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Too many AFK. It's getting worse, here are some fixes riot!

DanHGamer·12/13/2015, 1:14:31 AM·1 votes·981 views

Ok, So I've been in silver for months now. I'm sure if it weren't for the AFK and troll players I would at least be in gold by now, as would so many others in "Elo hell".

1 out of 4 games have a troll or AFK player in ranked, either on my team or the enemy team. This means 1/4 games are won by luck, because the enemy has a troll/afk player, not so much skill. Surely the system can see when a player has 0/0/0 or 0/21/0 after 10 minutes and know that something isn't right?

There's no excuse for riot to penalise the entire team for one player's actions, at least reduce the LP loss. Because AFK and troll players, at least in my opinion, have been getting worse. I remember playing like a year ago and getting maybe 1/6 games that had a player AFK for the whole match. Maybe it's due to the increased number of players? This is the biggest issue in league right now, and it must be addressed because it's getting worse and dragging the game down.

So here's my suggestions, for ranked play only:

  • Increase/decrease LP gains/losses based on individual skill. A player with 21/3/10 should not get the same punishment as the rest of the team when losing, because it's obviously not their fault. The system should also penalise players who have dramatically bad scores like 0/20/0. A score like that isn't a player having a bad game, it's obviously a troll/toxic player and they should receive warnings like AFK players.

  • If a player is AFK for more than 50% of the total match time by the game's end, cut the winning LP and losing LP for both teams by half. The winning team hasn't really earned their win as much as a normal match, and the losing team should not be so heavily penalised for one AFK player.

  • When a player is regularly AFK or reported, ban them from ranked games, period. And quickly, like if they're AFK twice in the same day, stop giving them so many chances, warnings mean little to these players. Giving them a longer wait time is not effective in curbing this trend, because it's just getting worse. Instead, let them EARN the right to play ranked again. Make them play 3 non-ranked games in a row without going AFK or getting reported, then they can play ranked again. This will actually get players to become more sportsmanlike by having them practice at it. Those who continue to go AFK or troll while in non-ranked matches, can stay there, and possibly with longer wait times.

  • If a player has had any kind of ban or penalty due to AFK or reports in the past week, do not add them to the games of other players currently in promo. There's nothing worse than being in promo, having worked hard to increase LP, only to be thrown back 5 matches because of one AFK player in one match. That's a rage-quit right there.

I realise that some people have bad connections, but a 20 minute "low priority" queue obviously isn't working. When you have a 25% chance of losing a match because of an AFK player, on top of actually trying to compete, it just makes me not want to play. So make the players letting everyone down earn their right to play ranked again by playing in non-ranked matches. Unless Riot make some changes and deal with this problem, League just isn't worth me playing anymore. The premise of this game is that with enough practice and skill, you can improve your rank. But it means nothing when you get AFK/troll players during promo.

I really hope riot sees this, if you guys can think of any other constructive ways to improve the current system to deal with the scourge of troll/afk players that's ruining league then let the riot people know!

4 Comments

My Sea Cow12/13/2015, 1:26:41 AM3 votes

When a player is regularly AFK or reported, ban them from ranked games, period

THIS! THIS! THIS! Can I get a like for just that?!

Hunts and Dips12/13/2015, 2:05:01 AM1 votes

These suggestions have been made for years. Here are the problems:

  1. Reducing lp loss/gains when there is an afk will mean players could have a duo partner leave so you don't lose as much Lp. It could also cause players to bully someone into leaving a game.

  2. Basing lp on what you call "skill" (lmao) creates a team death match environment. People will just focus on their own kda instead of trying to win. This would not be good for the game.

All of the suggestions low elo players like you make are not creative and allow a lot of room for abusing the system. Anything that can be abused will not be implemented by riot. They do a really good job of banning people already and you have no proof or credibility for your claims of afks.

Also I guarantee you that even if you never had an afk on your team you would not be gold already lol. The number of afks for you and the other team evens out in the end.

Downvoted.

JRobin3112/13/2015, 3:14:22 AM1 votes

so... the situation has actually improved. It used to be 9 out of 10 games had an afk and now it's only "1 out of 4". [slayer-pantheon-thumbs] Frig Off Lahey said it how it is: the OP's suggestions have been made before, examined, and found wanting. But it's a bit bold to say the OP would not have made gold if he didn't have afks, I think the two of you should settle it on the howling abyss 1v1.