Nina Forneloza 
League of Legends, infamous for the toxic behavior within its community, is poised to introduce a new penalty system aimed at curbing poor in-game conduct in patch 13.19.
For years, League of Legends has ranked among the top five most toxic games according to studies on internet discrimination. This problem has persisted for years. Riot Games implemented methods aimed at reducing toxic behavior including chat restrictions, account suspensions, and bans, but the problem just doesn’t seem to end.
However, in League of Legends patch 13.19, Riot seems to be getting serious by implementing a system with more severe punishments. This will prevent toxic players from joining particular matches and make them think twice before doing it again.
What is the new penalty for toxic players for League of Legends Patch 13.19?
According to the League of Legends dev team, toxic players will be punished by losing the ability to play ranked matches.
Under this new penalty system, players will have to play non-ranked modes such as Blind Pick, Draft Pick, ARAM, and rotating game modes without displaying bad behavior before they can play ranked again. Offenses that can result in this penalty include feeding or inting, leaving the game, going AFK, and being toxic in the game or chat.
Moreover, as previously discussed by a Riot developer in a Reddit post, players who find themselves subjected to this penalty will have to complete five non-ranked games before they can regain access to the ranked queue, regardless of the severity of the offense. This system is similar to the “low priority queue” seen in Dota 2. This will serve as the initial punishment while Riot is gauging the system’s effectiveness in deterring toxic and disruptive behaviors.
While a portion of players welcome this, there are concerns that it might inadvertently transfer toxic behavior into non-ranked game modes. Many agree that players seeking a fun, stress-free experience in low-stakes modes like ARAM could find themselves frustrated when encountering a higher rate of toxic teammates.
To address these concerns, the Riot developer told players the company will monitor the unranked queues as well. If there is a noticeable uptick in reports of toxic behavior infiltrating non-ranked game modes, developers will revisit this feature and come up with another approach. On the other hand, some have also raised concerns, pointing out that the smurfing issue needs a concrete solution as well.
When will the LoL patch 13.19 arrive in League of Legends
League of Legends patch 13.19 is scheduled to be released on September 27, according to the official patch schedule.
Alongside the changes to toxicity punishments, the update will also be the balance patch used for Worlds 2023. This includes buffs to Jhin, Lee Sin, Pyke, Lissandra, Galio, Gangplank, and Syndra, alongside nerfs to Rek’Sai, Renekton, and Zeri. It will also add the La Ilusion skin line based on Dia de los Muertos with Draven, Gnar, Nidalee, Qiyana, Renata Glasc, and Ziggs all included with Renata Glasc getting a Prestige skin.
