Leavers ruin League of Legends
Leavers and AFK players are particularly frustrated in ranked matches. I have also been the victim of several negative players.
It's a farce: every fan or player of a game designed for competitive disputes knows it: When players simply go AFK or start to intentionally feed. Especially when it comes to ranked matches, a player's frustration can be immeasurable.
The nature of my profession means that I am also involved in the world of eSports outside office hours. League of Legends, in particular, has become my favourite when it comes to competitive gaming over the past weeks and months. In addition to the standard game modes, I also try myself regularly in ranked mode and can, despite my low rankings, call myself a perfectly okay player.
But with regard to the ranked system, I came across a phenomenon that is causing more and more players to quince League of Legends in desperation. On the online platform Reddit there are often entries in which gamers report on how they performed well in a ranked match, but then a fellow player suddenly leaves AFK. Accordingly, it becomes difficult to defend oneself correctly in a constellation of 4 vs. 5.
A matter of time
Usually, it is only a matter of time before the decimated side is overrun by the opposing team. Accordingly, the losers not only have a bad gaming experience, but the complete loss of important ladder points is in no way compensated or converted to the leaver by League of Legends or Riot Games.
It is not yet clear whether Riot will tackle this problem in the near future or whether he already has plans to do so. Among other things, the idea of a "players court" was thrown into the room on Reddit: Similar to the former League of Legends tribunal, a selection of neutral players will be able to decide what happens to the AFKler and how the remaining players will be compensated.
Also from my point of view, it is indispensable that Riot Games acts. League of Legends is still one of the most popular games in the world and an important pillar of the eSports community. But the more players feel disadvantaged by the current system, the less they can satisfy their desire for a ranked match and, in the worst case, LoL itself.
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Of course, a system similar to the Tribunal may not be the perfect solution, but at least it would be a start.
For me personally, it would be enough for players to at least not lose the full number of points if the team were to lose out with a leaver at the end. Teams with one player should lose a maximum of five to ten points in the ELO.
Conclusion
No matter what Riot Games intends to do about it, as long as players suffer the negative effects of one person over and over again, it is understandable that some of them stop playing League of Legends completely.