League of Legends is the most popular video game on the planet for the last decade. As such many players are playing all the time regardless of their mood and level of concentration. If someone is underperforming and dragging their team down people tend to flame and call them a bunch of different names. While it has been that way since the beginning of League, there’s a new popular term Win trade circulating in the community.
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Why is League of Legends toxic?
When we put it in the context of games such as Among Us and Fall Guys, it is much more competitive. That competitiveness and drive for winning makes League of Legends an extremely stressful game. People often forget that it is still a video game and that its main purpose is to help you relax.
If you are constantly getting mad and frustrated with the game, perhaps you should change your mentality towards the game. It is important to know that when you queue up for a game, you are not going to win for sure. But you can always improve regardless of the outcome of the game.
What is Win Trading?
The term Win Trading has been getting more and more popular recently. It describes a player that is trying to lose on purpose so that the enemy team will win. Often, he is also associated with at least one enemy player. Some “win traders” charge for their losses up to $50 per game. Others might be wintradiing because they don’t like a particular player on their team.
Win trading is often confused with people playing badly. Just because someone is underperforming doesn’t mean he is doing it on purpose. Everyone can have an off game, or even a whole day when they’re not feeling themselves and it reflects in their gameplay.
Are there many Win Traders?
No! Win trading is as old as League itself, but it has been exclusive to extremely high elo games. Nowadays it is still present there, especially on lower quality servers such as EU Nordic and East, Russia, Turkey, and North America. Streamers and viral Youtube clips popularized the word. Now we associate it with anyone that does badly in the game.
People find it hard to grasp that someone could be having a bad game, even if they have it themselves. Moreover, they try to rationalize it by attaching nonexistent reasons why someone would be losing the game for their team. Among wintrading, excuses such as he doesn’t like me, and Riot is giving me trollers all the time are present as well.
What should I do when someone is Win Trading?
On a rare occasion that you meet a player who is, as we have described earlier, definitely win trading, don’t get personally attached to the game. Most likely he has been paid for what he is doing so there is no way you are going to win the game.
In my opinion, just play the game out, don’t get stressed, and report them after the game. Don’t make it affect you in any way or form. If you get tilted take a break and don’t play more until you are feeling fine.
What should I do when someone is playing badly?
Firstly, what you shouldn’t do is flame them. Most likely they already feel bad for possibly costing their team a win. Adding flame on top of them is like pouring oil on the fire. What I tend to do is simply ignore them. Even if you try to help them by pinging, or typing in chat supportive messages, they might take it in a bad way.
Furthermore, if someone is having a bad laning phase, it doesn’t mean he’s necessarily going to have a bad rest of the game. Every player has their strengths and weaknesses. Perhaps they’re really bad in the first 10 minutes, but after that they are much better than anyone else in the game. Once you click the “Accept” button you are grouped with your teammates. Even if you hate them, you can’t change them for someone else so try to make it an enjoyable experience for everyone.
Here’s our guide on how to get better at League of Legends fast.
What to do when people flame you?
If someone is talking bad things to you or trolling you, simply ignore them. They’re seeking attention, and once you stop giving it to them, they’ll lose interest. The easiest way to do this is by muting them in-game. Don’t forget to mute their pings too if they’re spamming you.
Even if you have the strongest mental and think flame can’t affect you, I guarantee you that it’s still in the back of your mind. Just because it doesn’t hinder your performance and focus to 50%, it will still lower it down from that ideal 100%.
What to do when you are having a bad game?
The most important thing when you are having a bad game is to try not to let it affect you. If your team is doing well try to piggyback them to the victory. When I start having a bad game, I mute everyone before I can see their flame, and then at the end of the game, I apologize for my performance regardless of the game’s outcome.
It is also important that you understand your champion. If you are playing Kassadin, Twitch, or some other hyper-carry champion, it’s common to be losing in the early game. That doesn’t mean you are necessarily playing bad, it’s just that your champion is much weaker than your enemies’. Staying tilt proof is crucial so that once you reach your power spike you can play proper League of Legends.
Conclusion
Wintrading is present, but not even close to as much as people make it seem. Most often people that are called that way are just having a bad game. Instead of flaming them just ignore them, or be supportive. You are in the game together with them, and if you are going to win they’ll win too.