AFK Forgiveness for Ranked Matches Proposal
So I've put at least 3.5k hours between DOTA and LOL and one thing I have noticed on the LOL platform is a lack of forgiveness for players whose teammate(s) may AFK during ranked matches! [slayer-jinx-unamused]
This is something that that is included within ranked game plays in DOTA and would be a great addition to the ranked system on LOL. I find it difficult to understand why a team, who is short handed and affected by a quitting player, does not have some sort of LP forgiveness for a potential loss. In bronze / silver / gold / wherever, there are quitters who rage for any reason and receive no / negative LP regardless of their teammates win / loss, but say the opposing team has the advantage and the likelihood is they are probably going to win the match - whether it is by surrendering or simply being over powered, the lack of manpower to support the win late game hinders a player's desire to keep trying, though early game this may result in more xp and available CS farm, this is ultimately a negative experience for everyone. We all know this, but the loss of LP or even if you're in your promo makes people rather upset and negatively impacts a player's perception of this game. If this is truly a game made by players for players, there needs to be a change in the way a team with less than 5 players is penalized for a leaver.
Consider this:
Player A leaves before minute 10 / doesn't connect and does not return before minute 25 - team receives a loss prevention status preventing loss of LP and negates series loss status - this prevents trolling players who may know about someone's need to win a final promo match and the troll decides to simply ruin their chances by quitting, while forgiving the players who still try and lose. What if someone abuses this and simply quits by minute 18 and returns by minute 30? The player should be reported by the team and system does not provide a loss prevention, this should only be applicable if the disconnected player(s) do not return throughout the match. So what happens to the player who quits after minute 19 threshold? Loss of LP and current leaverbuster programme protocol. What if the player who was disconnected due to technical difficulties and returns at minute 19:59? Nothing, the system should recognise a leaver as someone who has been away from the match for a set period of time 8-20 minutes. What if a player's team is getting wrecked and they tell a player within their team to simply quit to activate prevention status? This is a complicated issue and would be a negative impact for the player who quits. Depending on their leaverbuster status they should simply lose LP and if they have done this multiple times before they won't be able to join a match with their friends due to the lower priority queue activation.
This is one of the most aggravating things I have encountered in this game and is simply poorly handled by the current systems- granted this is something that doesn't happen often, but when it does it really makes me reconsider playing ranked matches when there is nothing in place to relive the loss I am likely going to have. Just something to think over and hopefully this is something we see implemented in this or next season!
