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All my friends have quit...

TruNEET··227 votes·14,835 views

A few weeks ago me and a few friends decided to download this game and start playing together. We decided on leveling to 30 and then doing some ranked games together. Well, all of them have quit before even reaching level 20.

Why? I was talking to them last night and the main reason they all seemed to have quit was because of the new player experience as a whole and the way Riot is handling the extreme amount of "toxicity" in low level games. In almost every single game they played, they said that it was a flame-fest right from the start and I have had a similar experience. Just everyone insulting everyone and in each other's ass from the start of the game. They said that they encountered tons of "smurfs" the guys who went like 22-0 on expensive champs like Yasuo (they said they saw him a lot) and then proceeded to call everyone noobs/etc in all chat.

That is not even what they said bothered them the most. It's that it seems like the system the riot team has in place favors these types of people and encourages this type of behavior. You see, it would actually be fine if everyone was flaming each other, thats just how people are on the internet and how the game is. But instead you have a system in place that punishes people for losing their cool after being trolled and insulted and pushed to the limits of their nerves. They've said that they were reported numerous times and all of them had chat restrictions because in the games where literally every person on each team was flaming and trolling and BM'ing each other, they actually displayed natural human emotions called irritation/frustration. But apparently that is against "The summoners code". So they were reported by the people who just got finished flaming the living hell out of them.

One of them said that the whole experience was akin to some kind of sick method of emotional torture where you were beaten and whipped and if you had any sort of reaction you would be punished in more grueling ways.

So I'm not really sure what you guys are doing. Maybe it's just low level games which seems like that might be the case. Because when I watch streamers their games are much more laid back its like night and day compared to the games we've played. The problem is that each opposite end of the spectrum share the same report system and honestly they should not.

I really hope you guys will look into ways to improve the new player experience because I really highly doubt anyone who is legitimately new to this game will stick around long.

289 Comments

MVDuneCats19 votes

{quoted}

You see, it would actually be fine if everyone was flaming each other, thats just how people are on the internet and how the game is.

That's the true problem. We shouldn't just say, "Well that's just what the Internet is" to excuse toxicity and excuse ourselves for adding more toxicity on top of toxicity.

1000angrybees12 votes

Letting people get away with being pieces of shit to each other because "It's the internet" is the lamest and most self-serving bullshit I've ever heard. I can't stand that crap. It's like saying the first amendment protects you from backlash when you say something dumb and ignorant.

mack911216 votes

There is a mute button hun

Diananmen Square41 votes

You shouldn't rely on a mute button to play the game. That's the problem.

Troll for Trump6 votes

Whup my jungler is ganking and only types things out w/o pinging and keeps diving and dieing. You dont hear a thing because everyone is muted, then, postgame chat: "pls report for refusal to communicate" "noob didnt talk whole game" "this guy said nothing" "plx report, refused to communicate"

Yeah, one of the report options kinda ruins the whole muting thing.

Bouffon dAnglais52 votes

but the mute button solves the symptom, not the problem itself. if you have cancer and you get a headache, you won't just take a pill to reduce the headache. maybe in the start, but after enough time, you'd realize that something is fundamentally wrong and you'd go to the doctor.

maikokk3 votes

this analogy is bad because /ignore all entirely removes the problem. the only way this problem can be solved is disabling in game chat. a ton of PVP gamers are horrible people and there is nothing you can do about it. low level games are always going to be more toxic than other games because some of the people in those games have been previously banned.

KidneyxThief2 votes

Ignore does not entirely remove the problem. The person you put on ignore is still a player who will go on and continue to be a d*ck all over again the next game and probably most games after that. So it is like cancer, you can address the symptoms but bar cutting that player out completely he's going to continue to make everyone else sick.

As for low level games being the most toxic, I really think this is a newer phenomenon. When I leveled this account I really only started to experience massive toxicity after I hit 30. I made a new account recently because I wanted to learn how to adc\jungle in a "safe" environment. Stupid naive me. Figured playing at level 5 I could learn to play these roles with out the toxicity of trying to learn them in level 30 games.

I was so wrong. There are barely any new players.... it's mainly just people leveling smurfs and by the time the new players reach level 30 they have turned into the f*cktards from being exposed to so much venom themselves.

Mind you, I'm from OCE. Maybe it's very different there, so you can take what I say with a pinch of salt, at least the part about "new players".

TLDR

I don't agree. At all.

maikokk2 votes

ok. fair points all around. i feel like we are coming from different perspectives because i remember thinking exactly like you do on things like this at one point.

i am probably jaded and apathetic when it comes to gaming communities. while everything you said about LoL is true, i would like to put it into the perspective of my experience of being a vet in several gaming communities. after a game has been established long enough to have players that can call themselves "vets" those players tend to be uber confident in projecting themselves. the negative/toxic/disillusioned variety of vet stand out more than the positive influences, because they are impossible to ignore... so over time, a game community will gradually become more toxic, and i have never seen a "solution" implemented... anywhere.

the reason why it is impossible for gaming sites to deal with this issue is that anyone who has been severely punished can easily circumvent any controls put in place by making a new account. LOL has done an A+ job of keeping these types out of the general populace (thanks to the fact that you have to grind uber hard to become part of it... so making a new account takes too long when you have to start over all the time because you are a toxic prick)

the problem with that of course, is that the new players see a disproportionate amount of the sites toxicity... which sucks

1000angrybees13 votes

Can you blame them? the general behavior of this community is absolutely ridiculous. People condemn and demean others without even bothering to think about it.

PiVoRx7 votes

I sometimes ask myself a question, do im different because i dont give a fuck about kiddo wishing my mother a cancer? Or everyone else is so sensitive to this shit?

DomainSpecific2 votes

For real. Everyone is so touchy.

If someone is being a cunt, just mute them and report them. I would rather have a kiddo wishing my mother cancer but playing well than having one of those "I'm sorry guys, having a bad game... we can do it!" 0-6-2 ADC.

Rustling Bush2 votes

{quoted}

For real. Everyone is so touchy.

If someone is being a cunt, just mute them and report them. I would rather have a kiddo wishing my mother cancer but playing well than having one of those "I'm sorry guys, having a bad game... we can do it!" 0-6-2 ADC.

so, you'd want someone who wants to provoke people to be on your team over someone who wants to remain focused and do their best, even if their best isn't good. what kind of tipsytopsy logic is this.

DomainSpecific1 votes

The logic that took me to Diamond while you are still Silver.

Chardonny2 votes

obviously ur a toxic player urself

Remlap12234 votes

I really couldn't give less of a shit if someone wished my mother to have cancer or told me to kill myself, but when they tell everyone to gang up on me and report me after game for some bullshit reason is where I start to lose my cool. There isn't a way for me to defend myself without getting chat restricted, which pours garbage on the festering wound.

I know there's a mute button, but I know for a fact I've gotten false positives in my reporting before, so this shit drives me up the fucking wall.

BouncingPecs5 votes

No seriously. Why do people take everything so seriously? Realize that someone is raging, and mute them. If there is a moment that they post something that isn't helping you, then assume they won't help you the rest of the game.

I don't think people want to have to mute, but they expect Riot to remove all of the toxic people. "Omg Riot do something about your game, it's full of garbage!". They hear it all the time, but for some reason people think that they deserve more right to play the game than the people acting toxic who may be better players with nothing good to say.

Play, ignore those that are bad, work with those who are good.

imonly4noobcakes4 votes

IMO most of the people I come across in ranked matches that are extremely toxic, are always worse players than me....and I'm like and this POS is calling me a noob????

blujadajhdja2 votes

It's funny when those same guys ask you to 1v1. It's usually the guy that takes a snowbally champ top and then upon losing lane blames everyone for not helping.

General Esdeath 6 votes

It's usually like that in low levels. I would recommend having 3 friends in a party and grinding your way to 30 and muting anyone who flames you. You can also play ARAM for fun and it helps you level up too :D best of luck to you and your friends, and I hope one day you get to the fun part of this game.

O Fallen Scholar6 votes

It's a one way trip. You either adapt and get used to it or leave. Your choice. Or their choice.

FuryofThornsRedo25 votes

I have never adapted To Toxicity, AND I Never Will! React Versus Respond! I choose to Respond on any given Day! The Negative Attitude Door is Opened when the person provokes and instigates a comment of banter out of control, or to vent their stress. No Matter, the chat screen reading of any Negative Attitude is Against the Summoner's Code, and close to Unsportsmanlike Conduct. Why adapt to them and sound the same as those people Ruining Team Morale?

Also, to decide to Join in and Respond is opening the door to Negative Attitude inside of your game when you might not have shared a thread of any negative, up until a person Reacts with matching their sounds.

Riot League of Legends owns multiple records of my game where I am trying to de-buff the Reactions of Toxic Online Video Game Sounds. Riot League of Legends knows how I sound, and Riot League of Legends continues to be there trying to have your back, even when the capacity to see the level of support is difficult and diminished to a level of no longer interested or wanting to play Riot League of Legends.

Game On! From: FuryofThornsRedo

Auryiel4 votes

Rarely have I read a post worded as strangely as this one

And I've definitely never seen anyone say ''Riot League of Legends''

This looks like a troll XD But even if it is, the message is good

Bhagswag3 votes

What do you think Riot should do, specifically?

Myozthirirn5 votes

Riot should supervise all games and ask people politelily to act nice http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/983/9837141/2618670-0199714375-Kappa.png

Brascus22 votes

It makes me feel like a super villain, getting them banned is just icing on the cake. Garen

Dengeden6 votes

You know what? Riot should start handing out bans (doesn't even have to be much, 1-7 days) for people who receive any sort of report, 'cept for the "unskilled" one, let's be fair here :^). It'll be an IP ban, so smurfs won't work.

Your hypocritical reaction would be priceless.

What the heck is Riot supposed to do? Seriously, tell me. Because it's not "night and day", everyone gets games with toxic people. Chances are they'd keep their mouth shut if you performed better and if you took their antics less seriously.

Onegarion26 votes

I've been raising accounts for a while now and every time I do I find more smurfs and toxic players. I'm not a terrible player. Gold/Low Plat by rank, but when you are low level it irritates me to see players flame and rage at people who don't even have all the summoners yet. I've had people complain about not having a jungler when no one is lvl 10 to have smite unlocked. I've had players Rage at people for not knowing their champs or the enemy's champs. Complain when that Annie bursts out the Yi mid because the Yi doesn't know what he is doing and is still learning.

Personally I think there are a few things Riot can do to help out the new player experience:

  1. Don't have summoners be barred by level. I get being able to jump into a game and be a bit overwhelmed, but when you get some of the worst summoners and have to play against people that know what you are doing (since I can't say I've never played with another smurf). Its also gimping players who may come in from other games that know the basics, but are now gated. Yes this gives smurfs a bit of an upper hamd, but to me it helps learning seeing what is good and what isn't.

  2. Allow lvl 1-2 runes to be Free for everyone. I think this will make the new(er) player experience better and easier to transition into ranked as well. I've fine with gating the biggest power behind IP walls, but I think it shouldn't cost anything for tier 1-2 runes and just break them at the level difference. This will not only let them experiment with runes, but give them a better fighting chance.

  3. All-Chat shouldn't be a thing pre-10. You don't need to communicate with the enemy team as a new player and shouldn't. This option should be locked until you have time to learn the game and can at least survive the negative attitudes of your team before your opponent joins in.

These are just a few things that can help out new players that aren't directly handing out bans. You just have to be creative and think what makes it easier for a player to get use to the game without the negativity.

Dengeden2 votes

Interesting suggestions but the low level thing isn't something I can take seriously. You can play vs bots or in TTT if you dislike toxicity. It matches the average beginner's skill level, so there's no real reason not to.

Onegarion10 votes

It doesn't tho. I'm playing on a lvl 6 account right now and not 1 person doesn't know what they are doing. I'm not playing with people who are new, but only smurfs. I'm sorry, but thats not a reason to play TTT or bots.

Its about creating an environment for new players to actually succeed and not get dumbstered. Its about making sure you can actually learn the game without having people scream at you in any capacity for doing something wrong. I'm not seeing this even in my games and EU isn't any better and is actually worse. The NA players I"m with just normally don't talk at all, but the EU players were straight toxic as hell. Take a 12 year old playing COD and double it. I did find 1 reasonable person and acted like a noobie and they gave decent advice, but i can only hold a charade for so long until its obvious I know what i'm doing.

Riot needs to work on its new player experience and the increase in punishments is a double edged sword. For those toxic players they get hit sooner because you have less games and get flagged sooner, but its also bad for new players who don't know the punishment style and how retaliating is bad and can get you in trouble too. There needs to be a happy medium that we need to find.

Dengeden1 votes

Why not? It's the new player atmosphere (to an extent) you're asking for (forgot to include ARAM and Dominion btw).

You'll be playing enough games on the Rift anyway.

Onegarion7 votes

I have no idea what you are even talking about with such a small statement to my large paragraph. It would be nice if you could at least expand on something

ReportThisRiven1 votes

although not a complete fix to the issue i do think your first two points have great value towards reaching a better new player experience, you deserve more upvotes here

Onegarion2 votes

Its nice to see people thinking that there is some merit to what I've said, but the sad thing is there is no 100% fix to make it perfect unless we know exactly who is smurfing. I think instead of people trying to find 100% ways of fixing it we need to work on the little things to lighten the way for new players. No matter what you do veteran players are going to be better so I think we just need to give new players as much help as we can without giving them everything.

Gorgannan4 votes

Yeah, the problem with this game and any like it is the awful experience until you know what you're doing.

At 30 there are still hecklers, but you know why and what they're heckling you for. New players get no such luck.

Silents4294 votes

It's really hard not to downvote this, I don't take sob stories with a grain of salt, nor do I get why 1 persons bad experience is anything that Riot needs to jump out of the chair for and resolve. We know the new player experience can use work, it's no where near as bad as the picture you paint out. This post just comes off as taking advantage of the boards natural cynic nature towards Riot instead of feeling legit in any way.

If the new player experience were so evil and bad we wouldn't still be on the rise of new unique players everyday, most of us commenting everywhere seem to forget we were new players at one point, and got to where we are now.

DeathPuddle23 votes

{quoted}

It's really hard not to downvote this, I don't take sob stories with a grain of salt, nor do I get why 1 persons bad experience is anything that Riot needs to jump out of the chair for and resolve. We know the new player experience can use work, it's no where near as bad as the picture you paint out. This post just comes off as taking advantage of the boards natural cynic nature towards Riot instead of feeling legit in any way.

If the new player experience were so evil and bad we wouldn't still be on the rise of new unique players everyday, most of us commenting everywhere seem to forget we were new players at one point, and got to where we are now.

Token Riot Forum fanboy post. It's got everything.

"I haven't experienced it because I'm level 30 and leveled back when low level games werent full of toxic smurfs who were banned on their main, so it must not really be a thing!"

"League of Legends is getting tons of new players! Here's some data to pr- oh wait nevermind, I'm just dick riding Riot, they can do no wrong!" (by the way, new users from china and korea do not count. The public internet places get people coming in and out all day who make new accounts and never play on them again.)

Go make a new account, play normals up to level 20 and then come back and apologize for being an arrogant brown noser.

SrirachaLimes3 votes

To be honest I'm kind of on his side right now.

As someone who started around January of this year, I never experienced anything like what you guys are talking about.

Did I occasionally come across some people who were mean? Yes. Was it to the point that you all are talking about? Not even close bby. (sorry lol)

Especially in my earliest of games, I don't recall any flaming. Just people who were so confused as to what was going on that they didn't have time to be angry.

I only agree in the respect that Riot should update their tutorial. In terms of toxicity, maybe I just realize that responding to it by typing in chat is bad, but I haven't come across major problems where it's virtually every game as seems to be the case with people on the boards.

Rinky Dinky10 votes

Dude literally everyone agrees the new player experience is garbage, and should be improved in some way.

Silents4292 votes

[{quoted}](name=Lane Cancer,realm=NA,application-id=3ErqAdtq,discussion-id=5w7EhMVk,comment-id=00080001,timestamp=2015-08-19T17:32:33.068+0000)

Dude literally everyone agrees the new player experience is garbage, and should be improved in some way.

These boards are the only place that complains about them, Riot admits it can be better but as far as saying garbage and being the sole reason to steer away most players, that's inaccurate, and I only see these boards complain so heavily about it, and thats less then 1% of the entire community anyway.

Rinky Dinky8 votes

Oh yeah.

Just the boards

Right.

Yeah.

Ok.

Im gonna just let you be misinformed.

air tiger4 votes

Awaits a rioter response to this very real topic.

Can we please get an answer as to why you force new players through the hell of not being able to use teambuilder?

SuperSourCat4 votes

What people who smurf need to learn is that, not everyone is smurfing, most people are learnin.

NA Darklarik4 votes

As a 5 year veteran of this game, i sadly agree. Getting someone new to play this game is hard. The lack of a proper knowledge base, the IP gating, lack of a Sandbox mode, or ability to Rent champs all play against new player experience.

If you dont have someone to literally hold your hand through the first 20-30 levels, and even if you do, getting started on League now a days is a hell of a bad experience, more so with how many Smurfs pollute low levels these days....

dEAdbUs3 votes

Created new acc, it was truly hell, I stopped play on lev 10 and went back to my Gold elo acc.

Commando Yi3 votes

i think they should disable all chat until level 30

CrazyDiamônd3 votes

I got banned 14 days because I told my Malzahar to "Shut the fuck up and play" "stop fuckin crying ffs" When he was flaming my bot lane the whole game.... yep I got mad because he wouldnt shut up and kept dying while typing insults.

Guess what, I got banned, he didnt.

10/10 Best system

MagicalDemons3 votes

I agree. I hate that theres so many toxic people out there, and when there toxic, you can't say shit back or bam, chat restriction.

PapaGreg211 votes

[deleted]

Jari6 votes

{quoted}

Riot can't ban people for being mean to each other because 25 million people play this game every day. There is no way they can monitor every conversation with great attention.

There should be a more clear way for new players to learn where the mute button is early on though. I would have hit that sucka every game till level 20.

So, they can't ban them because they'd lose customers? A good chunk of these people already have a main account, and for some it was a banned one. So they either didn't add to the numbers, or weren't wanted in the first place. Then we have the brand new player, trying to come in and see what the game is about. Now imagine him being forced to quit because he can't stand the community. There's a lost customer. He ain't going to buy skins in the future because a toxic player, who likely got his main account banned in the first place, ruined his experience every game.

And since the mute button was mentioned, I'm going to state this. Never never NEVER should a mute button be an excuse for toxic actions. People already think they can cuss like a sailor because there's a filter. And now people think the mute button is an excuse for me so that I can tell players to, "Kill themselves with Autism." (Good god I did not want to actually type that.) So no, do not use the mute button as an excuse.

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