League of Legends' New Ranked Penalties Aim to Punish Toxic Players in Patch 13.19

Riot Games is once again attempting to address the persistent issue of toxicity and players' inappropriate behavior. This time around, those caught engaging in such behavior will face a more severe consequence: a temporary suspension from accessing the ranked queue.

Given its high-stakes competitive environment, it's no secret that League of Legends has earned a reputation for having one of the most toxic communities over the years. Despite Riot's efforts to discourage disruptive behavior through punishments, the issue just doesn't seem to go away.

League of Legends Introduces Ranked Penalty Aimed at Curbing Toxicity

According to the League of Legends dev team, the new penalty system will disable the ranked queue for offenders and require them to play remedial games in non-ranked matches before they can return in the ranked lobby.

Players who receive this penalty won't be able to play ranked games until they complete a certain number of non-ranked matches, regardless of whether they win or not. Non-ranked matches include Blind Pick, Draft Pick, ARAM, and Rotating/Featured Game modes like URF. The temporary disabling of access to the ranked queue sends a clear message in League of Legends that inappropriate behavior will not be tolerated.

Severe violations leading to this consequence include feeding, inting (intentional dying), leaving the game, griefing and offensive chat and behavior in-game.

Official and further details about this change will soon be revealed in the League of Legends Patch 13.19 notes. However, Riot Games' representative, HuntedFork, has already provided some insights into this upcoming addition in a Reddit post. According to HuntedFork, the approach involves penalizing players who receive this penalty by requiring them to complete five non-ranked games, regardless of the seriousness of their offense.

The introduction of this new penalty system has received a positive response from many players who see it as a step in the right direction. This change may encourage players to pause and reflect on their past behavior while they are out of the ranked lobby.

On the flip side, some have raised concerns, stating that placing offenders in non-ranked games might be a bad idea. The fear is that the toxicity that was once confined to the ranked queue could spill over into these more relaxed game modes, tarnishing the experience for those looking to unwind and have a good time. Several players have also pointed out that these individuals may end up "soft-inting" or surrendering early as soon as the timer hits 15, just to finish the game, thereby lowering the quality of those games. With this change, there's a worry that it might drive others away from laid-back and low-stakes games like ARAM and Normal games.

Meanwhile, a portion of the player base is instead requesting a "Prisoner's Island" or a toxic queue that would group penalized players in the same matches. However, Riot has consistently opposed this idea. They have also added that if there is an increase in reports of toxic players in non-ranked games, they will reevaluate the situation and explore alternative approaches.

This new ranked penalty is expected to arrive in League of Legends in League of Legends Patch 13.19, on September 27, 2023.

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