The Cassiopeia patch made a lot of changes to the League of Legends we know and love, and it finally brings some automatic anti-leaver technology to the client. The problem is, no one really knows how it works, because Riot hasn’t really told us. I think it’s great that the system is there, but a big part of the system working is that people know how it works, so the threat feels very real. I drive more slowly around the holidays because I know the cops are out and they are using radar guns to track my movement.
Riot needs to do the same, to let people know that the game is being policed. Think about the reporting system. I was excited when it launched, but since it takes months for reports to be followed up on, players continue behaving as they see fit, often like assholes.
Here’s the extent of what we know about Riot’s Automated Leaver Ban system. From the announcement forums:
This system will automatically detect those players who habitually leave games, issuing immediate suspensions to summoners who intentionally disrupt gameplay. These suspensions will be targeted towards those whose behavior is habitual and malicious, not those who experience occasional internet outages or technical issues that cause unintentional disconnects.
This new feature, released today, is the result of our development team’s continued dedication to providing you with the best possible player experience when you play League of Legends. And it’s only the tip of the iceberg! This is just the first step in a series of methods that we have planned to help address the issue of poor player conduct in game. Excited? You should be!
And this one from Zileas in the general forums:
Q: I just got disconnected from two games! Am I Going to get banned?
A: Probably not. The system will nail you only for a pattern of doing this. Two leaves may be sufficient to give you an automated warning, but it is not likely to ban you in MOST situations.Q:This sucks. I just leave when my teammates are newbs.
A:Newbs hate it when people leave too.Q:This sucks, my internet is terrible because [insert provider here] is horrible. Is there a God? This isn’t fair.
A:You are ruining other people’s experience if you are frequently leaving, regardless of the reason you are leaving. Riot games has a policy of not answering theological questions.Q:How long can I get banned for?
A:The automated system can ban you for anywhere between 1 hour and 7 days for any particular issue. However, we will be sweeping the records, and will periodically perma-ban people that hit the 7 day ban too many times.Q:Are ranked, normal and practice games treated differently?
A:At present, we give double penalties on ranked game leaves, because like, it’s a bigger deal. We don’t track leaves for purpose of leave banning in practice games at present.
Really, we need some numbers. Leave five games in a rolling two-week period and get a temp banned. Three temp-bans equals a permaban. Something like that. People need to know that they’ll get banned, and when. Sure, some people will probably skirt the system, but for a lot of players, the threat is enough to keep them around.
Also, this doesn’t in any way address afkers in games, though most of the time I don’t mind that as much. It doesn’t happen to me often, and when it does my team is usually feeding badly enough that I’m ready to be out of the game. Also, Tamat did mention that more things are coming, so we can hope for anti-afk measures soon too.
