Riot Games Takes Aim at Toxicity: League of Legends Communication System Overhaul in Patch 13.19

 

Riot Games Takes Aim at Toxicity: League of Legends Communication System Overhaul in Patch 13.19

Over the years, League of Legends players have continually explored inventive methods to tease their fellow gamers, whether it involved the notorious question mark ping on the map or classic in-game banter via chat. In an ongoing effort to combat toxicity, Riot Games is set to make a notable adjustment in the game's upcoming Patch 13.19, aiming to enhance the overall gaming experience.

Chris "Auberaun" Roberts, the product lead for League of Legends, announced today that Riot Games is revamping the communication system. In this update, scoreboard pings, when used by players, will only be visible to the individuals who trigger them. This means that the days of incessantly pinging a player, causing "Champion Name – Alive" messages to flood the chat, will come to an end. Likewise, players can still ping specific items in their inventory or ultimate timers to display them in the chat, but these pings will remain private to the user and won't clutter the chat for others.

Another contentious addition to the ping system, the bait ping, is also getting the axe. According to Auberaun, its common usage in solo queue and other game modes is deemed "unacceptable." Riot Games plans to introduce an alternative in a future update.

Nevertheless, some members of the League of Legends community are concerned that these changes may remove valuable communication tools that eliminate the need for typing. For instance, during a late-game scenario, players may ping a teammate's spawn timer, enabling a split-pusher to defend the base without recalling.

One user on the League subreddit expressed this viewpoint, saying, "Can we not remove communication tools in a game where communication is important because some people are dicks?" Many others echoed this sentiment, suggesting a potential compromise for the ping system, such as placing a relative timer on certain pings to prevent spamming.

In the bigger picture, these impending alterations represent just one facet of a broader initiative aimed at mitigating toxicity in League of Legends. Riot Games recently disclosed plans to require toxic summoners to participate in remedial non-ranked matches, such as blind pick, draft pick, or ARAM, before regaining access to ranked solo queue.

The League of Legends community can anticipate the arrival of Patch 13.19 on Wednesday, September 27, when these changes are scheduled to go live on the servers.