@Riot: How to Improve Matchmaking & Security While Reducing Toxicity, Smurfing, & Account Selling

Disclaimer: The suggestions below are specific to the NA server as different regions already have their own account creation requirements and I am not familiar with those.

Suggestion:

In order to improve matchmaking and account security while reducing toxicity, botting, account selling, and smurfing, Riot needs to implement two already commonly available and in-use features:

1. Riot needs to require a mobile number for account creation.
2. Riot needs to require two-factor authentication. For those unfamiliar with the concept, two-factor authentication basically means that in addition to providing a password to log in, the user enters a string of characters. This string is provided at the time the user is attempting to log in, either by text message or via an app which provides a new number every few minutes.

Why This Will Work:

On its own, requiring a mobile number for account creation will eliminate most casual smurfs – people who created a new account on a whim. With the additional barrier to account creation, most will simply opt not to smurf. Furthermore, by requiring a phone number, Riot can definitively tie users to accounts and thus prevent users that have been permanently banned from easily creating new accounts. Note: Some users will still be willing to change phone numbers, get a new phone, etc, but there will undoubtedly be fewer returners than we have currently.

With the addition of two-factor authentication, we accomplish several additional goals. First, the user will need to maintain the phone number associated to the account in order to keep using it. This basically eliminates account selling, as passing a phone number to a person is far more difficult than passing an email address. It also prevents people from using one-time online phone numbers for account creation, as they will lose access to their accounts if they lose access to the number. Finally, it eliminates the risk of accounts being stolen by password brute force or any other mechanism of password theft, as the thief will not be able to log into the account even with the password if they do not also have the phone that will receive the two-factor authentication code.

With the two above features together, Riot more effectively ties a person to their account, making an individual’s account far less expendable. As such, users are more likely to adhere to the rules, as account loss is closer to permanent. Furthermore, with fewer smurfs, matchmaking will improve as the newbie zone will be filled with mostly newbies. Finally, as a small added bonus, high elo players will experience slightly better queue times. Currently, due to the very long queue times for high elo players, many of them will create a smurf in order to play more quickly. Of course, this results in the pool of high elo players available to play being smaller than it needs to be. By reducing high elo smurfing, the high elo pool at any given time increases in size, reducing queue times.

Some Common Responss:

1. People don’t have phones. This may be true in some parts of the world, but it is not true in NA. 99% of people ages 18-49 have mobile phones, which accounts for the majority of League’s player population. The number is likely close to that for 13-17, which is also within the target demographic.
   Furthermore, lack of a mobile phone most likely correlates with lack of solid, in-home internet connection as well, which further reduces the overlap between League players and people without mobile phones. https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/fact-sheet/mobile/

2. Privacy concerns. Yes, a phone number is one more piece of information that players would be providing to Riot, but in the grand scheme of things, it is a relatively small and insignificant piece of information. There are already games out there that require a phone number, including basically every mobile game created in the last decade. Far more information gets posted on the likes of Facebook and LinkedIn. You even give your phone number to the grocery store for their coupons. Some might be deterred by this, but the numbers should be relatively low compared to all of the benefits.