Buzz
(Homeland) - Riot made only minor adjustments but is evaluated as having 'redeemed' LMHT.
In League of Legends (LMHT), there are numerous mechanisms, such as Early Surrender, various buffs... These mechanisms, whether few or many, all influence the outcome of matches and players' experiences. Of course, there are quite a few mechanisms that only operate under specific conditions and leave gamers very dissatisfied. The most notable one being the Early Surrender mechanism.
For LMHT players, Early Surrender is no longer unfamiliar and is a distinctive feature of LMHT compared to many other games in the same genre. Specifically, in the case where a match hasn't started yet but a player disconnects, is inactive for a certain period (AFK), players can Early Surrender to find a new match. If the current match has already begun, players can only Early Surrender after 15 minutes.
The difference between Early Surrender at the beginning of the match and after 15 minutes (previously) is that at the beginning, with just 3/4 remaining votes in agreement, the match will end immediately. Whereas in the remaining case, there must be agreement from all 5 members for the match to end. If even 1 out of the 5 voters disagrees with Early Surrender, the match will continue.
This is what has often made many players uncomfortable. Because, typically, those who disrupt games will also not agree to end the match early. Therefore, in update 13.7, Riot decided to make a change they had been hinting at for a long time. That is allowing the match to end if 4 out of 5 members agree to Early Surrender.
Such a simple adjustment, yet Riot is fervently praised by the community. According to many arguments, players can fully perceive whether a match has the potential to be salvaged or not. And trying to cling onto a match that's already lost will only waste the time of other players. Not to mention, continuing the game only 'helps' the disruptors continue to make other players uncomfortable.
Riot's changes up to now still bring about a lot of controversy. For instance, players will find it difficult to experience the feeling of turning the tide. But Riot has reasons to make adjustments and the community itself has acknowledged: these changes could make LMHT more user-friendly, more in line with players' preferences.
