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Riot revises 'ping' function but faces substantial objections.
For Esports enthusiasts in general and specifically for League of Legends players, toxic behavior and game disruption are all too common, almost a 'daily affair in the neighborhood'. In regions with a flourishing LMHT community, these issues are even more severe. And anyone can fall victim to it, from ordinary gamers to renowned professionals. Even LMHT's GOAT like Faker has had encounters with game sabotage or toxic players.
One of the tactics employed by 'toxic' players is directly pinging teammates' accounts whenever they make mistakes or get defeated. This behavior invariably leads to frustration and discomfort among many players. After a few continuous pings like this, instead of playing the game, both sides get embroiled in endless arguments. This naturally impacts the remaining team members while only benefiting the opponents - those who are winning and feeling more psychologically at ease.
To counteract this, Riot has recently made direct adjustments to the game. Starting from version 13.19, players will no longer be able to directly ping teammates' nicknames. Specifically, cases like '(player's name) - Still Alive' will only be visible to the pinger, with the pinged player remaining unaware. These adjustments are part of Riot's efforts to improve the gaming environment for the LMHT community - an endeavor the publisher has been grappling with for many years, ever since LMHT began expanding into a large, global community.
However, for players, Riot's approach only underscores that this publisher truly cannot tackle the root of the problem. Some suggestions propose that Riot could limit the number of times a player can ping their teammates. Because if it's completely removed, there will be instances where players need to remind each other about item builds or buffs but will face difficulties. Additionally, there's a blunt opinion: 'Riot banning these behaviors will only prompt toxic individuals to devise even more cunning ways to disrupt the game, causing annoyance to others.'
However, Riot still faces numerous unresolved issues. Moreover, at least for the time being, players won't have to endure the constant pings in the chat window if they happen to make a mistake in itemization or a faulty move. Nevertheless, Riot's adjustments are still sparking debates within the global LMHT community.
