League of Legends’ ongoing struggle with toxicity is a factor in all of its game modes, despite various initiatives in place seeking to reward players for non-disruptive play. To further incentivize good behavior in League, Riot Games is taking a new approach this year that builds on the Honor 2.0 project.
TimTamMonster, the new product lead for behavioral systems at Riot, detailed major changes coming to League’s Honor system this year, as well as provided updates on trends that internal punishment systems have been noticing. Many of these behavioral changes are expected to be released as the year progresses, leading up to the end of the season.
Only five percent of players in League’s player base are noted as “consistently disruptive,” whether that be through intentional feeding, win-trading, or other methods of play that aim at ruining the game for others, according to this developer blog post. The other 95 percent are the recipients of 86 percent of reports, despite not being constant perpetrators of disruptive gameplay.
Punishments akin to post-game reporting will also be coming to reporting in Champ Select since these were not implemented in the way they were planned to be. “Champ Select reports only make up about 3.2-percent of reports today,” TimTamMonster said. “But we know that your experience in every part of the game still matters.”
Part of the changes to incentivizing positive behavior in League includes new rewards that players can earn by being honorable throughout the season. Players who have reached Honor 5 or were honorable in their previous games will earn a special recall animation. TimTamMonster also hinted at an “exclusive skin” currently in development for players who reach Honor 5 before the end of the season. Annual rewards for high Honor levels, including wards and skins for Warwick and Twitch, will continue to be available for honorable players to earn at this time.
Players can expect more focus on behavioral systems within League, including more incentivization of the Honor system, as the year continues.
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