Surrender at 20

Red Post Collection: Be Victorious, One for All returning soon, Worlds Hub & Merch, new /ALL Chat, & more!

Today's red post collection includes a look at the BE VICTORIOUS teaser, a look at the October 1st patch update, L4T3NCY on the upcoming return of One for All: SR, Lyte with a Q&A on player behavior, a look at the in-client Worlds hub, a reminder on the new Worlds merch, a new episode of /ALL CHAT, and more! 
Continue reading for more information!


Table of Contents


Be Victorious

With the end of the season coming up, we have a teaser for this year's Victorious skin and confirmation that the 2015 ranked season will end on November 11th!

"Over the course of the season, you felt both sides of a stolen Baron. You carried hard and took the occasional ride in a teammate’s backpack. The struggle is real, but victory is sweet. Now it’s time for one last push. 
Make your mark and be Victorious before November 11."

Remember, the Victorious skin is a ranked reward for Gold and higher players at the end of the ranked season! Victorious skins are for champions with a high impact on ranked and professional play throughout the season and  it has been confirmed this 2015 Victorious skin will be for a marksman. With this new teaser and those clues in mind, we're predicting this year's skin will be for Sivir!

When asked how they determine who gets a Victorious skin, KateyKhaos noted:
"Right now the main criteria is impact in professional and ranked play during the season. We also look to fill out team comps if possible, so not picking two jungles two seasons in a row. As others have stated "impact" in the season can vary from person to person, so X champion may not feel like the right choice to some number of players."

'One For All: SR' featured game mode coming soon to the PBE

As you may have seen in the 10/2 PBE update, ONE FOR ALL on Summoner's Rift is headed back to live in 5.20! Here's L4T3NCY with more info from the PBE boards:
"Heya ^.^/ 
It’s been awhile since we saw the original One For All on Summoner’s Rift. A number of new champs have come out since its last run so we thought: why not bring back the OFA funtimes? :D 
A bit of trivia for those of you collecting random League knowledge: One For All was the very first featured game mode we ever made (almost 2 years ago this month!) o.O 
One For All is a 5v5 battle played on SR where everyone on your team uses the same champion, decided by a vote during champ select. Some champs have amazing synergy with themselves (Kalista? Kalista! :D) so enjoy exploring the possibilities. 
There’s been quite a few new champions (and many others reworked) since the last time we did OFA. We’d like some help from you guys specifically testing out the following champions here on PBE before the mode goes live. We’ll be temporarily disabling all other champions in OFA for the first few days on PBE, just to help focus the initial testing on these below champs. 
  • Azir
  • Bard
  • Brand
  • Darius
  • Kalista
  • Kassadin
  • Kennen
  • Kindred
  • Ekko
  • Fiora
  • Gangplank
  • Garen
  • Gnar
  • Morde
  • Mundo
  • Rek'Sai
  • Rumble
  • Ryze
  • Skarner
  • Tahm Kench
  • Tristana
  • Twitch
  • Vi
  • Zilean
To reiterate, when OFA goes live, ALL champions will be available to play. We’re just limiting the pool here on PBE to help focus testing on the newer script-worked champs. 
Thanks guys. Now to try out that matryoshka Tahm Kench. :D"

When asked if there will be any special buffs or nerfs for this mode, L4T3NCY commented:
"We've kept the core mechanic the same for this one, so nothing in particular. 
All the above listed champs have also been made to work though, with all the crazy self-synergies you'd expect. ^_^b"

BuffMePlz also added:
"This is the original version of OFA, where each team picks their own champion (e.g. 5 Shen vs. 5 Zed). Mirror matches are possible if both teams happen to vote for the same champion."

As for how Tahm Kench's  Devour (W) works and if they can chain Devour each other, L4T3NCY replied with a handy gif representation:
"Quote:
What if Tahm eats a Tahm who eats a Tahm who eats a Tahm who eats a Tahm who eats a Tahm who eats a Tahm who eats a Tahm who eats a Tahm who eats a Tahm.
When asked how Bard's passive chimes will work with five Bards on a team, Ponts noted:
"They'll all get their own spawns. Chimes that aren't yours should appear kinda inactive."

As for what happens when a team of Mordekaisers take dragon, L4T3NCY noted:
"Only the last Morde to apply the buff get's a Dragon. :P"

When asked what happens with Zilean's Bombs in One for All, BuffMePlz shared:
"Zileans can detonate allied Zileans' bombs with their own bombs."

As of the October 2nd PBE Update, One for All is back on the PBE and ready for testing!

October 1st Patch Update

The official 5.19 patch notes have been updated to reflect a fix for ranked teams that went out on Oct 1st.
"10/1/2015 
Ranked Teams
  • OTHERWISE WHAT'S THE POINT -Fixed a bug where ranked teams weren't gaining LP 
  • THERE'S A PUN IN HERE SOMEWHERE - Fixed a visual bug where progress toward ranked team ward skins appeared to be reset. Your points were not lost."

Context on Evelynn PBE W Mana Cost Increase

In the 9/30 PBE update, Evelynn's W mana cost was increased to 40 from 0. Here's Meddler with context on the tentative change and what they hope to accomplish with it:
"We believe Eve should be somewhat more mana gated than she is at present, now that Runeglaive's in the game. We don't want to create a situation where she's OOM all the time, but adding some cost (as opposed to the current free) to the W, thereby limiting either its use or her use of other spells a bit, is we think appropriate. 
Power wise we also believe Eve's too strong at present in regular (non professional) play. We don't make changes driven purely by statistics (we aim for data informed, not data driven's). Eve's certainly right up there in terms of raw win rate though, with from memory the 4th or 5th highest winrate in the game at present when comparing champions as played by people with substantial experience on them. Eve's got a pretty steep mastery curve, so if her overall performance looks average it often means that her performance when played well is excessive even for someone on a champion they've played a lot (a phenomena also strongly demonstrated by other champs like Azir and Le Blanc who, if they're showing a 50% win rate in solo queue, are almost certainly very overpowered)."

In-Game Worlds Hub

As you may have noticed, there is a new Worlds Hub you can switch to by clicking on the Worlds icon to the left of your homepage. Here you'll find articles, schedule, and more now that the 2015 World Championship is underway! 
When asked if it possible for the new in-client "Worlds" tab will stick around during the normal season, zerocontext commented:
"Quote: 
As of this patch, the client now includes a Worlds hub in a new tab. It includes links to everything, schedule, countdown and articles. Will it be possible to keep that as an "Esports" tab for regular season? 
Or maybe add that to the new client whenever it comes out?
Good to know! This is just one way we're experimenting with new ways of serving up content in the client. We're really interested to see how players interact with the in-client Worlds Hub, since it's the first time we've done something like this, and we're hoping to learn some things that will inform ways of serving up content in the future (be it for esports or other types of experiences)."
As you may have noticed, there are also notifications (which can be disabled) that pop up as each game of the World Championship start up!

Q&A about Player Behavior Systems, Chat Log Reviews, and Feedback!

 Next up we have Lyte jumping on the boards to host a Q&A on recent player behavior systems and more!
"Hey everyone, 
We recently launched a set of features in the 5.18 patch that upgraded the Instant Feedback System. You can read more about the design of these features in a blog by Neurocat here:http://boards.na.leagueoflegends.com/en/c/gameplay-balance/Boqd81O0-upcoming-upgrades-to-chat-restrictions 

1) We introduced Intentional Feeder Detection to the Instant Feedback System for the first time, and now intentional feeders can be banned within 15 minutes of matches. We've started the settings relatively conservative to start because figuring out whether a player is intentionally feeding or just having a bad game is a tough problem, so we're not catching ALL intentional feeders today. 
2) We introduced Reform Cards in the client, and for Chat Restrictions for the first time. Reform Cards are basically summaries that show evidence for behaviors that led to your ban, whether it's match histories for Intentional Feeders, or chat logs for Restrictions/Bans. 
3) We introduced a new version of the penalty escalation system. Now, punishments in League of Legends work like this:
  • First Offense: 10 Chat Restrictions
  • Second Offense: 25 Chat Restrictions
  • Third Offense: 14-Day Ban
  • Fourth Offense: Permanent Ban
However, if a player is showing more severe behaviors, it is possible to be escalated straight to the 3rd Offense Tier, and immediately get a 14-day ban for your first offense. This also means that if you get another offense after that (even if it's a less severe behavior!) you will be escalated to a permanent ban. By showing neutral or positive behaviors, it is possible to improve your account standing and drop punishment tiers as well. 
So what are we doing here? Well, because player behavior systems have changed A LOT over the years, there's a lot of questions about what's current, what's coming in the future and what's no longer true for player behavior systems in League. We're also getting questions to review chat logs for players who believe their punishments are undeserved. Neurocat and I will be happy to answer any questions about player behavior in this thread, so let's get started! 
IMPORTANT CAVEAT: If you ask a question related to your penalty (Restriction/Ban), you will be consenting to us discussing your chat logs or in-game data publicly. Please use Player Support tickets if you wish to have your questions answered privately."

In addition to ruling on a few cases in the thread, Lyte also stuck around to answer questions:

When asked if they ever considered an IP penalty for unhealthy behavior, Lyte commented they had considered boosting IP for positive players:
"Quote:
Have you ever considered penalizing someone by reducing their IP (influence points) as a punishment system for toxic behavior?
Not exactly, but we're considering bonuses to IP for positive players. This is part of a feature in the new Tribunal voting system that we'll talk more about in the future.
As for how well the current intentional feeder detection is going, Lyte explained:
"Quote:
Lyte, how well has your intentional feeder detection system been working post 5.18 release? What does it take into account to determine is someone is actually intentionally feeding?
Thanks in advance.
The intentional feeder detection system is tuned pretty conservatively right now, so it's just catching the more egregious intentional feeders. Not surprisingly, there aren't many true intentional feeders in League anymore like the ones that buy 5 Zeals and just run down mid over and over. Sure, some players find examples and post them on Reddit, but you only see a dozen or so of these in a game with 67+ million players playing games nearly everyday. 
The system isn't tuned yet to perfectly catch the more nuanced feeders, who play normal 80% of the game, then suddenly walk into towers or run away from a team fight on purpose. These more nuanced behaviors will require more research and advanced machine learning to tease apart, and are being punished by Rioter manual reviews today.
He continued, noting the system also isn't "fooled" by positive chat in an attempt to cover up feeding:
"Quote:
Can a player really bypass the system by intentionally feeding but keeping their behavior in chat positive? 
More specifically, I decide that my team needs to have a bad day, so I walk down mid and "tower dive" the enemy laner, then commend them for skillfully outplaying me a few times.
No, intentional feeder detection doesn't ignore in-game behaviors just because chat is positive.
Lyte also commented they are currently remaking the report system and report categories:
"Quote:
I asked on Reddit once, but the Rioter wasn't 100% sure: I use "report unskilled" as a way to vent after having a bad teammate. Does this lower my report weight, or is this in anyway a bad thing to do?
We're in the process of re-making the Report System and cleaning up the report categories, so apologies for some of the jankiness in the current system. But, reporting for Unskilled Player does not affect your report weights, and the report is never used to directly punish or ban a player. However, Unskilled Player reports are used by the matchmaking system to tune the system and help us figure out weird cases where a player was accidentally propelled to an inappropriate skill level."
As for where reports go and "venting" after a game,  Lyte commented:
"Quote:
As a side note: I LIKE having a way to "vent" my frustration that isn't actually taking it out on a player. Is there a way to leave something like this in when you make the new system, or find a new way for this to happen? If not, it's not a big loss, just figured I'd ask.
We definitely understand the need to "vent" and how filing a Report helps resolve some of the frustration of playing in that particular game. We have some elements of the new system that help players understand more about where their reports are going and their impact, to help players feel better about what just happened."
When asked about the Tribunal's return, Lyte noted:
"Quote:
Speaking of the new tribunal, how much longer do you think until we can take a stab at jury duty again?
To be honest, we are on the finish line for the new Champ Select and the 2016 Ranked Season, so we're going to focus on that for a little bit, then re-focus our energies to launch the new Tribunal voting system. Because of this, I don't think we'll finish Tribunal voting until post-new Champ Select launch."
Lyte Permalink
"Quote:
Does this have any effect for ARAM? Given the complete randomness of champions, some people end up getting champions they rarely ever play and don't always do too well with them.
No, matchmaking in ARAM isn't tuned as aggressively for competitive as the other queues."

When asked if it is possible to bring your account standing back to normal after being punished, Lyte commented:
"Quote: 
"Not reforming to a degree other players were happy with." That sounds like an issue for another day. Also I hear you never lose the strikes against you, is that true? If so why is that a thing and players are treated eternally like excons? If a player has been good for a year they should lose a strike obviously since they "reformed."
As mentioned in the original post, it's definitely possible to improve your account standing and basically fall back down to a "clean" account."
He continued:
"This isn't true. It's possible to go from Tier 3, and fall back down to Tier 1, or even Tier 0 (clean record)."

Lyte  Permalink
"Quote: 
A question for you Lyte, have you ever had to talk to a Rioter for being Toxic in game? No need for names, I just find it hard that all of them are positive every single game.
Yes. Sometimes Rioters have bad days too, and go a bit off rails. We take it pretty seriously though, so there haven't been many cases."
When asked if the team can check post and pregame logs when looking at an account, Lyte commented:
"Quote:
Also, you guys can see chats from both in champ select and in the after game lobby right? Just wanna clarify
Yes, we can check chat logs from pre-game and post-game lobbies."
He continued, answering a set of questions:
"Quote:
"1) I cuss like a sailor. Does the system flag generic, non-derogatory curse words in chat if you happen to be reported that game for an illegitimate reason (eg, you picked Teemo and laugh sometimes)? 
2) Can we get access to our scorecards so we can improve our behavior before we're punished for it? I would rather reform if I need to reform, but I don't know if I'm alright or heading for trouble (see point number 1). 
3) I send a lot of reports because I think it's a way to improve the community. Any chance we can get access to the figures on whether our reports are substantiated? Not case by case, just figures for total reports, actionable reports, and false reports. If, for example, most of my reports were considered invalid and behavior I dislike is considered acceptable, I'd rather be aware of that and adjust my settings accordingly from the outset."
1) No, the system doesn't flag words if you aren't reported for verbal offenses. 
2) To us, the first tier 10 chat restriction is the warning sign that you should begin reforming. It's a light punishment, and you get a Reform Card for it. 
3) In the Tribunal voting system, you can see the effects of your votes. We'll see how those features affect voting behaviors, and see if there's something we want to do with reports in-game too. But for now, no plans."

Cycling Featured Game Modes

When asked about the team's thoughts on cycling featured gamemodes in and out of availability on a regular schedule, L4T3NCY replied:
"Quote:
Why doesn't RIOT try a regular cycle of game modes on a monthly or weekly basis? Then ppl could play modes like URF, hexakill, or brawlers casually then they wouldn't become the main thing played for an event, and would be criticized as harshly.
This is something we've been considering for a while (many of us like the base idea of rotating modes). I think some time would be needed to hammer out the specifics, but we're certainly not opposed to it."

Worlds Merch Now Available

The new world championship merchandise is now available for purchase from Riot's online shop, including the Worlds jacket, Championship Thresh Figure + online code, two Worlds shirts, five new shirt designs, a plush Gnar, and a plush Draven Poro.
Head on over to the shop to pick up the new gear. Click the flag in the top corner of the shop to switch to your appropriate regional shop - a list of Countries Riot ships to available here.

While the Championship Thresh figure is sold out, Riot Bradmore tweeted out:
"Due to high demand Champ Thresh is sold out online. A restock will happen during worlds and we will message the date/time in advance."
If you are attending Worlds in person, don't worry! He also added:
"Heading to Worlds? All products will be made available at all worlds events even if sold out online as we allocated stock for each stage."

/ALL Chat | Are You TOO Competitive?

Last up we have a new /ALL Chat, Riot's community show packed full of community creations!

"ALL Chat wants to know: how far will you go to win? And how far is too far? We’ve got artist extraordinaire Sade with us for Summoner Showcase, Facebook stickers and a BM or GG that will no doubt cleave the comments in two.

We’re also excited to introduce Jimmy Wong, a new ALL Chat host who will join us when we need a helping hand, like when James is in Europe for Worlds. We miss you, James. Give Jimmy a warm welcome!"
Here's a large version of the wonderful /ALL CHAT thumbnail art from ffSade: (FB/Twitter)
Posted on

No comments

Post a Comment

Top of page Home Full site