Leaverbuster issue.
I don't usually have issues with LoL unless there is a DDoS attack or something else systemic going on. Therefore, I don't check the boards to make sure the servers are healthy before signing on. I logged in, joined a game, and was unable to connect. I restarted the client, all that good stuff, but I was never able to connect to the game. Upon checking the boards, it turns out that something is going on beyond my own connection issues. That's fine. I assume everything Riot can do to fix it is being done.
But then I got hit with leaver buster. "Stop leaving games, you're making LoL suck for everyone else, bad, bad, malicious player" etc. I've never left a game or AFK'd, and I've made every attempt to reconnect to any game I've been disconnected from. This is the first time I've been unable to connect at all to a game that wasn't loss prevented or something where Riot acknowledged connection issues and didn't punish people for problems beyond their control.
My issue is this: Is there no way for the automated system do differentiate between people who leave (I know that its hard to tell the difference between someone who leaves vs someone who is kicked off or disconnected due to a local issue) and someone who can't connect because of a problem with LoL servers or whatever is going on right now? Riot employees have repeatedly said that leaver buster is there to punish repeat offenders, which I am not, and that people in my situation shouldn't worry. But in this case, I didn't leave at all, and did everything I could up to and including spamming the reconnect button to get into the game and try to salvage the experience for myself and the others in the game. From where I sit, this is exactly the sort of behavior that League developers and players should be encouraging. Instead I'm left feeling burned, and concerned that future issues beyond my control might continue to be misconstrued by the automated system as unhealthy behavior, resulting in my losing season rewards, restrictions, bans, etc. I understand that punishing leavers, leaving games being an action that really messes up the game for a lot of other people, is a priority for Riot, and in general I think that's a good thing. But is there really no way to recognize people who do all there is to be done to avoid leaving and get back into disconnected games? The line "don't worry about it because you are not a repeat offender and won't be punished" isn't giving me the comfort I think you would like.
Riot recently handed out free IP boosts as a reward for players who played through season 3 without being toxic, and I was happy to be a recipient. The urge to be toxic can be strong sometimes, especially when a team mate intentionally feeds, tells the enemy team where you are in their jungle, or curses at you for 45 minutes because he didn't like your champion pick, and Riot policy has always been that "he started it" isn't a good excuse. In addition to not punishing healthy players, this small reward had a nice feel to it; a sense that my struggles with toxic elements in the game is recognized and appreciated by the people making the game. But there are other potentially harmful elements in the game, such as leaving games or going AFK. It bothers me that a system designed to punish unhealthy behavior (a good thing) has no way of knowing when that behavior is in fact the exact opposite: not someone who leaves the game because something came up, or they were bored, or they were losing anyway, or they were mad, etc. but rather someone who spent the entire length of a LoL game (30-40 minutes) struggling to get back into the game. And its very frustrating, knowing that the game is still running, and your team is probably suffering from your absence (and probably getting pretty annoyed at you for not being there) while there is nothing you can do. I'm not looking for a medal, but I would like to know that Riot is at least looking for ways to weed out from leaver buster the people who are not hurting the game but rather doing what Riot wants every player to do and trying to get back into the game. Instead, I have to type "I agree", in essence pleading guilty to an automated middle finger telling me that the 40 minutes I spent trying to get back into my game makes me a negative influence on this community.
I love your company, I love your game, I love the idea of leaver buster, but there seems to be a lot of resentment directed at its execution. Please tell me this is at least on your radar?
