14 DAY TRIAL // Video game developer Riot Games announces that it is at the moment disabling all its public chat rooms in order to get the time and the resources required to make them functional again and deliver a better experience for those playing League of Legends.
The company explains on its forums that the main reason for the action was that the rooms were mostly used by RP sellers, spammers and scammers, who were not in any way trying to improve the community or to add value to the Multiplayer Online Battle Arena title.
At the same time, only a small number of players were using the service, and Riot adds that “private chat rooms and even the awesome community hubs like Dominate Dominion and Summoner School lack moderation tools beyond the ignore button. While the experience in private chat rooms is better than the public versions, we still want to provide tools to address unwelcome drop-ins and toxic behavior.”
Private chat rooms and messaging will remain available for gamers, but Riot Games wants to improve the overall environment for the future.
The team adds, “We’d like to create a persistent hangout for the friends you play with. Those friends should bring in their like-minded friends as well, and the badass players you meet playing great games. While you're at it, why not invite some players from the community as well?”
The studio would like players to create a long-term community for junglers, a special mentoring group for new players, a champion theory-crafting channel for advanced gamers, or casual ARAM or Team Ranked LFGs.
All private chat rooms will also get a variety of new tools that will allow those who moderate them to better manage users that are taking part in the conversation and deal with any infraction.
Riot Games is asking all those interested to offer their feedback and plans to keep the community involved as it implements changes and tries out various systems for chat.
League of Legends is one of the most popular MOBA titles on the market at the moment, and the development team is continuing to deploy gameplay changes and new heroes for long-term fans.
At the same time, Riot has been trying for a long time to improve the overall atmosphere of the title and to make sure that new players are getting help and mentoring rather than being forced to quit playing because of a hostile reception from veterans.