Boards›Player Behavior

Why am I not allowed to have an opinion because of my rank?

Kotex·3/31/2017, 5:03:16 AM·28 votes·3,682 views

Straight to the point there are so many people that just flat out shoot anything anyone says down if they rank is less than gold. No matter what it is, its validity is only measured by the rank of who it comes from even if it has valid points that can be considered from person experiences and personal takes on them. I am going to say this outright hurts my feelings. I want to feel like i am a welcomed part of the community and it people can hear other people out. But instead nobody cares about other people because of their rank--doesn't matter what kind of person they are, what they say, what they think, how they play for certain.

  • A challenger player can say the sky is blue and people will nod and agree because their rank is high. Not because of what they said, but because they said it with a high rank.

  • A silver or lower player can say the sky is blue and will be degraded for being silver or lower ranked. They can make their point politely, amicably, but that doesnt matter because of their rank. Not because of what they said, but because they said it with a low rank.

This genuinely makes me sad as someone that comes here to be a part of the community, and is made to feel completely unwelcome because I dont have time to play to raise my rank--i dont have TIME for it, nor do i enjoy playing for it. I'd like to think i am a nice person that people would get along with (granted they arent being dicks, i still am human), but that doesnt matter to people because of my rank. I could have a bad game and be dogged for deserving it because of my rank (in an UNRANKED game no less). I could have a good game where i deserved to win, and i will be dogged for being lucky because of my rank. I am overlooked scoffed at and treated like a pariah because of my rank. People look at my rank first and judge my entire character as my rank. That is terrible. That is a terrible thing to do.

My Rank in a video game is not my worth as a human being. Being bronze doesnt mean i dont have feelings. Being bronze doesn't mean im worthless. There is a human being behind this moniter and when you tell her shes worthless, her opinions don't matter just because of an arbitrary rank it HURTS her feelings.

Why must i be a professional just to be a part of the league of legends community? Why can i not have anything i think or say be considered because im a lowly bronze? Why do i have to appease people to feel good and be treated with respect when i've done nothing to deserve such disrespect and discrimination other than be bronze? Im not allowed to talk about ANYTHING because im low ranked?

I have spent 7 long grueling years with this game, i have sat through a total of 101 ryze reworks, Rally summoner spell, "Singed's Best Friend", Soraka jungle, before there actually WAS a jungle, Pizza feet, Katarina's original voice (dear god), Tons of damage, Krepo when he was an ADC, Bjeregsen when he played with Deficio before even coming to america, Reginald when he was a Top laner, Blitzcrank when he was a top lane pick, voyboy being voyboy, Shaco mid, Master yi mid (in season 2 long before faker made it cool), when you could stay permanently invisible as Shaco with a sunfire cape, Atma's impaler, Deathfire grasp, Zhonya's ring, 100% ban kassadin, spirit of the elder lizard/ancient golem being a rush item on LANERS, and much much more. I have experience with the game, but in those 7 years i just simply dont care to play for rank, and i recently only davvle with it from time to time just to get a rank because i enjoy more serious games sometimes, but not caring to climb in and out of them.

This will probably be ignored, overlooked, this is an unpopular opinion that nobody will care about because im not platinum at least. But i wanted to get it off my chest. Im sure others have been told things like this. How can people feel good about themselves for being discriminatory?

66 Comments

Thrëat3/31/2017, 5:54:33 AM7 votes

Going to be honest, I didn't read your post, just the title.

The reason is because you are Bronze and the last 2 seasons you've only been around low silver to mid silver. This means your game knowledge is very low and your perception of league balance is very skewed.

You might truly believe your game knowledge is on point and there is another factor holding you back, such as team mates, mechanics, champion choices, etc, but I can tell you that if your game knowledge is on point in League it will carry you to at least Plat 5 unless you have an actual disability that is holding you back, such as cerebral palsy or have had a stroke.

This is why League balances around Plat, because at this point people are **starting ** to finally play League the way it is meant to be played. And by starting I truly mean only STARTING, there is still a big jump as you go higher in rank.

To put things into perspective, I could go Morgana ADC and stomp Silver so hard and anyone that I was matched with would now think that Morgana ADC is strong and requires a nerf. Literally anything played in any way by a legit good player will stomp silver. This is why the opinions of low elos do not matter.

SilentBomber4/1/2017, 11:45:52 AM6 votes

I strongly agree with you.It's one of the reasons i gave up posting on EUNE/EUW boards.When Silver players post about something like matchmaking they get downvoted immediately.When Plat + players post about the same subject they get upvoted.

It's simply hilarious :D

Mizuki Zahra3/31/2017, 7:11:44 PM5 votes

Im bronze because I don't devote my life to league. things happen and my cousin is diamond who just started to play this year actually but I have been playing for years and she still asks me for advice on champs at times and I get advice from her also. I actually had her write something on my account online here answering something that she knew a lot about since she mained that champ and I used her acc to write something similar but slightly off to see peoples reactions and well ya mine got ranked shamed with -50 downvotes and the comment that was wrong had like 120 upvotes all because of rank. ppl even commented on mine telling me not to give advice because im bronze lol oh well.

unless your top 10 you have no right to rank shame anyone about how to play a game

IcyPepper3/31/2017, 5:09:38 AM5 votes

It's one thing to have an opinion, it's another thing to act like an authority on the subject.

Rank shouldn't be too much of a concern for the former, but having a higher rank makes you more credible if you're going to act like the latter.

Hari Michaelson3/31/2017, 6:08:55 AM4 votes

You're right. And what's funny is that Challenger advice is often of little use to other players because the game operates differently at that high of a level (other than general game mechanics).

The unfortunate fact is that League players are pretty mean in general. Age doesn't have much to do with it because angry teens often turn into angry adults. People playing this game just get salty, a lot, and the only thing you can really do is mute them or ignore their comments. I just recently climbed from bronze to Gold and a big part of that was muting anyone who started to flame. The other part was just focusing on cs and not dying in the first ten minutes.

You should add me in game. At the very least, you'll no you have someone on your team who actually has your back. : )

Ethan Allen3/31/2017, 5:22:56 AM3 votes

Because people have superiority complexes.

Tuition Fee4/1/2017, 5:32:08 AM2 votes

As you've probably seen in school or at work, there are very, very few people who take criticism well, even if it's given in a polite, civil and reasonable manner. Unfortunately, we can't do anything about anyone else's personality quirks. If you mind your own behaviour and don't shoot down low elo player opinions, then that should be enough action on your part. All you need to know is that if anyone shallowly decides that a video game should determine your personal value and judges you based on how well you can hit a keyboard, chances are, they're either very young, or simply don't have a broad enough view on life. These kinds of people aren't worth trying to help anyways, as it upsets both them and you. They see your help as an attempt to dictate their play style and actions. It'd be better to mute them or leave them be.

BeatzBoyFTW4/1/2017, 8:25:21 AM2 votes

It really depends on how they lay out their thread. Sometimes Bronze/Silver players tends to want others to share their opinions on things, which is good, while other Bronze/Silver players tends to think they're the center of balance and acts cockily with their balance suggestions, which is bad.

I rather listen to:

"So I think Lee Sin has been really powerful & could deserve some nerfs, but I don't really know if I'm right or not. What do you guys think?"

Instead of this:

"Aatrox is so fucking OP! He literally has no counterplay, why does Riot never act on this?"

iFearedAMinion3/31/2017, 5:06:50 AM2 votes

https://boards.na.leagueoflegends.com/en/c/gameplay-balance/jLGvQ3Wk-before-you-make-a-post-about-balance

^ this

rito usually weighs plat+ opinions as much more valid than gold and below. Plats and above usually understand the different nuances of the game much better than people at lower elos.

Cocho3/31/2017, 7:04:53 AM2 votes

It's like when you're trying to get a job, and there's a hobo Gragas on the side of the street telling you he knows a good way to get one.

You might be hesitant to believe the hobo, no matter what he says lol

Now if some Jayce dude in his fresh new car drove up to the side of me with Sona in the passenger seat and Lux Janna in the back, I'd be a bit more inclined to believe him.

Packun Flower3/31/2017, 7:59:27 AM2 votes

You can try and answer the questions with facts and research and red posts and what not the sad and simple truth is Rank discrimination exsists in this community because Riot themselves encourage it.

They have come out publicly numerous times and told the community that anyone below plat elo has no idea how to play the game properly and the Devs want absolutly nothing to do with the low elo players.

Riot is like the government for our community in a way. When the Government encourages a community to discriminate then thats what because the norm in the communitu no matter how right or wrong it is. I only ever climb to gold but i played so long that being a second class community member with no voice is something i just come to accept.

Its always been that way and always will be.

Melledoneus3/31/2017, 3:55:06 PM2 votes

The best way to get around this is prove what you're saying, and then proceed to turn the rank card on their heads.

For example, I had a Diamond player claim to me that Shen counters Darius. Now, we all know this is bullshit. So I turned it back on him and said "well, either you are flat out lying or you don't deserve diamond. The fact that a Bronze can objectively point at a Diamond and say that they're bad speaks a lot more about your rank than your emblem."

Pride destroyed.

TrulyBland3/31/2017, 5:46:37 PM2 votes

The reason why people automatically dismiss a bronze player's opinion is the same reason why people tend to trust the opinion of experts even when the subject is completely outside of their expertise. Humans like to simplify things into very simple patterns, and thus there are only two kinds of players: Good players, whose opinion can be trusted blindly, and bad players, who are never right. And the most funny of it all: Everybody has their own threshold as to who is considered bad/good and why. So somebody who dismisses your opinion because your bronze, might have their opinion dismissed by somebody who's even more elitist, or simply has different metric by which they judge a player.

Relevant Shakespeare quote: "The more pity that fools may not speak wisely what wisemen do foolishly."

Edit: That said, the only, and I mean only excusable argument that features somebody's rank, is when somebody is making a general argument based on personal experience, since that can actually be the result of a skewed point of view. But honestly, that goes both ways. A diamond player might not be able to grasp why a certain champion is so frustrating to play against in low Elo, that the champion needs an overhaul.

JoeMG3/31/2017, 9:48:05 PM2 votes

Technically, being a higher rank means you have more game knowledge and have just spent much more time on the game which makes their opinions more credible. The other hand is that they tend to be bigger jerks about it because of the large amount of time they have spent for their rank. Talking down to lower ranks helps them justify the amount of time they wasted on this game to get there. The funny thing is I found most challenger players and above are actually very helpful and accepting of low rank opinions and willing to offer help without boasting.

BereInBurta3/31/2017, 6:17:12 PM1 votes

Uhm, I don't understand your problem. It's a video game, you have a team of 5 they have a team of 5, you fight to destroy the nexus. Mute all is an option, chatting with them is another option. You choose an option that makes you sad, and that's weird. Better choice would be to mute all and enjoy the ACTUAL game.

PaladinNO4/1/2017, 3:42:18 PM1 votes

A challenger player can say the sky is blue and people will nod and agree because their rank is high. Not because of what they said, but because they said it with a high rank.

Not to be that guy, but I just want to make a slight correction there: every Challenger player I've ever played with haven't said a word - they have all consistently just dominated in complete silence. Likely while sipping a cup of tea or something.

But on a serious note, I know what you mean. I've been in several matches where rank has apparently been the decider on whether one is allowed to speak (at all) or not.

Not long ago, there were 2 premades filling the chat with irrelevant stuff in some obscure language. After a couple minutes of it, I politely asked if they could speak english, or if it was not relevant to the team, use PMs. The replies was rather offensive, though have become not unexpected:

  1. "i wasn't talking to you"
  2. "get to diamond then you can talk to us"
SneaselSawashiro8/9/2017, 8:50:27 PM1 votes

Simple, EVERYONE just hates low elo players within Bronze and Silver. It's easy to hate on someone and tell them to go kill themselves all because they suck at the game and have no voice. :P

GG I'm bronze as well, go and hunt me down to assassinate me if you want cause possibly 100% of what I'm saying is instantly deemed to be a lie because of my rank. Can't wait to climb out of that damn elo...

Always these stigmas:

: Always blames teammates : Always says the wrong things : Always has bad toxic mentalities : Always are a bunch of apes that bring disgrace to the community : Should be told to die in a fire : Should not be valued to say anything and should commit suicide : Should have their houses burned down and have their mothers get assaulted

Low elo alone is just a cancerous thing to discuss, and why would anyone logically listen to someone from that elo range?

Even if these stigmas are exaggerated, hell, I'm sure people are going to say this whenever they see my OP.GG:

"Oh, what a &$*got bronze veteran, he's a shame on all of mankind cause his build paths suck and that he can't optimize for crap"

Well, I'm not sorry if I can't play the usual Thunderlord's meta without over 1000000 HP tanks blocking my crap positioning vs. the ADC I need to assassinate in low elo.

But aside from all that, sure there have been people who say "you shouldn't be ashamed to be in bronze", but making fun of bronze players is basically a common meme nowadays.

Apdo/Dopa himself said in one video that ironically enough, players around bronze-to-gold are the ones who come up with the crazy new builds at times; the one Kassadin build he came up with was actually from a gold player. https://youtu.be/LPExhkl6CwU?t=33s Then again, high-rated players/pro-players have to stick with shit that works and wins; lower leveled players have more freedom within their stigmas to fuk around more often.

If you see my OP.GG, I blame Instalok for the Blukong build vid. Fervor of Battle was the push I needed to make it work.