League of Legends Honor system promotes positive reinforcement

The next time someone abstains from calling you a "feeder tryhard nooblord" in League of Legends, you'll be able to make your appreciation known. Riot Games posted an announcement yesterday revealing Honor, a new positive feedback system for players highlighting summoners of good repute. When implemented in the next major update, it'll supplement the current reporting system for "toxic" players.

"We've found some of the most meaningful, memorable moments in LoL come from the positive interactions players have with each other," Riot designer Jeffrey "Lyte" Lin wrote. "Everyone's had one of these days: You're struggling in a game and find yourself in a situation where a teammate could have easily trolled or flamed you but instead goes out of his way to be a helpful, compassionate team-player. He says, 'Hey, don't worry about the first blood.' You may not friend this player or ever play with him again, but this small, kind gesture made a difference and is something you remembered. Through Honor, you'll be able to give something lasting back to those players who went out of their way to make your game experience better."

Lin said a number of unspecified measures exist in Honor to prevent artificial reputation bumps and pre-planned padding. Also unknown are the incentives for Honor users beyond the already noble ambition of improving the community overall, but Lin said Riot wants to avoid "extrinsic, tangible" rewards. Honor also applies to co-op bot matches, but the Proving Grounds instructional map isn't included.

"Some players 'skirting' the line between good and bad behavior may decide to lean toward good because Honor exists," Lin continued. "One of our goals in Team Player Behavior is to ensure that it's easier to be good than it is to be toxic. For the good players, this is a way for us to celebrate them and reinforce that they are exactly the type of players we want in League of Legends."