League of Legends' Honor system is getting a 'significant overhaul'

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League of Legends' "Honor system" was revealed in 2012 as a "positive feedback initiative" that gives players the ability to reward their fellow combatants for outstanding behavior in the game. "Through Honor, you can acknowledge summoners who helped make your game awesome by clicking on the 'thumbs up' icon next to the summoner name at the post-game lobby," the LoL Honor page explains. "You’ll also receive Honor of your own when you impress your fellow summoners with your sportsmanship in the game."

It's obviously a positive idea, but as Riot acknowledged in its most recent development video, the execution was far from perfect. "The current honor system lacks depth and does a poor job of reinforcing sportsmanship. It's hard to understand how the rewards work, and feedback can feel delayed or disconnected from your actions," lead producer New001 explains. "At the end of the day, it just isn't super-meaningful."

Thus, Riot is now working on a new system, set to roll out later this year, that's intended to be "much more integrated with the actual experience of the game." It will offer greater incentives, and have an increased focus on "consistent sportsmanship" rather than simply the "small percentage of the most positive players in the game."

It's very little to go on, but it's good to know that changes are happening. Competitive games like LoL can get heated very quickly and easily, so anything that can effectively incentivize players to be nice (or at least treat one another like human beings) is welcome. Details about the revamped Honor system will be revealed in the near future.

Thanks, Dot Esports.

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Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.