New Players feeling unwelcome...

MIssTay420·Jan 23, 2015·40 votes·2,899 views

Being a new player, I've found that this community as a whole is unwelcoming. Now don't everyone go freaking out I'm not specifically talking to you. I'm just saying from my experiences that I don't find people who are excited to see a new players, or are even willing to help. Many many times I encounter a smurf account and when I say I'm new it only leads to rudeness. One person, ONE, has ever helped me with anything. So really I'm wondering why? Why do the older players not want the new players to come in? Why do they have to harass and be rude to the new players. Quite frankly the older players days are numbered. No one wants to watch and old man play this game. New players are the future and the older players get to groom the new players into what they will become. SO why not take advantage of it?

42 Comments

Nybx4lifeJan 24, 201512 votes

To reiterate what a few people said already: -League is known to be pretty toxic. It also happens to be highly competitive, so few people have that patience to teach someone (as they're trying to be "pro" or something) -Finding someone out the blue who is friendly is rare, I will agree. You're better off trying things like bot matches or other League communities that cater to enjoying the game as a game. -Lastly, no. This "new generation" stuff you're talking about is pure hogwash. For one, this game isn't that old for it to be considered generational. I don't watch pro matches much, but not a single person there looks a day over 30, and others younger than 25. Like all pro gamers, those that put the effort into playing well will get to be on top, regardless of their age.

Rew711Jan 24, 20154 votes

I think that, if I can say, that some of the problems are the many words and "lingo" people use in the game.

Such as, "hey, Drag in 15". As a new player, I'm not going to notice off the bat that this is about the Dragon.

Positioning has become TOO much apart of the game. New player, starting out, more than likely don't care about the jungle, yet I'll see many new "smurfs" come in, call a said position, and mandate what everyone does. That person, though trying to help, will start to lose, and curse, belittle, and say rude things to the teammates.

In all honesty, I think majority of the people who made it to Diamond+ are tired of the constant plays that always feel the same. And I wouldn't blame them. If I had a good duo top, like a Udyr with a Sona or Tryndamere with a Poppy. I've had games where, if my mid kept the lane even, we would push top very far. Especially if we worked together to kill the enemy. Then, one of us would go and push mid. Bot might be having a hard time by now, so mid guy can go bot and help with my duo partner. But, these don't always happen.

Or, we can have duo mid. We have the crucial position pushed first. We may see the person from top and bot go and try to help, which leaves a wide opening for bot and top to be pushed.

Solo bot, with duo's for mid and top. I'll solo bot and hold it until someone from top or mid can come and help for a while with nothing to hurt them.

But wait, what happened to the jungle? It's still there, but in my opinion, it was only made for quick buffs and quick CS.

Even when I jungle, I barely ever just run around killing things in the jungle. It's pointless. I gain way more levels just going in and scaring the enemy away from his farm. If I'm there, and there is no top guy, I'll push that lane. If I can destroy it, the enemy has nothing to hide behind.

ImHerVoiceJan 24, 20151 votes

actually the generation thing is true. But the problem is most kids these days play shit games that never taught you respect for your enemy.

I played shit like Broodwar and UT2004 and james bond goldeneye and CoD4 and left 4 dead and Halo 1(combat evolved) and halo 2 and CS:source/CS/CS:GO Games that taught you respect. And rewarded players with good mechanics.

Now a days you've got games easy as fuck to play that require very little mechanical skill and a toxic community to boot.

I'm turning 22 on the 25th of janurary but I experience the good and the bad of gaming for being so young.

MrSc0ttyJan 24, 20152 votes

{quoted}

actually the generation thing is true. But the problem is most kids these days play shit games that never taught you respect for your enemy.

I played shit like Broodwar and UT2004 and james bond goldeneye and CoD4 and left 4 dead and Halo 1(combat evolved) and halo 2 and CS:source/CS/CS:GO Games that taught you respect. And rewarded players with good mechanics.

Now a days you've got games easy as fuck to play that require very little mechanical skill and a toxic community to boot.

I'm turning 22 on the 25th of janurary but I experience the good and the bad of gaming for being so young.

You realize someone could just say "yeah well I grew up with dark souls 2 let's see you beat that with your pixelated candy ass Mario crap"

ImHerVoiceJan 25, 20151 votes

then they never played japanese hardcore mario. The true hardest games in existance.

JevelFaithfulJan 24, 20151 votes

Just to point out. We could probably "define" generations losely based on which season that player got invested in the game. I think more than most other game, league changed massively between seasons. Sometimes, it's as if the game was remade. The game is young, but it's changed almost as much as Street fighter between SF2(original versions) and SF3 (later versions).

Beta/S1 was closer to the DotA roots in design, someone that came in back then will probably have fonder memory of ashe/udyr/annie and the likes. Or have a little something for uncommon lanes.
S2 was, I think, the most farm/team-fight and late game oriented. I wouldn't be surprised if people who started to take the game seriously at that point might have developed a playstyle more focussed on that. I think new champions started "breaking the rules" a bit more.
S3-S4 saw, if memory serves, more early/mid game importance. With more of the new designs of champions with more counterplay and fancy stuff. Was S3 the year of the metagolem?
S4-S5 both had major item/map overhauls that added "a lot" of new rules to the game. Supports item being restricted and defining playstyle, more specific actives. Supports being officially recognized as a role. Wards changes too. The new jungle is pretty much fully new in term of rules : smite being an all-purpose tool with 2-3 functions, unique effects on smites, jungle-unique items.

I'm not sure how applicable that is. Honnestly, most of this comes form seeing pro teams rise and falll as they refused to change their playstyle and talking to those people I know IRL who started or came to league form other games. But I think there's probably a correlation. I agree with your post tought.

ChrisB5Jan 24, 201511 votes

[deleted]

BudupopsJan 24, 20153 votes

dont say that riot will ban ur account

Seth LightheartJan 23, 20155 votes

You are looking in the wrong place.

http://www.lol-coaching.com/coach.php?id=14291

Lots of people willing to help for free. :)

PoisonedPeaceJan 24, 20155 votes

The community is unwelcoming to all players. Not just new players.

People will spew bullspit at you for excuses for the community, but the fact of the matter is that the game is damn great. The terrible community isn't enough to take away from the great game experience.

cFlameJan 24, 20152 votes

..... Not sure about that last part. If I got a friend or two with me, yeah.

Dark TrennowJan 24, 20155 votes

Older players don't have anything against new players to the game. All great video games grow and it's great to see League get filled with more players. More players = more fun right? The toxicity towards new players stems from one thing: Time spent playing the game.

No one wants to feel like they are having to teach the whole game to so random guy in his game. League is a big game filled with things to learn about every aspect of the game. It requires hundreds of hours to play truly effectively. Nobody wants to have to teach all those mechanics, play styles, builds, champions and more in a game to somebody.

Again, nothing against new players or anything, I for one welcome new players to any game. League is no exception. People just hate when they feel like they're stuck playing with people who have a fraction of the knowledge, skill, and experience of someone who has played for a long time.

ImHerVoiceJan 24, 20151 votes

I don't hate it. I hate it in my ranked games though. If i'm playing to win, I shouldn't be stuck with someone new just because they abused spiker champions. Thats what I hate about leagues current balance. Rewards shit players with easy to play champions.

JevelFaithfulJan 24, 20151 votes

I think we're talking pre-lvl 30 here. Since by level 30, you,re not exactly a "new player". You can be a bad one, but not new.

Who said anything about those easy champions. (ps, a easy champion is not going to make you challenger-caliber by itself)

DUDE BROJan 24, 20154 votes

Oddly, the nicest people are already at lvl 30.

When you're starting new, you will encounter other new players, or veteran players on new accounts. Unfortunately the veteran players are on new accounts because they want to beat new players, not the type that want to give out help anyway. Also, because they're new accounts they don't care to be rude for risk of losing an account they just made.

Stick in there, the community really opens up once you hit lvl 30.

Franco SanchezJan 24, 20153 votes

Ummm... First off, what? The old players are grooming the new to be the future? We aren't talking about generations here... We are talking about the 5th year of a Computer Game... Second, the League Community as a whole doesn't have an overwhelmingly good reputation for friendliness.... As for why they are especially "fantastic" in new account/smurf range... Who are gonna have accounts there? The majority would be new players, players who received bans and needed to start a new account, people who think that their MMR got "ruined" on their mains, and the "others".

As a pretty positive player myself, I don't need a smurf account. I'm happy with where I am, and feel I have the capability to climb when I give it an honest effort. The only time I play on my smurf account is when playing with new friends.

XengreJan 24, 20153 votes

A lot of players with "smurfs" may make those accounts to try and stomp newer players to feel good or for fun because they can possibly wreck them unlike at their own play level. Others may be banned, temp ban, etc. accounts and sometimes it may be someone playing with another new friend(s) in a premade. Once you get enough games under you, unless you are placed poorly (even in normal MMR tho hidden) you should get past this happening overly often. It will still happen but should reduce dramatically, as it will always sometimes happen in any game. I suggest just playing with friends or ignoring taunts/insults from others as you play and enjoy. I also do not suggest bots because it seems a lot of less friendly players are in that game mode and you wont learn to play as well against bots.

Learn to be semi-flexible at your roles even if you feel super great at a particular role and this may help alleviate champion select arguments which I find to be where it usually starts if there is going to be a problem. Learn to play very safe and not try to PK/PVP players if you are in a bad match up or behind. This may entail having only half their cs at a given time as you far under tower and buying a few extra potions when you back or not overextending. Less dying = less being blamed/flamed, or risk of it at least.

Unfortunately, this is the type of community you will find in almost any game that is online and competitive, it just happens that LoL is a bit more lopsided because most don't start off skilled and burden of knowledge on top of smurfing (which does not have an easy solution, and stopping all smurfing has its own set backs).

Miku Lv99Jan 24, 20152 votes

Most people that play this game seem to do so incredibly selfishly and do not care about anything other than their idea of fun. And a whole of them are just really unwelcoming. You can find people to queue with so there are fewer random players on your team if you want to deal with fewer of them.

Demonsolder21Jan 24, 20152 votes

Well yeah of course this is a highly competitive game you know.

MIssTay420Jan 24, 20152 votes

i was misunderstood when i said "new players". Taken in the wrong context I guess. I meant that if the people who have been playing for awhile make newcomers want to stop playing then eventually it will be the same people playing this game... forever and there won't be a chance for it to be "generational".

ZahzJan 24, 20152 votes

A big issue when u are first starting is a lot of people u are playing with also went thru this sort of phase in their lol career. Probably not even that long ago. I have been playing for about 2 years now and to be honest i still consider myself new with a lot to learn. (with over 100 different champs in the game its almost overwhelming to see) I learn new things all the time. I would welcome a community for people to play regardless of experience level where i dont have to fear being called a noob when i ask a simple question.

Phil FlyJan 24, 20152 votes

People won't teach you because they fear you becoming better than them.

Well, that was a proverb-y statement my dad told me a long time ago, but since people on league are generally anonymous in-game, i don't think it should matter to them, and they should at least help you a little bit.

cFlameJan 24, 20151 votes

New players get it hard, because the older ones can't just use the chat to help you out, they got a lane to win. If you want to make it easier to play this game for yourself, study the champions and items, do a little math and fly with it. Not sure how the hell Iv'e made it all this way, or tolerated my losses by team feeds gg. Not sure how I went through without laying a finger on any melee carries or assassins to carry games.

OnegarionJan 24, 20151 votes

Its going to sound kind of odd, but I'm apart of a gaming community that invites everyone. People who just want to play to play. They don't care about winning or anything and there are a lot of events for people to join in on. its called vVv gaming. here is the site http://www.vvv-gaming.com. If you want to be with people who are playing for fun and for competition as well stop by and if you have a mic it gets even better.

FooDangJan 24, 20151 votes

Get into the game and mute everyone and just work on your gameplay without distractions.

Plastic Mem0riesJan 24, 20151 votes

It happens.

When I first joined, I had one friend irl that was barely on, but he only taught me the ropes. I was nice throughout many games, found a long list of friends that I now play with. This community is very toxic yes, but there are a lot of players out there who are nice and will help out with anything.

I create smurf accounts to help newbies get into the game. To show them that not all of the players on this game are diamond who like to show off and tell you how bad they are.

PL55Jan 24, 20151 votes

I stopped playing solo a loooooooooong time ago, I only play with friends now.

Marinaras TrenchJan 24, 20151 votes

naw, we don't target new players, were all assholes to every1 were not discriminating towards just new people. (That is not the way I am by the way) I haven't been toxic in months!

ImHerVoiceJan 24, 20151 votes

I used to help friends. But I've basically gotten sick of leagues shit meta and broken champs it keeps releasing or not nerfing. So when gigantic comes out I'm moving on to guild wars 1 dev's version of this genre. Can't wait to see a real moba with a real community. Riot sold their soul for Esports to earn more money. I wish they never got popular. It has rotted their design and rotted their balance and rotted this game.

i have an LAN account "TenslashTen" a kr account "Jungle" and this is a low level EUW.

lDontLiftIcarryJan 24, 20151 votes

I'll play with you. U on right now?

RebonackJan 24, 20151 votes

Give Dominion a shot, OP.

The lack of snowballing, faster pace, and the never-say-die attitude on that map tends to cause far less toxic behavior than you'll typically find on Summoner's Rift.

Bard in a DiaperJan 24, 20151 votes

it's not anyone's fault bot riot. The account im leveling up right now (this one) is around 70 wins over losses and gets paired against all level 30 games full of masters/diamond players constantly which is what should happen. Other times? I get paired with completely new players that have no idea what they are doing and the same is true for the other team and I sadly have to stomp them quick to get a real game.

Old players dont like being paired with new players and new players dont like being paired with old players, unfortunately riot matchmaking is garbage.

gubigubiJan 24, 20151 votes

"I've found that this community as a whole is unwelcoming"

I agree that mobas in general aren't welcoming to new players. its not just lol. Go download smite or dota 2 do poorly and enjoy as the chat just destroys you. Even in wow go do looking for raid and do poorly and you will have 4 jerk offs from Illidan in heroic gear tell you your garbage. Ass holes just love to hate on everyone else. -_-

"One person, ONE, has ever helped me with anything."

To look for people to help you during the game isn't a very good place to start. I help people when I can but its much better to go watch videos or look up guides on a champion. There are a lot of nice guides that can tell you what to build and how to play that champion. -_-

"Why do the older players not want the new players to come in? Why do they have to harass and be rude to the new players."

I'm an older player and when I get on my smurf account I assume that everyone will know nothing. To make a smurf and harass new players is pretty low considering they should know what they signed up when playing on a lower level account. And IMO should be banned if anyone harasses you for being new. Report them at the end and eventually it will come back to them, even if they only lose there smurf its at least something. -_-

"Quite frankly the older players days are numbered. No one wants to watch and old man play this game."

No older players days are not numbered. And people do watch old men play this game. I just got done watching Lemonnation. -_-

TLDR; You will run into ass holes in pretty much every single online game.

MrSc0ttyJan 24, 20151 votes

Bro, I made a thread about this and got 500+ up votes and over a dozen pages of comments.

Don't expect Riot to ever start caring. Their new player integration is awful and they do not care one bit, because the veteran addicted players are their cash cows who buy 100s of dollars of champs and skins. A smurf is more likely to purchase skins than a new player who's not already into the game as smurfs know how to play most or all the champs already, they're less likely to stick with just one. Therefore, Riot caters to smurfs by making the tutorial 2 minutes long and the setup of the game "just create a username and password and we'll have you stomping newbies in 10 minutes flat"

peterchanJan 24, 20151 votes

Many of the post here cover why league is unwelcoming and I agree with most of the post that I have read. The game doesn't give much of a introduction as it gives more of what buttons to click to do what.

There are few people out there willing to help because it is such a rat race to to the top. And players are placed in a hierarchy that doesn't reflect how well a player behaves but how well they play the current meta.

It is unfortunate that the game works this way, and i do wish there are more benefits to helping new players and lower ranked players learn more about the current built into the game itself. The item suggestions are pretty good help, but doesn't explain why they make a difference.

I think the quick answer to your question to why people wont take advantage of the new players is that there are no real benefits to teaching them besides maybe a duo queue partner with less experience. Since everyone is focused on rushing to the top of the tier list and pumping their ello.

Best of luck on the rift.

Big Yikes ChiefJan 24, 20151 votes

{quoted}

Being a new player, I've found that this community as a whole is unwelcoming. Now don't everyone go freaking out I'm not specifically talking to you. I'm just saying from my experiences that I don't find people who are excited to see a new players, or are even willing to help. Many many times I encounter a smurf account and when I say I'm new it only leads to rudeness. One person, ONE, has ever helped me with anything. So really I'm wondering why? Why do the older players not want the new players to come in? Why do they have to harass and be rude to the new players. Quite frankly the older players days are numbered. No one wants to watch and old man play this game. New players are the future and the older players get to groom the new players into what they will become. SO why not take advantage of it?

Why not? 99% of the time, the new players are 1. complete trash, and 2. when I say stuff to help, they go and say I'm being toxic and crying. Literally like a week ago, I asked Kat why she didn't have DFG. "Shut the fuck up, stop crying"

Sirin GioroJan 24, 20151 votes

Once you hit level 30, you will see the more beautiful side of the League Community. I promise. But not in Solo Queue lmao

Hinagiku33Jan 25, 20151 votes

Imagine for a moment that Tom Brady is told next week, five minutes before kick-off at the Super Bowl, that this random kid is going to play and that he has to use him in the starting line-up...oh, and he sorta knows how to play football from backyard games but otherwise has no experience whatsoever and doesn't know any of the team's signals.

Brady would probably sigh and curse a lot, but after that? He plan around the kid he was stuck with rather than try to teach him to play while they are playing.

Unfortunately, far too many players of LoL imagine themselves as Tom Brady and every game as the Super Bowl (or at least a playoff game). And that's not even getting into Ranked. Not even close.

If you are trying to learn in normal matches STOP THIS IMMEDIATELY. It will not end well for anyone. Grind bot matches - Beginner Bots. It doesn't matter if you are good at other games, this genre is very technical if you want to actually play well and you are doing yourself a massive favor by giving yourself super easy enemies to learn against. Fire up a custom match with just you and a few bots to learn new champs. Play all of the free week champs a few times to get a feel for the different classes. Be familiar with all of the items since those are constant factors every game. A ton of stuff you will only get from playing a lot, even if it's just bots.

When you can beat beginner bots like a rented mule, then move on to intermediate bots. This will introduce more bot opponents and make them slightly less stupid. It also means you will be playing alongside more experienced players, so start watching them and try to learn from their mistakes. Play with builds and lane positions and remembering what the different champs do.

If you can win 5 intermediate bot matches in a row and not have any of them feel like a lucky win, then jump right on into normals. Play normals like crazy and just focus on playing better than your last game. By this time you should have read up on the 'meta', lane positions, etc. Find a lane position or champion class that you like best and try to get really good at that. Consider maining a single champ for a while so you have less things to learn and can focus on basics like positioning, timing, LAST-HITTING.

FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, LEARN HOW TO LAST HIT MOST OF THE MINIONS IN EACH WAVE EVEN IF YOU HAVE TO PLAY A BAJILLION CUSTOM GAMES BY YOURSELF TO PRACTICE IT. THIS ALONE WILL GIVE YOU A HUGE GOLD LEAD OVER OTHER BEGINNING PLAYERS AND ITEM ADVANTAGE IS AN AMAZING THING.

Also, ditch the mind-set that you are a "new generation" or whatever. A new generation would be people who grew up with the NES teaching people who started gaming with the PS2. If you are roughly college age, then you are about as old as the pros in the LCS. The only thing ANYONE here has over you is practice. Just play a lot and be observant and you'll be fine.

Riskit4thebiskitFeb 11, 20151 votes

http://signup.leagueoflegends.com/?ref=4e7689286bef6156631164

any new players add me and use this link for a referal im teaching and anything u need

GigglingAngelFeb 11, 20151 votes

I'm fine with new players. Until they say "This is my first ranked match, ever!"

fluffymcFeb 14, 20151 votes

Wrong. Older players as you've said are not as old as you think. Most of the community are 30 below. That's still young especially for competitive gamers. The reason why People don't like playing with new players, is because they don't want to deal with them. Most new players just get into the game without reading any of the guides or all the information that available to you. Example there's something called champion spotlight if you didn't already know. They ask questions and it does get irritating after watching them lane especially if they are your adc or supp... more so if you've made a new account to start over. This is a competitive game remember that. If you want fun than go into team builder or normal, but I do have to say for myself that Its better to play Draft. That, play bots, or find a team.

wolivingJul 29, 20151 votes

As a New player, I need to say something. When I play on the rift, always get scared for something. The enemy will be smurfing? My team could be more better than the enemies? Why this summoner has ''RataGaiming'' as name? alot of questions bring to my head like 3 mins of desesperation. At least, I just want to play and say: GL & HF