Blitzcrank breeds toxicity

Fluppets·7/27/2015, 5:03:34 PM·95 votes·6,642 views

I began to notice a trend with Blitzcrank players that they tend to flame alot, and I've realised it's not a coincidence: Blitzcrank his fantasy, playstyle and kit breed toxicity due to a series of interacting layers.

  1. First, there's the skill/playmaking factor which is twofold: Blitz players think they're (mechanically) good players, it's a playmaking support so generally you're dealing with inflated ego's. This ego also sets them up for the third layer. (that's layer one: playmakers don't self-reflect, they critisize and blame others/luck).

  2. But when you do miss a hook you generaly feel bad, you might even get flamed for it. (thats layer two: getting flamed at for failing).

  3. So now you missed a couple of hooks and you feel bad, what do you do when you feel bad? You start lashing out (that's layer three: feeling bad/getting your (big) ego hurt makes you defensive and hostile ie: toxic).

  4. Then there's the general troll design, from the type of plays that he makes to his looks and even his laugh: it attracts people that like to troll and are potentially more prone to being douches. (that's layer four: troll champs attract trolls, obviously).

Now there are other champions that have this perfect storm of Toxic-inducing elements: high mechanical requirement (big ego + failure opportunity), and trollkit and looks/emotes. Fizz MasterYi Riven Nidalee Tryndamere etc.

What I am trying to get at is there's a psychological link to how a champion works and feels and how players react to it (in a negative way), both themselves and teammates or even enemies.

So it could be helpfull for all if you're mindfull of this mechanic. By not putting too much pressure on yourself "I gotta make plays, omfg I failed!" or lashing out at a failed high risk/reward play "noob you suck, can you land ONE hook please?"

86 Comments

Origami Kaiju7/27/2015, 5:56:42 PM26 votes

I think this is an interesting topic. The common link between these champions is that they all have specific abilities that lack (or have lacked in the past) a large window of counterplay.

So, people who main these champions get use to playing with this advantage, and as you say this inflates their ego. It may give them the impression that they are out-playing their opponents, when in reality they may just be capitalizing on an mechanic that lacks counter-play. So when individuals with this mindset are not in a winning position, they get frustrated and are probably more likely to exhibit negative behavior.

Of course, I don't want to offend anyone by saying that all people who main these champions have this problem, just that it's possible that some do.

jDiosama7/27/2015, 11:07:16 PM11 votes

Check this out, Champions played by most toxic players. You were right about guys like Yi and Trynd, but Blitzcrank is at the bottom

http://www.reddit.com/r/leagueoflegends/comments/1ynzsg/champions_played_by_the_most_toxic_players_chart/

LlamaSpeed7/27/2015, 10:45:50 PM6 votes

Wow! i thought i was the only one noticing blitzcrank players being toxic. +1 for great minds thinking alike

Ipols7/28/2015, 12:30:20 AM5 votes

I see myself a lot in the "troll" part, I love playng blitz in normals to mess with my enemies, like grabbing them over a wall and laughing, cheesing the enemy jungler level 1 or something like that.

Don't kill me, I've never been reported for beeing offensive and I never troll my teammates. I just find that blitz's kit is great to mess with the enemies and I find that part funny

BlackEyesBlue7/27/2015, 5:20:05 PM4 votes

Here's a discussion I posted a little while back you may enjoy if you missed it.! :)

http://boards.na.leagueoflegends.com/en/c/gameplay-balance/Kt07sPGc-blitzcrank-is-the-most-toxic-champion-in-the-game

It voices my feelings on Blitz being the only champ in the game that actually makes you worse at game fundamentals by playing as or with him. It made for a lively discussion!

WutsKraken7/27/2015, 9:19:49 PM4 votes

I actually feel that enemies who face Blitzcrank get more toxic

He's one of the most the perfect champs for sowing discord among the enemy in solo-que. He pulls people out of position and he causes anger among the enemy as they scream at each other for getting hooked

And he also has a global taunt a bit like Teemo's, you want to kill the damn mofo who's caused you so much pain. But then if it's a tank Blitz, you just can't do it before his team shows up

Phil Fly7/27/2015, 9:33:32 PM3 votes

There was a riven I was playing against as Shen, toplane. Of course battle-bunny riven, soon she gave our jg first blood and started complaining the whole game. I mentally kept track of her ego; if she landed her Q, i knew she would be ballsy enough to tower dive. If she missed her ult, she would farm under tower for the next 5 minutes. It was sad to watch, really. You make mistakes and you learn from them, why hold such high standards?

MasterVidallis7/27/2015, 8:13:31 PM3 votes

"Troll champs attract trolls". So much truths. Hi Tahm mains.

Bonnibel7/28/2015, 4:28:49 AM3 votes

I may be a bit late to the thread, but yes, I completely see your point with Blitzcrank having rage-inducing emotes. Seeing a Blitzcrank laugh is one of the most annoying things to me (other than being grabbed over the wall/fog), as it's not a friendly or average laugh, it's more like "Let me hold my machinery so I don't rust by laughing so hard at your failure". Is that always the intent of the laugh? No, of course not, but that's how I feel when I'm against a laughing blitz.

His kit is also very toxic to me, as being grabbed over a wall/fog is not only humiliating but a death sentence if you're a squishy support just trying to ward your own jungle. And from that we might get what you said, an inflated ego for being such a game-changer champion.

This one is not much of a factor, but I've seen it happen countless times: that passive shield. It makes a blitzcrank survive many deadly situations (combined with his w speed boost), leading him to /all how much of a failure you are for not catching him.

OperationDEEZ17/28/2015, 9:25:47 AM3 votes

You're talking about champions with trollkits and emotes, yet you forget to bring up Shaco orNunu ?

Prospector Pete7/27/2015, 5:13:52 PM2 votes

Replace Blitzcrank with Fluppets.

Treyen7/28/2015, 12:10:02 AM2 votes

Singed

YossarianSensei7/28/2015, 3:04:56 AM2 votes

Lmao or much more logically, so-called "toxic" players just like playing playmakers like Blitz

SpecterVonBaren7/28/2015, 3:46:04 AM2 votes

I really don't see why you're using Blitzcrank as you're opener for this subject. I rarely see Blitz's flamming people, it's always their teammates flamming them for missed hooks or bringing Amumu to them that I see. Blitz is also for the most part played as a support champion, someone that is meant to get kills for someone else or defend them from getting killed. Yi, Riven, and Vayne are carries with Vayne and Yi being hyper caries that can 1v5 an entire enemy team if ahead enough, these actually make sense to be sources of toxic player, not Blitzcrank.

Tomate Cru7/28/2015, 7:31:58 AM2 votes

I play Blitz because he is fun! A LOT of FUN!

I mean, Sona and her spammable skills? Nah... I'd go Blitz and try little plays instead.

I don't consider myself as a mechanically genius, Korean style... Hell no, I'm far far FAR FAAARRR away from that. But every now and then I can land a nice grab and help my team, and it is AWESOME.

IMHO, the real problem is the ADC mentality. They think you are not allowed to miss any grab, even if the lane is full of minions. Miss a grab and you will hear things from your ADC, for sure... If it's a Vayne, you will hear profanities even before you push Q. And of course it will affect me throughout the rest of the match, so I'm really considering muting my ADC in every game that I play Blitz...

lB2kGRlc8y7/28/2015, 11:14:50 AM2 votes

I'll agree that Blitz's performance always leads to flaming, If the Blitz isn't an asshole and doesn't gloat, the enemy will flame about his kit, and if he misses, he'll be flamed by enemies and allies alike. I love Blitzcrank, but don't like playing him as a support, mainly because his kit isn't a support kit. He's meant to work like pudge from DoTA, where he initiates teamfights with a well placed hook, and the beats the enemy to death with autos and proximity damage. TBH, if the game was at all like it used to be pre S1, blitz wouldn't be that much of a problem, because lanes would be determined by what champions are fighting eachother rather than forcing the ADC/Support bot lane, which is not equipped for champions like Blitz. I remember when I'd bring Blitzy bot with a ryze, and the enemy would have a jax and a teemo there, the lanes were evenly matched. Now Nobody is allowed to do anything but bring a marksman and a personal bodyguard bot, so balanced champions are being nerfed, given half-assed reworks (Veigar) or outright removed from viability only because of how they interact with the enforced meta.

KING OF MASKS7/28/2015, 5:33:17 PM2 votes

Hey. I play Blitz quite frequently, and I have only one thing to say to OP:

ez game ez life m8 :^)

Troll for Trump7/27/2015, 7:37:51 PM1 votes

this is why you play trynda. If you fail it doesn't matter cuz he's hella fun to play and is just awesome. He attracts ragers to hate on you and it's fun ;)

CasterGilgamesh7/29/2015, 6:31:05 PM1 votes

blitz is cancer

Entheos Geon7/28/2015, 4:37:48 AM1 votes

You make it seem like it's the champion's fault, as if they create the toxicity but it's just the nature of the champion that draws toxic people to it.

High57/28/2015, 6:17:46 AM1 votes

I feel like people pick blitz because he's inexpensive. They own the newer players, but are unwilling to upgrade to stronger pull supports like Thresh or Nautilus who have far stronger kits.

Blitz is a gimmick. Dodge the pull, shield the pull, position properally behind winions, jump him with leona and he's a terrible champ who's kit loses all viability after 7 minutes. Blitz has no mid or late game viability.

I get why people buy him, but he's stupid eaasy to counter. I don't understand why anyone would play blitz after 5 games at level 30. The only people who lose to blitz are those that don't understand his kit and the fundamentals of LoL.

FatesDefiler7/30/2015, 9:18:27 PM1 votes

I play aram a bit, and i've noticed a pattern that's been ongoing for months:

every blitz on the enemy team builds full tank and creates a 1000 range zone of death in every direction around him as he carries his team to victory.

every blitz on my team builds full AD or AP, has a broken q key, and laugh emotes at me whenever I die. it's a strange phenomenon because one would think that occasionally the previously stated rules would not hold true but do you know what? they always do.