Many ARAM games in League of Legends are quickly turning into a toxic cesspool, and League players are starting to take notice. A loophole in the way toxicity from ranked games is being handled has spilled over into ARAM lobbies, leaving Howling Abyss enthusiasts scratching their heads and asking: “Why us?”
In Patch 13.19, Riot added ranked restrictions that punish players who dodge queues and troll ranked games. If you get restricted from playing ranked, you must wash your hands clean in five games of a low-stakes game mode like Blind Pick, Draft Pick, or ARAM. The loophole here, though, is that you only have to play five games–not win them. The obvious problem with this is that the trolls who ruined someone else’s ranked game are coming into your chill ARAMs and running it down just so they can get back to solo queue.
This new rule for ranked restrictions came into effect with the launch of League patch 13.19, and players are begging Riot to do something about it.
“No idea why they made it 5 games instead of 3 wins, everyone could see it coming that people would just try to lose as fast as possible,” one League player on Reddit said earlier this week. “They literally required you to win normal games to be able to queue for ranked again as a punishment in season 2-3 and removed it … not only could anyone see the outcome of this current system, but they already had the solution over a decade ago and ditched it!,” another player noted.
Before Patch 13.19, ARAM lobbies were a safe haven usually entirely free from toxicity. Of course, every ARAM player has the one-off game every once in a while where some fool would make their presence known to nine other strangers, but for the most part, ARAM was completely separated from League’s toxic brand. Following the implementation of the latest patch, though, the toxicity that was usually prevalent (and thankfully contained) to ranked Summoner’s Rift games has made its way to our beloved bridge.
As a dedicated ARAM player myself, I really thought there’d never be a way that Riot could actually mess a Summoner’s Rift system up so bad that it affected the level of fun that me and my friends have playing ARAM. Now, the game mode is basically un-queueable unless I have a team of five, simply because the trolls are looking to bang out five quick games so they can get back to ranked games.
Riot has yet to release any kind of update on this change, but with how loud the community has opposed the new system, it’s possible, if not likely, that something will change or be reverted in time for the next patch. League players have been quite outspoken about this change, and with how popular ARAM is (large in part to its complete dissociation with Summoner’s Rift), making another change to support the Howling Abyss’ player base is something that Riot must be considering.
