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RIOT in good faith I am writing to you, finally considering uninstalling and its not why you think

XesarTheCalmm·8/8/2018, 4:54:45 PM·7 votes·2,078 views

Lack of over sight and respect to my LP when it comes to AFK's and Bugsplats. To put it plainly, there should be no reason why I am responsible to pay LP costs for games that do not meet RIOTS obligation. What is RIOTS obligation you ask? To provide me with 4 teammates and 5 opponents and play the game out under those conditions as well as provide me with a stable medium to play said game. If you meet this simple criteria, then you have effectively solidified the most important part of your game, integrity. If you don't then you have not met your part of the agreement. Its plain and simple.

Honestly this isn't a whine post, this is a call to action post. I am demanding you to fix core functions after years of neglect. I don't care about the paintjob if the engine needs work. In poker terms having an afk on my team is the same as being dealt 4 cards instead of 5 in a game of 5 card draw. This simply would not be allowed except cases of "circus games" where either unfair odds are disclosed at start or odds that are commensurate with the handicap are offered, like getting paid 2-1 odds or 5-1 odds as reward for winning the game "against the odds".

A significant portion of player frustration stems from this simple neglect and seeps into the rest. When people begin to lose faith in a system and begin to question its unfairness, your game becomes meaningless. Like many popular multiplayer fps's, the integrity of the game comes into question when they can't stabilize and guarantee a fair experience. Today those games that failed to meet this are mainly ghost towns consisting of newbies who don't know any better, and hackers/cheaters getting their kicks.

AFK's and bugsplats specifically are RIOTS failure to uphold their responsibility of providing me with a fair experience. Failure to do so should in fact void the game in all honesty. At the very least I should have a method of recourse, like emailing support with verifiable game data or Bugsplat ID #'s and my Elo and/or LP should not be effected. This is all I want.

I have heard the totally untrue excuse that this is somehow called variance and that it will even out in the end. This couldn't be further from the truth. Variance would actually be the type of teammates you get because RIOT can not guarantee how "good" a player they assign you is. They only guarantee that it will be a 5v5 game and is only responsible for giving you as I said, 4 teammates and 5 opponents. But to say it will even out in the end is bogus at best and dishonest at worst. No one can guarantee you that will even out for YOU, the individual player. That is impossible. At best they can claim that it will even out for the whole entire player base, which is possible given enough games in a broad spectrum. Yes, someone somewhere will gain these offsetting benefits, but not you. So this excuse is laughable at best and again dishonest at worst.

In poker terms, games that fail to meet the fundamentals for any reason are voided and the game is redone with all risks returned and refunded. Pretty much in any other scenario where we are risking a type of currency, like LP, is treated this way so why is different here? What because we're gamers? We're kids that don't know any better? What's the excuse?

So I ask you, RIOT or anyone who cares, why do these things matter and get rectified even by law when its not a video game and get brushed off when it is? We're talking arguably the biggest esport in the world, slowly gaining more and traction on the world stage and you can't fix this simple, foundational problem?

This is not a why I'm quitting thread, but I'm getting closer and closer I must admit. Again, when you begin to lose faith in a system, the game becomes more and more meaningless. The great thing about rules and regulations in real competitive sports is that every one is on the same playing field. They try their hardest to make the game at its core to be played under fair terms otherwise it becomes wrestling. Now obviously there is a market for soap opera wrestling and that's fine, but they aren't billing themselves as competitive and to my knowledge you can not bet on it for this reason. They are for entertainment purposes only. League of legends perhaps started as for entertainment purposes only but they certainly have outgrown it. Its time to update your policy to match that growth.

TLDR; I am simply saying give us a way to report these games, these specific games, of Bugsplats and AFK's and refund us our elo and lp. These cases are easily verifiable, there is simply no excuse. Good luck.

18 Comments

oOBestEveNAOo8/8/2018, 5:09:41 PM3 votes

Honestly one of the best written posts in boards history.

Reothimene8/8/2018, 5:34:05 PM3 votes

tbh bug splat doesn't happen for me since i don't click ads on pornhub but i'll if u didn't lose lp for disconnecting when i'm using bad wifi i'd gladly take 40 min leaverbuster 100x games

XesarTheCalmm8/8/2018, 9:44:32 PM2 votes

Honestly wish more people would chime in with opinions though. Id like everyone's opinion

XesarTheCalmm8/9/2018, 12:29:17 AM2 votes

I'd like to thank KnightsKemp for having this discussion. In the end I will have to disagree though. I just can not accept inaction for fear of reaction. There is something currently wrong and apparently everyone agrees that these cases are not fair. I still would rather offer a solution to the problem than sit out and do nothing because something bad might happen.

I appreciate the fact that it has been discussed in the past, but I think there are other factors in play. For example it being a new game gaining traction and having its fair share of problems over the years. Most of the time this is acceptable if the game has merit and is genuinely fun and that's where we started. Fast forward though and we have essentially a possible career making game by so many means. Coaching, streaming, content creation, college scholarships, professional play, are just a few. We can't deny that people get attracted to this stuff so it becomes much more important to gain and lose LP because that is what most people have to base their expertise by. Proof of expertise. Our rank. So as time goes on these problems that are acceptable in the past can't continue to be acceptable in the present because there is more at stake. You can argue that its to the detriment of the player and that would be fair, but that doesn't negate its value to the discussion.

So here we are, 10 or so years later? a much bigger theater, higher stakes and we still can't get a resolution to this problem by the company. For a company this big, hosting events this big, I just can't find it acceptable.

I proposed, keeping it simple at first, having it handled by riot support where you can petition with verifiable data in hand. I was told that it could open the doors to abuse. That may or may not be true, I don't know, but I think I'd rather open the door and stop the abuse of honest players FIRST. Once we know what that looks like then we can worry about the abusers and how to handle them. Just my 4 cents.

Here's hoping.

ModKnightsKemplar8/8/2018, 5:22:03 PM1 votes

It's another thread that complains about a problem and offers no insight about solving it.

It's not that Riot doesn't care about these problems; it's that they are inherent to the world of internet gaming. Everyone who has spent even a small bit of time in an online gaming community is aware of these issues, and is also moderately aware that they are difficult, if not impossible, to solve. If you believe that you have a silver bullet to this problem, you should start a company, ASAP, and start trying to sell it to gaming companies. You'd likely make money hand over fist if it were even 50% effective.