they have a good point with the quick DC to save elo but im trying to carry myself out of this god awful elo that im in and like 4 of my last 6 games have either been 4v5 or 3v5. Its a lose lose situation. I just get frustrated with the elo system bc its literally impossible to carry a 3v5 game. Can riot not think of some way to maybe fix this situation? I think a quick fix would be to make a automatic and very harsh punishment for anyone who disconnects from a ranked game. I read all these articles and posts in forums on how easy it is to carry yourself to a high elo, but if its a 3v5 or 4v5 game the chances of you winning are slim to none. I love the game and all that good stuff but im to the point where its just no fun to play anymore bc of all the trolls and disconnects.

Because if Riot forgives a loss, people will abuse the system.

This isn't right, last night I played a game, we were winning and lost due to a d/c. When I say we were winning we were winning hard. Why do I lose full elo for this? There should be an equation that should reduce elo loss the longer someone is d/c because as soon as someone d/c the whole team just says gg and gives up.

I sit here saying just play defensive maybe they will come back - my team says nope it's over.
Give some kind of incentive to keep trying. Example: The longer you play the less elo you lose with a d/c.

"Ok Jim, DC and we're going to drag the game out"

The problem is it will be abused.

It doesn't matter what measures they put...people will abuse it. Any 'forgiving a loss' idea.

Well that's not severe at all. "Don't have a life if you want to play ranked in LoL" is what you are essentially saying. Yeah, I hate it when people leave just as much as the next guy, but I don't hate leavers. The same number of people are going to leave no matter how severe the punishment is- they will just be completely screwed if you make it a capital offense from not planning the next hour and a half properly.
I understand the fact that, holy ****, two people leave and now we can't win. It sucks greatly, but it's a team game. You can't control the 15 million LoL users, only yourself. Riot can't even control you. You can't impose a ELO penalty reduction, as stated by previous replies, nor could you make the punishment more severe. Yes, I have had to deal with disconnects in ranked games too. So have the pros, yet you can go to the LoL homepage and see people with 2800+ ELO. It's something we all have to deal with, and yet people still manage to overcome it.
I rest my case on a few key points. One, severe punishments would not be effective. Two, you can't actually control your teammates. Three, it's not that bad of an ELO penalty to lose a game or two due to leavers if there are people who get close to 3k ELO. Hope this puts the issue into perspective.
Steven Reed

I used to play a game that was similar to LoL but much simpler. When people left, the minis would all get a buff. Not a huge buff, mind, but a buff like slightly more hp and damage.

Another effective solution would be to reduce ELO changes (that is, losses and wins) for everyone except the disconnecter, who receives normal ELO changes. This way, it doesn't cause a huge punishment for the leaver (who might have an IRL emergency) nor does it cause a actual, efficient reason to intentionally d/c for your team.

This could also be changed in team queue: if you have a team and are playing as a team, you should know that no-one has to disconnect; the punishment should be unchanged from what it is now (full ELO loss). After all, if you want to make a nice team with people, you should make sure no-one's going to unplug their modem if they lose (and if they do, just don't play with them anymore...)

I think that would be pretty fair. Also, possibly a pause system for ranked games similar to that in Dota 2.