So, you want to fix the issue of AFK in ranked? It's pretty simple... Three Strikes and You're Out!
For years, I've been reading suggestions as to how Riot can curtail the problem regarding AFKs/leavers in ranked. Most solutions are well intended but typically have glaring flaws that the community debunks immediately and/or are summarily dismissed by Riot. With all of that having been said, here's an idea that I think solves a lot of these issues swiftly and harshly---the only way to deal with a problem such as this.
Ranked play is supposed to be the most competitive aspect within League of Legends. Frequently there is talk about how League is now a sport or e-sport, and if we're going to really consider something like this then there needs to be harsh penalties for those that violate rules/terms to keep the 'sport' as fair as possible.
If someone AFKs/leaves a RANKED game, the individual will receive the normal LP loss that they would have otherwise earned, multiplied by 4 (the remaining players in the team), in addition their account receives a strike against it. The remaining players (those that did not AFK), if the game turns out to be a loss, receive a "Loss prevented" with no penalty. While the other side still receives a win and standard LP gain. Incidentally, if the team happens to win 4v5, then the offending party still receives the the LP loss of the losing team.
If the original offending party leaves/AFKs a second time, the same scenario happens once again and their account receives a second strike. Should the individual leave one more ranked game during that season they will receive a third strike and their account will be suspended from ranked play for the duration of that season. In addition, if the offender leaves three games in a subsequent season, their account will be permanently suspended from ranked play. No exceptions will be given---three strikes and you're out.
There Riot, I fixed ranked play for you while simultaneously working around the usual qualms people have about these types of suggestions... here, I'll show you.
"But this could be exploited" -- Not really. Sure, you could use one of your strikes as a means to troll or leave a game, but with seasons lasting for the better part of a year, there wouldn't be a whole lot of room for an exploitation. Not to mention, the losing team doesn't receive an ELO boost, they simply don't lose LP/ELO. People that would "exploit" this system would quickly find their accounts suspended from ranked play for a season or entirely. If Riot really felt it was an issue they could even go as far as to suspend the offending players' smurf accounts as well. So, that "it could be exploited" point is pretty much null.
"But life happens, what about that?" That's not the fault of the other players in the game, so just make sure your "life" doesn't interfere with them, and if it does then you had better be certain it doesn't happen three times during a season.
"But my internet is bad", then may I suggest shelling out the money for good internet or asking mommy and daddy to get better service--whatever applies. Now before we go any further, someone will inevitably bring up Riot's server issues... this can be problematic (although their servers have been a bit more reliable of late). If Riot has a server issue then this should never be held against a player and windows of time immediately before/after "Loss prevented" has been activated should serve as a grace period so that someone's account doesn't receive a false strike against it. However, this is a fringe issue at best so if somone wants to use that as an argument against I would say it's a pretty weak case at best.
"But my computer crashed" - Not the other players' problem, get a better one if you want to play ranked... or don't let it happen two more times.
"But my power went out" - same as above.
Now, this brings about one little wrinkle into the situation, "what if someone is disconnected but returns to the game? why should they be penalized?" Ahh... a fascinating question. If the offending party was abscent for more than 50% of the total game time then they are still penalized... if, however, they return then it should be up to the other nine players to determine what happens... in this case and this case ONLY, the players reports should be taken into account. If a two-thirds majority of players (6 out 9 or if two afks then 6/8, etc) agree to "REPORT PLAYER AFK" then that player will be given a strike against their account, this prevents the losing team from spamming reports and requires the winning team to have at least 2 players that concur. NOTE: This situation only is valid in cases where a player disconnected and returned to a game. A player that was in the game the entire time will not be subject to reports for leaving.
So, in the above scenario, if a player disconnects, but returns and plays in 50% of the game or more then they are not penalized unless the community (the players that actually played the game) determine in super-majority that they should be.
That's pretty much the suggestion. As an alternative for an automatic permanent suspension, their account could be temporarily suspended and then reviewed by the Tribunal (if it ever returns) and then the community could ultimately make that distinction as well, however I feel a simple three strikes and you're out style is best for RANKED play.
Now, I know you might say "well this will just move the AFKs/leavers into draft/blind/TB, ARAM, et al" ... perhaps, but they are still subject to leaverbuster and the penalties (including low-priority queue) that come with that as well.
This system has low exploit potential, harsh penalties and solves about half of the problems that people have with ranked at this time, what more could anyone want? Still, I'm open to suggestions, but Riot... I think you should implement this yesterday, get on it!
