Why is LoL so toxic? Legit question.

XinZhao2WinNhao·Nov 20, 2016·5 votes·1,472 views

And before you say "because LoL is a competitive game" Overwatch, Smite and Starcraft are a lot less toxic than LoL.

What is it about LoL (and Dota 2) specifically that make the communities so toxic? And why do toxic players have such a leverage on how everyone enjoys a game? one or 2 toxic players in a game can hold everyone else hostage in LoL in a way that doesn't happen in Overwatch, Smite and Starcraft, for example.

Why does the majority of the community condone toxicity? (and yes, the people posting here against toxicity are in the minority, there are toxic players every game, and as long as they get good KDAs nobody complains about them or reports them). Why do people think it's more important to have a good KDA even if they're toxic?

13 Comments

redniwediSNov 20, 20161 votes

It really is because it is a competitive game. The level of toxicity isn't really measurable by a single person because you only see a small part of a community when you play. There are weeks where I see almost no toxicity in League, but that doesn't mean League has gotten better, or has very little toxicity. Same goes for when I see toxicity every game.

Overwatch, Smite, Starcraft, all have toxicity. It stems from the feeling of frustration you get when you try your best, but your best isn't good enough. You lash out at other players, at developers and their balance choices, and anything else you can blame because you tried your best. It's in Call of Duty, it's in PvP Minecraft servers, and every MMO I've ever played.

The problem isn't that "X game seems more toxic than others", the problem is that there is toxicity in the first place. League isn't the most toxic game out there, but in the end it really doesn't matter what game is more toxic than others.

bad arcade kittyNov 20, 20161 votes

starcraft is 1v1 overwatch is less competitive, smite probably too

also lol is actually fine, i personally find a certain level of banter comfortable

XinZhao2WinNhaoNov 22, 20161 votes

I find a certain level of banter comfortable too.

But summoners making death threats, actively refusing to work with a team, cussing at each other, making racial slurs, and using down syndrome and autism as an insult is not comfortable banter, that's just toxic abuse.

bad arcade kittyNov 23, 20161 votes

{quoted}

I find a certain level of banter comfortable too.

But summoners making death threats, actively refusing to work with a team, cussing at each other, making racial slurs, and using down syndrome and autism as an insult is not comfortable banter, that's just toxic abuse.

"actively refusing to work with a team" - literally not a chat-related issue "cussing at each other" - that's perfectly ok, if you are not comfortable with it use /mute "using down syndrome and autism as an insult" - it's literally not punishable on this forum (search for something like "retarded" if you want a proof), why should it be punishable in game? leaving aside that it's a silly demand "making death threats", "making racial slurs" - personally i don't see much problem there (the first literally means nothing unless they know your real identity and the second is perfectly legal and i meet it a lot in the classic literature after all), but i suppose it should be punished with chat restrictions or something

XinZhao2WinNhaoNov 23, 20162 votes

[{quoted}](name=bad arcade kitty,realm=EUW,application-id=ZGEFLEUQ,discussion-id=JEfLpyRY,comment-id=000100000000,timestamp=2016-11-23T01:29:09.970+0000)

"actively refusing to work with a team" - literally not a chat-related issue

Still toxicity. my post is about toxicity.

"cussing at each other" - that's perfectly ok, if you are not comfortable with it use /mute

I don't care personally but when 2 people are cussing and typing too much and thinking up their "witty comebacks" they're not playing the game.

"using down syndrome and autism as an insult" - it's literally not punishable on this forum (search for something like "retarded" if you want a proof), why should it be punishable in game? leaving aside that it's a silly demand

It's punishable in game, the issue is that it's so widespread Riot can't catch them all, that's why the solution needs to come from the community and not from Riot. Riot is doing its best to catch toxicity and punish it. But players keep choosing to be toxic there's so many Riot can't ban them all. I ask my question so that I hope we can figure out what the problem is and let the community figure out a solution.

"making death threats", "making racial slurs" - personally i don't see much problem there (the first literally means nothing unless they know your real identity and the second is perfectly legal and i meet it a lot in the classic literature after all), but i suppose it should be punished with chat restrictions or something

Read above.

YourQQNov 21, 20161 votes

It's really not that toxic relative to similar games. I heard DoTA 2 was similar.

SC2 has older players since it has a price and that's a barrier to entry for some kids.

It also appeals to far fewer people due to its higher intellectual complexity and learning curve. Thus, there's a bit of self-selection. There's also no one to really blame in SC2 other than yourself. The game has had historically very good balance and it's mostly a 1v1 affair. It's more like chess. People are forced to accept their responsibility.

Xiao Shuang YuNov 21, 20161 votes

I've only played overwatch a few times but I think it could be because of the game length? It's short and if you don't like you're team, you can just leave the game with no punishments .

Magneto81Nov 21, 20161 votes

I get upset with myself when I make a mistake in league - even just missing a CS. It's hard not to project the same feelings at others when you see them screw up. I think that is a big part of it - when someone makes a mistake in league your whole team can see it.

MUSHROOM MIDGETNov 23, 20161 votes

its because of how the game works. the rules and setup on LoL are incredibly toxic and the toxicity spreads to the players.

snowball - league of legends is a snowball game. that means the worse your teammates do the stronger your enemies get. that is a setup guaranteed to create bad feelings towards your own team. as your allies feed the enemies more and more, they also make you more and more useless.

you cant leave - league of legends is a loooong game. many games take 40+ minutes. in such a long period of time there are going to be games where you are having a bad time. there could be trolls, the other team could be snowballed out of control, or somethign could come up in real life. and you cant escape. you are trapped in that game for the duration. being trapped in a game for 45 mins against a team that is hugely fed and are not trying to end is the most toxic situation i have ever been in. i just want to leave and do something else but it is not allowed.

trolls - some people just like to troll. and largely because of the leaverbuster rules, LoL is the perfect game for trolls. in most games if someone is trolling you just leave the game and problem solved. in LoL you are trapped with them until the game ends. on top of that they can feed the enemy and make them stronger or take your cs and make you weaker directly impacting your gameplay.

the toxicity starts with the game itself and spreads to the players. other games arent like that.

Chief TrollNov 23, 20161 votes

It's toxic because it fosters a capitalistic ranked system where once you make it to the top, you stay at the top and never get challenged for that position again. The rest of the players are all clawing at the pyramid that was built and stepping on each others hands, feet and face not realizing they're too stupid to just band together and form a human ladder to the top. In other words, the carry to win mindset trumps the teamwork mindset here and that creates hyper-competitiveness that translates into heightened emotions and the intolerance of simple mistakes, albeit those mistakes should not be present in a competitive ranked environment when there is a perfectly good training facility (customs and normals, soon to also have its own practice areas).