How League of Legends can help educate and keep new players by bringing out the best in its community

I've been sharing an idea for Riot Games' League of Legends with friends, coworkers, and anyone who will listen recently, and so I decided to put it on paper in its full, thought-out form. Because I predict this post will get upwards of double digits in terms of paragraphs, I'll go ahead and opt to provide a succinct TL:DR summary up front: 

League of Legends should implement a 'mentors' system, in which seasoned level 30 players can act as a team 'captain' or 'leader' for a group of 4 lower-level players. Implementing such a system would achieve the following:

• A better introductory and learning experience for new players
• Less inter-personally toxic solo matches
• Less negative 'smurf' activity by high level players
• Better new-player retention for Riot 

In the following paragraphs, I'll detail this proposal and dive into how it could achieve each of the following bullets. But first, some assumptions:

1. League of Legends is incredibly difficult to pick up as a new player. As a new player I need to learn the game, the metagame, my character, my teammates' characters, the opposition's characters, and how to communicate and interact with the other players on my team (not to mention how to successfully play my individual role within a team). And the worst part is that as a new player you don't even realize you have to learn all of this stuff. Riot makes a commendable effort via forced bot games and tutorials, but nothing really prepares the new player for all of this learning. In fact, most of this stuff becomes somewhat obliquely obvious in extremely acidic, negative ways once the new player starts getting into randomly-matched solo games.
   
2. The community in League of Legends can be extremely toxic. I've had some random pick-up games where folks tend to guide you or give you constructive feedback, but for the most part, communication between randomly matched (new) players tends to begin in earnest only once things are already falling apart. This devolves into the team bickering, insults, threatening reports to Riot games, and generally turning in on itself. Most people have seen the game on Twitch.TV and so have an idea of what good gameplay looks like, but very few of us understand out of the gate how to not only play - but interact - as a team. This results in everyone blaming everyone when really the group has failed itself.
   
3. Smurfing sucks. 'Smurfing,' for those not familiar with the term, describes a high-skill/level player creating a new account to play against lower-skilled/leveled players. The result is that the 'smurf' usually destroys their opponents. League of Legends has been around for 4 years, and has hundreds of idiosyncratic characters: there is no way I can expect as a new player to compete against a seasoned player posing as a newbie, and the resulting mismatch sours my experience and my team's experience as well. 

The solution

All of the above outlines a pretty poor story, but it can be overcome by a single system: Create a program by which skilled, high level players can opt in as team captains for new players to the game, and provide rewards for those players. On the flip side of that coin, new-players would have to indicate that they would want to play with an experienced team captain, either in classic blind-pick modes or in team builder. What would result would be a 5v5 game in which 1 player on each team is a seasoned team captain committed to leading his team.

A better introductory and learning experience for new players

As a new player in one of these captained matches, I will have the benefit of not only playing with a more skilled player, but having that player actively involved and invested in my positive participation in the match. Tips as simple as what skills to level first with my champion, or how to better play my position can make a world of difference if made early in the match, and if made in a positive way. And remember, these are players who have opted-in for guidance, circumventing the possibility of resentment at being told what to do.

Less inter-personally toxic solo matches for new players

As mentioned above, I truly believe that real negativity and toxicity in League games comes from when a team is performing poorly. Players want to perform well and will get frustrated that they're not, so they take it out on each other. With a team captain and receptive new players, the communication within a match could instead build positive momentum early. Even when a team doesn't win, positive, helpful communication throughout the match should lead to more "good games "than "**** yous." 

Less negative smurf activity

I can't proclaim to know exactly why all players feel the need to smurf, but I can safely assume that a large part of it is to feel skilled at the game (ie to feel better at it than someone else). What League of Legends lacks today is a positive, constructive way for players to experience this feeling outside of hard-fought victories. Acting as a team captain would provide that opportunity in an extremely positive way. Riot could even go one step further and create custom skins (or provide experience or point boosts) for participants, increasing the value for participating high-level players to participate positively in the community. In short, the captain mode allows for balanced smurfing for the good of new players.

Better new player retention for Riot

This one is (hopefully) pretty obvious at this point. New players will have better played, less toxic matches, and can have assistance from game experts in tackling the learning curve. Because at the end of the day, League of Legends is extremely fun. It's just super daunting as a new player. 

Who am I and why do I care?

I'm writing this because I'm a level 14 player who has tried to break into League of Legends on and off for the better part of a year and a half, and have kept turning away because of immense frustration and feelings of hopelessness. I'm writing this because I want Riot to build this system, and I want to opt in for guidance from a seasoned pro. :)

I also work in the game industry as a community program owner, and I have implemented systems like this and seen them work with great success. What I see in League is a community that is extremely skilled and knowledgeable, and while certain interactions I've had have been negative, I see huge potential for this community. And with efforts like the Tribunal, I think Riot might just be the company to empower its players to reach that potential.

So there you have it. If you like the idea, please pass it along! It's my hope that someone at Riot will see this and consider building the thing. Otherwise, always happy to hear feedback in the comments section below.