This is why new players are quitting

big fat frog·6/9/2018, 5:51:03 PM·6 votes·5,248 views

Low level norms are an absolute disaster right now. They're supposed to be a safe haven for new players to learn how to play League of Legends. Now, however, the average difficulty is around the level of Plat ranked games, and the toxicity is off the charts.

If I were playing low level norms right now on my first account after joining the game, there's no question that I would not keep playing. It's a trainwreck. Everyone in there is either dodging a ban, smurfing to train a new account, or both. It's hopeless for new players.

This video discusses these points, and proposes a couple of potential solutions. Let me know what you guys think.

22 Comments

Chermorg6/9/2018, 6:28:11 PM6 votes

What you and the video fail to realize is that you aren't new. The only way to get a valid estimate of new player experience is to take someone who has never played league, don't explain them anything that isn't in the tutorial, don't coach them, and throw them in to games by themselves.

Truly new players like that are matched with other new players. Players who are Smurfs are matched with other Smurfs. New players duoing with old players or Smurfs will be matched with Smurfs. The difference in skill between a Smurf and a truly new player is so massive there is virtually no chance a truly new player playing games on their own will ever find a Smurf in their games until they're at least level 15-20, if even then.

Arammus6/9/2018, 8:46:12 PM5 votes

without watching the video: i remember when i was new. i got flamed so extremely hard and ppl told me i get banned for ruining their game/feeding. i was literally so scared that i played over 500 games vs ai's before i slowly came back to normals. and when i leveld a smurf alone and one with a friend (who was new at the time) it was literally the same. the toxicity is really insane in low lv games.

ModKnightsKemplar6/9/2018, 8:00:17 PM4 votes

Now, however, the average difficulty is around the level of Plat ranked games, and the toxicity is off the charts.

I don't see how this can possibly be true when only the top 10% of players are even in plat.

Please explain those stats to me. You're telling me that there are more diamond players playing norms than bronze players?

Pika Fox6/9/2018, 8:47:32 PM3 votes

Itt, people who trigger smurf detection think the smurf experience is the new player experience.

Yatol6/20/2018, 8:00:25 PM1 votes

this is 100% true

almost all my games in draft before lvl 30 where filled with toxic flamers (blind draft was not as bad)

when i finally hit 30, toxicity was becoming more rare

KZ Engel6/9/2018, 10:37:34 PM1 votes

actual new players rarely get placed against smurfs

his solutions are bad. just completely get rid of bans for words. change chat restriction to chat ban. then, on the off-chance that a new player gets placed against a smurf, it's not a smurf that couldn't care less about their account.

Ekitaih6/10/2018, 2:21:44 AM1 votes

Honestly, I think that the first option that was proposed in the video would be counter intuitive to what you are trying to establish. If you want new players to stay, but punish on a single infraction, then odds are, they won't stay. Plus, how would we determine that single infraction? What would be the parameters? If they were mildly toxic, would the get the immediate ban? What if the only thing they said the entire game was "noob." Permaban? I think that system would be a bit too harsh. The second system is no better, IMO. If someone says the aforementioned "noob" and gets a warning about being permabanned, would they really want to stay? In a system that is so harsh? It would alienate new players as much as a toxic player might. I mean, having a toxic ban system is probably worse than having a toxic person, that you can just mute. I think the biggest flaw in your argument is the fact that you are using your own experience in this video. You have no other evidence other than that of your own, you have no "new player experience," because you aren't a "new player." The system in place determines whether you're a smurf or not and decidedly places you with other smurfs, which should be the case. Your skill level is typically determined by ten games, if I'm not mistaken (I feel like I read this somewhere, although I wouldn't be able to produce those links as I don't remember where I read it. So, take it with a grain of salt.) Your own experience should be coupled with evidence from several other experiences to provide more accurate results. This is called research. Rather than make assumptions based on a single experience, research is required to make an educated theory. I'm not saying that there isn't an issue. Everyone knows that the system isn't perfect, but I don't think your suggestions would really fix anything. In fact, I feel they would do more harm than good.

Escheton6/10/2018, 2:24:54 AM1 votes

Welcome to League, a game where people flame you for being a n00b in a beginner level bot game.