My thoughts on Riot's honor system
I was chat-restricted less than a week ago. My first restriction in 2 years of playing. I was given 1 game in my reform card showing negative attitude. I was told there were no other games I was reported in that contributed to my restriction. I'm personally okay with the chat-restriction. In fact, I would argue any reasonable person would concede that it was necessary. It hurts to lose rewards though.
My original plan was to rush from Honor 1 to Honor 2 before the season ended. It was desperate, but I would do anything to try and unlock season rewards again. I figured only saying glhf, gg, and gj to teammates when they earn a kill would rocket the process. Well, that's what I did but it turns out 40-50 games isn't enough to unlock honor. Even then, I still have to 3 checkpoints to bust through.
Before I go any further, here's my logs from the game:
Game 1 Pre-Game Zanni: .. Zanni: why Zanni: someone dodge ffs In-Game Zanni: great. Zanni: another one of these games Zanni: keep trolling ziggs Zanni: w him away Zanni: go next
Zanni: picks ziggs support and afks lvl 1 Zanni: nothing I can do Zanni: cant put me down 35 cs then ask me to pick up the pieces Zanni: wasnt even close but sure
Zanni: not laning with a troll Zanni: picking ziggs and afking is trolling Zanni: you couldnt lane with him either Zanni: well Zanni: bot isnt a 1v2 so Zanni: you cant afk at lvl 1 Zanni: it ruins everything Zanni: its like jungling while missing both of your buffs Zanni: it does Zanni: yep Zanni: they hit lvl 2 Zanni: you get zoned for next 10 mins Zanni: youre very naive Zanni: its legit top 1^ Zanni: 1% Zanni: of players Zanni: yes people know how to zone Zanni: pretty simple thing Zanni: pretty easy when youre up 40 farm Zanni: youve never played bot Zanni: I can tell Zanni: its different bot Zanni: its a 2v2 Zanni: nhope Zanni: different dynamics Zanni: only thing we should group up for Zanni: is reporting ziggs Zanni: go for it Zanni: I know you dont Zanni: because youre defending a troll Zanni: because im trying to get Zanni: some cs Zanni: vs a thresh Zanni: no shit its not a free lane Zanni: 1 cs Zanni: yeah you are naive Zanni: you die trying to get the cs Zanni: is my point Zanni: I cant sit under turret and lose 70 cs Zanni: and go about the game normally Zanni: does work like that Zanni: doesnt Zanni: not 1 wave Zanni: its more like 10 waves Zanni: you dont anything about bot lane Zanni: thats all im saying Zanni: i'll mute now Zanni: nah Zanni: cant even play mid properly Post-Game Zanni: you dont know shit Zanni: about bot
Zanni: or even mid really Zanni: ziggs had no intention of winning this game
Zanni: glad you defend his behavior though Zanni: keep trolls alive Zanni: I didnt
Zanni: thats why I was mad Zanni: I glad a valiant attempt
Zanni: while ziggs wasnt Zanni: *gave Zanni: yes Zanni: LOL Zanni: I wasnt
Zanni: but the irony is Zanni: ziggs was
Zanni: and yet you dont care Zanni: you'd rather point at me Zanni: that was my complaint Zanni: ziggs is afk
Zanni: but you think I was Zanni: lmao
Zanni: I was until ziggs trolled
Context for anyone interested (no this doesn't justify my behavior):
Diamond 4 game. I was agitated about losing my last 5 matches. Support locks in Ziggs with clarity/ghost. He AFK's at T2 turret, comes back when I'm level 3. He decides to roam at level 1. Skip 5 minutes forward, I am getting dove under turret by enemy Kayn and their bot lane. After maybe 10 minutes, I had accumulated a large number of deaths to pair with my very low cs. Our mid laner (Ekko) had been making snappy comments towards me and I failed at biting my tongue. He was the other person I spent the next 15 minutes arguing with before muting.
As I said before, I'm happy to take a punishment for this game. Definitely some precautions I could have taken. I could have muted everyone, played music to help center myself, or even just dodged the game entirely.
Thanks for anyone who's read this far, I'll wrap it up soon I promise.
I just really wish I had received a warning. Do you think I would have behaved differently had I known this game was a make or break scenario? This seems absurd to me. This would be like if you lost your job of 2 years because you came in to work 30 minutes late one day. Or if you lost your license over a speeding ticket, despite having your driver's license for several years with no other infractions. In what world do we live in where people don't tilt in league? This stuff happens man.
The main point I wanted to make here is that I felt like Riot's punishment on me had been incredibly severe. I don't think this game is a good display of my character. I've played over 800 ranked games this season, the majority of them in the chasm of D5. I've remained cool, I kept grinding despite what was happening around me. But I had a breakdown in 1 game.. and poof cya rewards. Everything I worked so hard for is gone in less than 30 minutes. It really is the worst feeling ever.
My recommendation: have players drop 1 or 2 honor divisions if they are chat-restricted. Increase the number of divisions dropped for the severity of the their actions. The system in place right now is frustrating. Not only does it knock everyone down to honor 1 or lower, but it locks your honor. This means anyone who gets punished after August is not getting their rewards. To put that in perspective, someone who gets punished at the beginning of the season for making misogynistic or homophobic comments has a better chance of receiving rewards than someone like myself. Is that good? I don't think so.
