Earlier this year, we received new Honor Level 5 recalls, but has this improved the issue of toxicity at all? Are players incentivized to be nicer online? Well, Riot gives some answers and a look into the future of League of Legends.
League of Legends is one of the most toxic games out there. Sure some might argue that CS:GO or Valorant are even worse, but the flaming, rage and AFK-goers are everywhere and anywhere in League of Legends. This year, Riot decided a new strategy to combat toxicity.
Of course, they'll continue to punish the toxic players on the platform, but Riot has also shifted focus onto those players that don't show such toxic behavior by positive reinforcement. This was done by improving the honor system in League of Legends and to add more – as well as better – rewards for those who reach the final level of honor in LoL.
New Skins Added to Honor Level 5 Shop
When you reach the final honor level, you get Honor Level 5 tokens which you can then redeem in the Honor Level 5 shop to pick up skins or chromas of your choice. This has been pretty stale with the two skins available being Grey Warwick and Medieval Twitch, but Riot is going to shake things up starting in 2022.
They're going to add a brand-new skin line called 'Three Honor'. Each year, a new champion will receive a Three Honor skin. The first champion to get a Three Honor skin? None other than Malzahar.
With Riot adding in an exclusive honor level skin line, the team has decided to stop making new chromas for Grey Warwick and Medieval Twitch every year as well. You'll still be able to get the skins and the existing chromas, but no new ones will be added according to TimTamMonster.
Need to reach Honor Level 5? Well, try out this pick even if she isn't the most impactful in the current meta:
Riot Implements New Features to Combat Toxicity
In the Riot Gameplay Update, TimTamMonster also touches upon future ideas to try and make solo queue a better, less toxic environment for players. Sure, the new skin is nice, but a few added features will also be introduced in the coming months, so let's go over them real quick.
New Chat Features Coming to LoL
If you're playing with your pre-made, Riot might be looking to give you a chat option for you and your pre-mades. This means that you won't have to deal with toxic chat from others in your team even before you mute them. This won't even give them a chance to flame you, since you'll only be in a chat with your pre-mades and friends.
Riot Adding In-Game Reports
Have you ever played League of Legends and had an awful teammate consistently flaming you after missing a single skillshot? Then, once the game is over, and you're back in the client, you forget to report them because you just want to get out of that toxic lobby as quickly as possible?
Well, Riot is working on something to change this. It seems like Riot is going to be working on a new in-game feature to combat toxicity and that is in-game reports. So, if someone starts flaming out of nowhere, you'll be able to report them right away without having to wait for the end of game lobby.
Find Players You Honored Before
If you've played alongside someone you felt like had good behavior and gave them an honor, Riot is looking to implement a new system which will let you play alongside those players again and find them as well. In the Gameplay Update, TimTamMonster did state that even with the new strategy, Riot did not see any change in how players used the honor system.
Yet we didn’t see a change in the way players use Honor (which we expected). We know players sometimes use Honor to reward good play rather than good behavior. We were hoping that with a clearer link between the system and the reward, players would be encouraged to use it as a way to show their appreciation of good behavior
By adding in a feature that should let players try to find ones they've honored before, we could see a change in player honor behavior as Riot wants. Whether that will come true is going to be seen though as Riot works on making League a better place for all players.