Penalties for impaired players?

Xenos von Faneli·5/27/2017, 9:01:00 AM·5 votes·623 views

So I recently had a game with a player who was high, as he so loudly announced through the use of all caps to let us know he would suck. And honestly he was one of the main reasons we lost, he would rarely gank, and when he did it usually was at the wrong time and he would go too deep and die, or would get into fights in river and then keep fighting for a bit before realizing he should run, usually resulting in his death. Now this is not the first time I've dealt with players like this, nor do I imagine it to be the last. And whereas I'm sure a lot of use have played games impaired in one way or another: be it alcohol, marijuana, or simply major lack of sleep, it does still beg the question, is this ok? For whereas the players may not always feed, if they do nothing but meander around the map and react at a snails pace to the events of the game, the end results are usually the same. I doubt for example a pro player would be allowed to show up to a tournament drunk or high, and most will probably agree that playing in a severely altered state of mind is not fair to your teammates. And isn't the reason we penalize actions like feeding and being afk because of the negative effect it has on the other players. Not sure what actions if any can or should be taken but I will say I think it's something that might merit some thought on Riot's part, and I for one I'm quite tired of this occurring as it has ruined many a game for me. Thanks for the read, would love to hear Riot's take on the matter.

10 Comments

Aeszarck5/27/2017, 8:44:50 PM5 votes

Tantram addressed this issue before.

[{quoted}](name=Riot Tantram,realm=NA,application-id=ZGEFLEUQ,discussion-id=iWgl6LEN,comment-id=0002,timestamp=2017-05-04T22:04:55.152+0000)

I'll send you a breathalyzer that you need to blow into before each game.

######Basically, it's impossible to prove.

Shadòw5/27/2017, 11:58:46 AM3 votes

I doubt for example a pro player would be allowed to show up to a tournament drunk or high

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHiEYIEkqyc

ModThe Djinn5/27/2017, 11:56:19 AM3 votes

There is no penalty for this, and will not be. Riot isn't going to enforce rules of a players out-of-game behavior. Additionally, many things (being grumpy, tired, hungry, distracted, etc) can harm your gameplay -- should all of that be against the rules as well?

In short it is an overreach, impossible to prove, and potentially a slippery slope.

Galacius5/27/2017, 10:33:10 PM2 votes

Hello Xenos,

I understand this is frustrating but let me see if I can help. When you have players that are intoxicated or under the influence, it can be difficult for them to game. In my opinion, they probably shouldn't play a team game when they are under the influence. However, there are remedies in place - the after match reporting system. This article here explains the reporting system --> http://na.leagueoflegends.com/en/news/game-updates/player-behavior/reports-how-do-they-work and this section here "Even if no one is punished, the system stores the report and game info to better inform future decisions when players are reported again," explains what happens when a player is reported more than once. What will likely happen (if they show a pattern of this behavior), is that there will be a manual review of the case (like what they did with the singed support and nunu double jungle) and inform the player that they are negatively impacting games. I hope this helps!

Drunkèn Master5/27/2017, 4:31:07 PM1 votes

As long as you don't queue with such a player, the odds that the enemy team will have this type of player is higher than your own. I myself play normals when I'm under the influence, for the simple fact I don't want to needlessly give up LP, which I think is completely fine.

d4rkshock5/27/2017, 9:26:27 AM1 votes

Its fine if it's a Smurf though because they want to make it a challenge. But I haven't seen this in the 2 years I've been playing.

Coltron775/28/2017, 11:12:12 AM1 votes

[{quoted}](name=Xenos von Faneli,realm=NA,application-id=ZGEFLEUQ,discussion-id=GLnA1cRF,comment-id=,timestamp=2017-05-27T09:01:00.676+0000)

simply major lack of sleep

Really? You want to punish people for not sleeping enough, should I be penalized if my dog died and I am a distracted? Should I make sure to take vitamins and take supplements, meditate first, find my center, and talk to my therapist so I am in tip top condition to play a free video game for 40 mins? Get over yourself