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League Community and its inability to Understand "New" Players

JainaProudgurl·7/19/2016, 2:19:21 PM·164 votes·7,591 views

So today, I was playing by myself in solo queue. I'm level 30 and have been playing since Season 2. I got stuck in a game where there was a low level, and of course, I was against him. I quickly overwhelmed him and we were talking in all chat, and I was telling him I'm sorry that he got a crap matchup, since it was his first time playing his champ in normals and its not like it was his fault he had to go against me. But that's not what annoyed me. Here's this new player that autolocked a champ because he didn't know how to play anything else, and then he goes and does horribly. Doesn't the league community get that this is punishment enough? Apparently not. Instead, I sat there and watched as his entire team converged on him, saying that he's a noob and that he's the reason they're losing, when he's trying his best to play. Whats even more annoying, is that these people aren't even doing well themselves. I mean in this specific game, they had a Teemo ADC that though he was some kinda big shot. All I could do was argue for him in an attempt to make him feel better.

I mean, we all started somewhere, and I know the community wasn't that bad when I started. I mean I come from Season 2; there was no matchmaking system that put me with other low levels. My level 30 friends all immediately forced me into PvP matches, and they gave me tips on how to play and get better. Back then, I was this guy. Game after game, I would autolock the same character. Game after game, I would do horribly. And you know what? Back then, I only heard one thing: "You tried your best."

It makes me sad to see what this game has come to, and what it used to be. I'm writing this post for both high and low level players, both experienced and inexperienced. This is a game guys: Its not life or death. Another win doesn't guarantee the world won't end. And are we people? Or are we animals? Our inability to comprehend what these new players go through now days is just aggravating. Ever since I became a decent player, I spend every waking moment with my low level friends, helping them getting better at the game. What makes us human is our ability to work together to achieve things, not tear each other apart like rabid animals.

So next time you meet one of these people, I hope you have the decency to support him to whatever ends it may be. Lets teach these new players what league is about. Its about meeting new friends and having a good time. Lets not go down as some crumby generation of ragers, know-it-alls, and arrogant pigheads. Instead, lets go down as the people who understood.

116 Comments

Dukues7/19/2016, 3:09:57 PM40 votes

Season 1 vet. I know what your saying. I never remember being bullied for being new. I did not even know what jungle or support meant until season 2 when I started playing ranked. And I probably had 1000 normal games played by then...... Now if you don't have a jungle and support in a level 5 game people rage like crazy. And its pretty much impossible to jungle unless you Warwick Nunu pre 30 without runes/masteries.

I have 3 level 30 accounts and ranking up was not fun at all. A few games I am the asshole beating up on new players. Then after a few games it turns into playing with other smurfs raging every game. The 1 to 2 actual new players in those games are trying their best and everyone is raging at each other and the new players. It's a really shitty environment and I have no idea why anyone would stick playing with this game these days if their new. Unless they had a ton of friends who play it. And since all these new players see is raging and flaming they believe it is part of the game and pick up on doing it as well.

It just sucks even trying to teach new players because they are expected to play like veterans when really it should be all about having fun and trying new things. I mean obviously it helps to learn the game but you should not be expected to know everything about every champ, items, build in low level games.

No flash no life7/19/2016, 3:31:03 PM22 votes

I refuse to believe people are harsh to new players simply because of their poor performances. They intended to bully others to begin with, and poor performance is nothing more than an excuse to justify their verbal abuse.

We're not dumb, we know very well putting blame on someone is only going to make his/her performance worse. We do it anyway because we don't care about the game and it's something else - our ease of mind - that we're after; whether the game is lost or not is none of our concern as long as we had the pleasure of demonstrating hate speech at its finest.

Damagefox7/19/2016, 2:45:59 PM12 votes

I have been playing sinse season 3, and I see this too often. You have players that can say they are new, and yet the team is all to happy to tell this NEW player how the are such a noob, how much they suck. How the other team needs to report them for intentionally feeding (When they are still learning). But these people are so full of themselves, they think THEY are perfect and expect everyone else to be perfect as well.

I try and help where I can. If someone wants to know something, I am all to happy to try and explain it to the best of my ability. I am not gonna fault them because they are learning a new game. But so many players on this game have become insufferably full of themselves. They sit on a high horse and spit on everyone below them because they think THEY know everything about this game and if someone is new to the game they say "Go to bots!"

Yeah, a bot game can show you how the buttons work, but it cant do a thing about timing, mechanics, picking up ques from your team (like a jungler waiting in the bushes being a signal to bait them back away from thier tower). A new player wouldnt get things like that and its not something programmed into the bot AI.

But No one cares about anyone but themselves, the idea that someone would be new to the game is unimaginable to these people.

I have had many times where a new champion has been released, and People would flame and throw the worst toxicity at a player who didnt immediately "Platinum level hard carry" the entire team with the new champ....5 minutes after thier release.

players are so full of themselves they expect every game to be a perfect game, and heaven help any new players still trying to actually learn how the game works.

elduris7/19/2016, 10:58:24 PM9 votes

I love this post, thanks for making it. I've been playing since season 1 and while the game has lost a lot of the charm that comes with the mystery of newer games, I still enjoy it a lot. It really sucks when people all gang up on you like that. Luckily there are people like you out there to make it suck less. Keep fighting the good fight and I will too.

Fox Byte7/19/2016, 8:11:49 PM5 votes

Thank you, I mean I'm level 30 now and have been playing for several months but still thank you. It was a horrific experience when I first started and when I first played ranked. So for all the new players out there you are kind to I just want to thank you.

Swaid7/19/2016, 7:58:32 PM4 votes

I've been playing since before there were seasons and things have definitely got worse over time.

I think League should implement a tutor program like Dota, offer IP or RP as incentive for veterans to teach newbies in a friendly environment in sand box mode.

scazzman7/19/2016, 3:26:28 PM4 votes

In my experience. People actually tolerate newbs. When people get mad. Its because people ARAM thier way to 30. Think they are ready for ranked. And then they refuse to listen to the most basic instructions

SlntReaper7/20/2016, 4:43:11 AM3 votes

Welcome to the internet. People are usually like this, but since lol has gotten bigger, more people are coming in. And that increases the flamers and trolls. As a result, actually good hearted people leave for other games because lol is too toxic. Then those toxic people fill the gap. It's a vicious cycle made possible by the anonymity of the internet. I can be a dick about whatever I want and because they don't know who I am they can't fight back. Even popular people are not immune to this. Take a look at one of Laughing Fish's recent posts where he mocked RaptorKarr's mother even though it was a sore spot for him. Lol isn't gonna get better any time soon, and it could get a whole lot worse. The thing is, LC$ and the encouragement, no requirement, that you be god at your champion has created a super competitive environment where the only thing that matters is winning. "Screw having fun, I like fucking with the sorry ass motherfucking shits that I beat the hell out of." That's the player Riot is cultivating. And they know it, since they obviously aren't doing anything about it. Riot isn't gonna do anything because Lol as it is brings in too much money. And we all know, money, not the spin on the earth caused by asteroid and Moon collisions, makes the world go round and round. I am one of those new people who has sat back and just watched lol from the beginning of season 6 till now. And I can tell you, at preseason 6, the toxicity wasn't as high. But as dynamic queue, Tecent pressures, and LC$ took Riot's priority list, they forgot about the noobs. The tryhards. The people who play this game to have fun. Instead they encourage you to vent your frustration at your team. Alas, this happens to every multiplayer game. World of Tanks. World of Warcraft. DOTA 2. It is a corporate decision to oppress us by using our fellow players so they can remain in control. So we are actually worshipful when they do something they request. Internet companies know the people who play their games are extremely desperate, and they allow this abuse to happen because it boosts their rating when they do something. Even if it's just to make more money. It's all a corporate game of money and profits. At this point, Riot doesn't care about us and they actively manipulate the player base for more money. Look at the new PROJECT skins. Skins like PROJECT: Ashe were so highly received that they made all of this First Strike bullshit. They know we have to do what they want and buy their First Strike chests so we can feel better. They overprice the OP champions so we have to buy them for RP. The average lol player isn't gonna earn 6300 IP in a month, or even two months so they feel obligated to get them for RP. Riot actively uses this toxicity to also make a point. The point they make is one of coercion: do what they want or you won't see the player base get any better. It's like a drug. The more you use it the more you want it, so your supplier ratchets up the price so you want it more.

PlenHeart7/19/2016, 6:07:22 PM3 votes

For one, I love this, you said it right. I didn't start playing till the end of season 3 and I remember right from my first pvp games my friends invited me to, I got hit hard by verbal abuse, including one of the "friend of a friend" people was calling me shit for buying the wrong items, not that I knew what to do, I didn't really understand much back then. Anyways, it's really nice to hear such a positive message, it does give me a bit of hope for the community. I still scarcely believe that I ever made it this long with the game, but meeting some friends and nice people like you really helped. Thanks for your kindness. :)

Demopyro27/19/2016, 8:29:20 PM3 votes

Here's my story of being a Dota2 smurf. I used to play Dota a lot, and one day, one of my friends recommended Lol. I downloaded the game and was placed with people who had no idea how to play the Moba genre. At that time, I was like a toxic smurf. I easily crushed waves of beginners. Then, I got placed with the real smurfs. While I could play with them, I realized how toxic and ego maniacal they were. They kept on spamming chat, threatening reports to all players there. Seriously, I think I saw Tyler 1 level toxicity. Realizing this, I decided that I didn't want to be like them, and now I am not toxic anymore. I really like that someone brought up this topic. ALSO VOTE FOR WHOEVER WANT ASHE THORNMAIL TUTORIAL REMOVED

TheSingularity7/19/2016, 10:40:04 PM3 votes

Started in season 3. My first jungle game at lvl 16. I fed a lvl 30 shaco. 3 people flamed me. But the shaco tutored me in pink ward placement, leashed my buffs, showed me how to gank and even leashed me a baron to give a big "f*ck you" to the rest of my team. It was fken hilarious as me and the support danced in baron pit with their team. And then they killed the other 3 when they turned up uninvited. Then we resumed dancing. Think they were pre made cos they ffed at like 50 minutes.

I'm forever in that shaco's debt [zombie-nunu-hearts]

I WILL TROLL YOU7/20/2016, 11:44:27 AM2 votes

Psssh , just get gud.

Do you even ranked bro ?

Reported non meta pick.

I think that about sums up the community.

Magical Player7/19/2016, 6:08:58 PM2 votes

did you know, if you are new to anything you're automatically the least knowledgeable person there?

If your going to insta lock a champion, do poorly. It doesn't matter if your new or not. That is typical league hazing of under performing players

FireStorm217/21/2016, 4:16:16 AM1 votes

"Ever since I became a decent player"

I laughed when I saw this but ya man I agree. (since he is Bronze 1)

BreakYourShell7/19/2016, 6:13:10 PM1 votes

I guess im lucky when I was playing against high lvls when I was low lvl it wasnt the enemy team flaming me , it was my friends in the skype and they were just making excuses to not play with me... now that Im typing this I dont think the lucky one :(

cornpirde7/21/2016, 6:31:01 AM1 votes

I started in S2 and played on and off a lot through out the years but the league community is a joke lols, I honestly feel League was at its best S2~ mid S4 things just went to crap.

Feel Apathy7/19/2016, 6:59:03 PM1 votes

We tolerate newbies, but those newbies are the most toxic scum I've met in a couple of years now and nobody likes that hence why you got the idea.

PapaGreg217/19/2016, 7:26:17 PM1 votes

You do realize it was YOU that made him miserable for half an hour by playing on a smurf account right? The reason everyone was mad at him was because you involved yourself in a match where you didn't belong and not only made it unfun for him to play, but I assume the rest of his team as they had to deal with a 4 year veteran while they were still learning.

Child Puncher7/19/2016, 5:48:13 PM1 votes

it's not that they can't accept them due to inability, which is a nicely crafted phrase by someone who is EXTREMELY butthurt, acting as though these people have some sort of mental deficiency because they're tired of riot's system placing you with them

the toxicity is bread by a bad matchmaking system, people who've played for years don't really ever want to play with new players, it just brings the entire competitive-ness of the game way down, and this is perfectly understandable

it's not your fault for being new, but it's not really their fault that the system places new players be default in mid silver when they've known for years now that new players in almost all situations play like bronze 5 or worse and should not be placed up to 9 divisions above that as a default for being a placeholder in 10 games

Weathered7/20/2016, 9:57:45 PM1 votes

Off topic ~

All I want to say is that, in regards to normals, my games range from Bronze to Diamond players. I'm in mid Gold. If I hadn't looked up the people, I couldn't tell who was who. My Diamond adc will get first blood against the silver support on the other team, but then their bronze mid comes and double kills botlane.

I honestly can't tell people by their rank, which makes it hard to try to help people (which I try to do). I don't want to tell this Diamond player that his ability is an aa reset because I'll either look like captain obvious, someone who is condescending, or something else. But the guy honestly doesn't know.

And I'm here saying fml because the season I actually do well enough to climb is the one where everyone either doesn't belong in their rank or believes that everyone doesn't belong in their rank.

Blanchimont7/21/2016, 4:03:38 AM1 votes

It's hard to convince new players to play 500 games so they can get to level 30 for all their masteries then play another 1000 games so they can buy enough champions for ranked and then another 1000 more games for runes in so they can actually win in ranked.