Should there be a level of loss forgiveness for player behavior? (long, basically blog post)

In a stretch of rough games today this one really has to stand out among them. For some closure, this player appeared to be lagging (though how you lag to lvl six without any CS is beyond me) and no part of this seems intentional. This is just an example I am using to ask the question; does there need to be a level of loss forgiveness depending on how certain players act?

As you might have guessed, I think their should be. As far as I know the only form of loss forgiveness one can receive is from server failure/losses that are explicitly Riot's fault, otherwise I have never heard of a single instance where other factors have allowed a loss forgiveness or even loss reduction for a player. Now of course I understand the primary argument against a system that allows easier forgiveness, players will simply abuse it. However I am of the mind that with the way ranked play is currently set up there are instances where, should a system be properly implemented, a player would deserve loss forgiveness or reductions based on what happened in game.

Let's start with being the devil's advocate. A loss forgiveness system is risky since it could potentially allow players to harass others into leaving in order to abuse the system. Let's not pretend there aren't some outright nasty players in this game, those who will go to great and personal lengths at the expense of others just for the smallest amount of self gratification or lp gain. No matter how perfect the system, some players will still try to abuse it. However I still think a system should be implemented since not only does the ranked system demand it, but it could present a new opportunity to filter out toxic players as well.

For starters, currently I feel the ranked system is a mess (most especially soloQ). There is a lot of pressure on an individual player as it is currently very easy for a single lane or a single player to unarguably lose the game on their own. This is especially true for certain players and playstyles. Do you enjoy being a top lane tank? You better absolutely pray no single lane feeds into any sort of carry champion because games can be decided before 10 minutes at this point. This is especially prevalent in the current jg. Did your jg lose a lvl 2 smite-fight for scuttle to a graves? If yes then the next five minutes could very easily drive to a point where it is essentially impossible for you to claw back and win despite how well you play and how good your decision making is. This reasoning isn't actually part of my argument though, it is the idea that this carry heavy playstyle does not compliment the climbing system, which leads into my actual argument;

Since climbing currently depends on winning individual games, the fact that individual players can lose games harder than individuals can win them creates circumstances where there needs to be a loss forgiveness system for the sake of honest players. This only truly comes to light with toxic players intentional throwing, or other issues that reside outside of player control (as seen in link). As a player you very quickly learn that consistent play will be the way you climb, however given the volatility of other players, sometimes climbing can feel like a coinflip at best. This is especially true with promos, which are the absolute highest demand of individual performance, which doesn't feel healthy when other players can lose for you. When you lose promos, you don't just fail, you are usually send back to a point where you need to win an additional game before getting to try again. When presented with unwinnable scenarios in these all or nothing games, losses that where entirely out of your control can feel insulting or demeaning as they are essentially punishments for players who had their power stripped away from them to begin with.

Now I know this sounds like I want to be able to completely ignore losses like the linked game because I want an easier climb, but I can't express enough that the kind of system I am proposing should only ever be used in the most absolute extreme circumstances. I want a system in place that can ease the pain of these extremely feel bad scenarios for the sake of all the players. Currently, if someone decides to run it down mid because you suggested they should have taken a different summoner spell (it's happened), you're basically just fucked. Not only is the only reliable punishment system the in game word filter, any sort of punishment means nothing in the post game lobby. If someone decides to lose the game for you, there is simply nothing you can do about it. This undoubtedly leads to more and more players being frustrated and becoming toxic because they know they will get no true justice for other players or circumstances making their efforts futile. The word "unfair" is often exaggerated by emotion, but in some cases, it's simply true when it comes to League. A properly implemented loss forgiveness system could also reduce overall player toxicity and help the players as a whole.

So what would be a good system? Well, in my mind it could actually be very simple. To begin, once again it's only something that should ever be implemented in extreme, no hope scenarios. This means either blatant, no true fault 4v5s like the link attached, or extremely blatant trolling or flaming. On top of that, there should be VERY harsh punishments for players who even pretend to abuse this kind of system. Any hint in chat or even in gameplay that players are trying to force and manipulate players into leaving so that they could potentially be forgiven should be met with lengthy bans. A firm stance on this from the start would quickly filter out any players willing to go to such lengths which, in my mind, would easily benefit the player base as a whole. This would allow Riot to be able to properly look at the truly unfair instances where players would greatly appreciate some sort of forgiveness. Was your whole team indiscriminately toxic and at eachothers throats the entire game? To bad, stop complaining. Did you have a game where one player decided they where so frustrated that they will lose the game for you, despite their being zero toxicity or flaming directed at them? Then perhaps there should be something to help you bounce back for keeping it cool. This is an important point, I absolutely believe that if players know that they can regain LP simply for respecting the summoners code, player behavior can greatly improve.

So if it wasn't clear, this kind of system can also be used to trap truly toxic players while benefiting players who are actually trying to keep it together. That being said, even with how bad League can get sometimes, it is unlikely that players will encounter scenarios where full loss forgiveness is justifiable. I imagine the majority of circumstances would be a small return of LP for having to deal with games that where simply impossible to win, especially if you decided to be the truly better player throughout and not flame for it. In the particularity example I gave, I would ( and I'm sure I can speak for the other players on my team) greatly appreciate something small like even 5-10 lp down the road. Something simple that is just a light reminder that Riot cares about their players having a positive experience and want to help players who went through the opposite. In my game, nobody flamed Yasuo in game or post game, however that and an AFK will report will not change the fact that being in an unwinnable position because of circumstances we can't control still just feels bad man. I would never ask for free promos or a free climb, but a little something here and there to make it up to players is something i think we could all appreciate.

And that's essentially it, I know that was long but I just had this tangent in my mind since this game. It's probably hard to follow my logic and line of thinking in some areas, but I'm too lazy to do anything other than a rough draft. I truly think this is something important and deserved that all league players could benefit from, and I also think the discussion that could arise could be very healthy for the game as well. I should also note that if League didn't have promo games and simply relied on MMR to determine your rank, I don't think I would be as passionate about this subject. As it is right now though, there are simply sometimes where you don't get to climb because of a factor out of your control, and I just don't think that's the right way to go about things.