Losing Streak Island/Toxic Player Island

TheVishual··4 votes·1,547 views
Riot's Losing Streak Island & Prisoner Island System

Why does Riot still vehemently deny the existence of this? I've been playing this game for 4 years and your matchmaking works the following way:

  1. If you are on a winning streak, you will be matched with others on winning streak (positive environment)
  2. If you are on a losing streak, you are matched with people also on a losing streak (negative environment)

This, combined with the relative age and emotional capacity of solo queue, turns good players into toxic players; getting slammed into a queue with a bunch of ragers who are on big losing streaks, which then in turn makes everyone else in the game in a bad/toxic mood. League is more noticeably toxic than ever even despite Lyte's tribunal efforts (which is full of a bunch of false reports and skewed information). People don't magically "get worse" on 10-11 game losing streaks, your matchmaking greatly compounds the issue and makes all those games fun for no one and complete hell to play (so no wonder why people are toxic).

This is why there's elo hell at every elo.

9 Comments

WeFlyNoLie3 votes

I'd make an Illuminati joke, but that would be too easy.

Ranked is very much a psychological battle. The state of mind you're in will reflect how you play and how you perceive others playing.

I'd be more inclined to believe the author of the article if they provided any statistics, but really its just as they described "an urban legend in the league community."

TheVishual2 votes

Ranked is indeed partly a psychological battle, but you can't overcome the mentality of other players when they are raging b/c they're on losing streaks; even if you're perfectly calm and positive they will still ruin your game with their play and negativity. This is further aggregated by the fact that if you lose, you are paired up with more people on losing streaks.

You can even tell when you're in lobby, people will visibly tell you they are on a losing streak when you're in losing streak lobbies and winning streaks when they're in winning streak lobbies... It's not an urban legend and has been happening too long and too many times for it to be a coincidence.

WeFlyNoLie2 votes

I hear what you're saying and I can say I've gone on losing streaks before. I didn't have people telling me they were on a losing streak or anybody excessively negative, but I've got on significant winning streaks as well and I've always gotten back to or exceeded the same point I was at before. I've been hovering around Platinum V/Platinum IV for a while now.

I just don't buy into this concept.

rtbf2216514122 votes

{quoted}

I hear what you're saying and I can say I've gone on losing streaks before. I didn't have people telling me they were on a losing streak or anybody excessively negative, but I've got on significant winning streaks as well and I've always gotten back to or exceeded the same point I was at before. I've been hovering around Platinum V/Platinum IV for a while now.

I just don't buy into this concept.

Try carrying a game as support. No really, try it with incompetent team mates. Especially with Soraka. Your role matters for carrying a team. Sometimes you may have a high K/D/A ratio but the lowest damage on the team. You did not carry that game. You only secured kills.

WeFlyNoLie1 votes

While I agree with what you're saying, I don't understand what it has to do with what I posted.

Sona Ping2 votes

{quoted}

I'd make an Illuminati joke,

It's funny you would say that, it's more relevant to this thread than just humour.

With conspiracies, it's easier for some people to believe in evil, supervillain, Leagues of Doom than to accept that the world is a scary place where unexpected things can happen.

Similarly, it's easier to believe that an automated program is out to get them, only their teammates are bad and champions who beat them are OP rather than accept that they make tons of mistakes and do things like going 4/21/5 masteries while trying to play ADC.

WeFlyNoLie1 votes

Its easier to blame others for your mistakes rather than reflect on what you did wrong in a certain game or what you could have improved on, this much is true.

Pisdov2 votes

i dunno about the toxic island thing, but i know the match making is bullshit. im so sick of getting shit teammates. there is no excuse for skill differences in the same elo to be so huge. if skill was all that mattered in climbing rank, there's no way some of the people u get in games could be at that elo.

GundayMonday1 votes

Depends on the player. Personally, I've beaten challenger players and won tournaments jungling/supporting. But I am probably a silver-gold level ADC, and only know how to play 1-3 top and mid laners competentely. Put me on jungle and support and I will carry. Throw me anywhere else and it's a different game. So getting a role that you're skilled on and familiar with also contributes I'm sure.

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