release
While a large percentage of players see this change as a winning move, doubts surface among those who only engage in normal matches and avoid the hectic environment of ranked games. A voiced concern regards the fear of getting paired with penalized players in normal games, actually looking to avoid the hostility of ranked sessions.
The official implementation of this system is anticipated with the update 13.19, estimated to roll out around September 26, 2023. However, the question remains whether this system can truly handle the toxicity of the game, or if it might instead multiply the challenges faced by normal game players. Time will tell.