League of Legends is commonly known as one of the most toxic video games in the world, but a returning veteran pointed out something strange: A sudden lack of teammate toxicity.
Whether it’s famous streamers running it down mid or teammates spouting colorful language, League‘s boasted unending examples of toxic and rude behavior for years. After not playing the game for several seasons, one returning player decided to document his experience during a comeback stint on the famously hostile Europe West League server.
In their first game back, the League gamer misplayed a fight and accidentally got their Ivern killed through the mistake. Instead of spewing flame in the chat though, the Ivern jokingly responded with, “Don’t worry I am a tree, I will grow back.”
After playing the game regularly for two days, this veteran noticed there was, “Not a single troll, not a single insult, not a single rage, nothing. In-fact no-one was really talking at all.” This left the returning player with one lingering question: Is everyone old now?
Surprisingly, some League players in the thread admitted their age has played a factor in waning their toxicity. One player noted he’s “just way too tired after work to fight online over mistakes in a game,” which has made his experience nicer. Other players responded with personal evidence and theories surrounding the increased lack of toxicity. These League players feel like the increased amount of chat restrictions, reduced honor levels, and ballooning ranked penalties have made most people afraid to speak in the chat—thus curbing toxicity.
While most players generally agree the in-game chat’s become less toxic, others pointed out how this behavior has been channelled into other aspects of the game. A specific player pointed out how, “people just soft int instead of flaming nowadays” to avoid penalties.
Soft inting’s a term used to describe players who give up but don’t directly throw themselves into the enemy base. Since this toxic behavior’s not immediately reportable, many League players soft int when they get frustrated or simply want the match to end.
While not every League game will be as peaceful as this returning player’s experiences, at least the popular MOBA is finally turning the page and leaving some toxicity in the past.
