Really Good Job Riot: In this season you made the most efficient way to climb the most toxic one.

What am I talking about? Well it is simple: the most efficient way to climb in this season goes as follows:

Force a surrender at 15 with whatever means necessary (going afk, whatever) the moment the game at that point looks even remotely like a loss and try your luck in the next game.

Sounds incredibly stupid right? Except, that's how it works. I am a Full AP Soraka toplane main. 60% winrate over 200+ games or whatever op.gg spits out - and using this absolutely toxic philosophy I clinbed from Gold 5 to Gold 1, to Plat, and finally right into Diamond 5/4. All that climb over THE FRACTION of a season - as much as I hate it, I just can't deny that it works at this point.

The reasons for this are not because of the typical "gamers in competitive games are inherently shitty personalities"-trope, but rather this is what Riot willfully created with their game design. If I have the choice between "stalling out a losing game until minute 35 with no comeback chances as we never got any turning-point and the enemy was just bleeding us out and then lose anyways" or "save yourself 20+ minutes by ending at 15 to try the next game where you hope you are at the stomping end", then the choice is easy.

The intentional removal of strategy in the game for the favor of "BIG LCS PLAYZZ" and unholy damage creep just made it worse: if you only run damage-dealer-team vs. damage-dealer team, obviously the team with the biggest DAMAGE NUMBERS will win. With damage-only comps being so pushed that they can take on actually balanced team compositions, they just because the default: because you need damage to win the game. The reason League had a strategic aspect was specifically to prevent raw firepower deciding the outcome of a match. However, as it is right now, as it's just who got the biggest number, the team that first gets their numbers up wins, as their agency for number-increasing just grows expotentially.

And it's not just about efficiency or numbers, but the whole playing experience:

If you make winning feel fun, but losing so much, much more horrible and dreadful that winning is fun, then don't blame me if I simply don't play my losses.

Congratulations, you designed a game that makes people literally not play. Do you even realize just HOW stupid that is?

And regarding penalities for AFKing and griefing: 20 minute time penality for AFKing is not hurting me either - my day only has 24 hours, and you think I only play League in the times I am not asleep? Of course not - but if I play some hours league and then do other stuff, or if it's like stuff - a league match - stuff - a match - stuff, that barely matters to me. Oh sure you wanna hurt people with it when they want to play with premades and make them wait - but hey, too bad 90% of my friendlist is offline for years now, so I couldn't exactly feel bothered. A time penality that effectively steals zero time is not exactly worth anything. It's like its by design because Riot knows the "best" way to climb...

Seriously I hope this year, which in all seasons I knew (every single one) was the WORST up to date so far, is one we will learn from and never repeat anything from it ever again.