Hi everyone.

I just installed LoL 2 days ago and have been trying to get a grasp for the game. I've been playing games against bots only for now, until I get comfortable with the UI and features of the game before I play against actual people...

Unfortunately, I've already been banned for "idling or leaving" - the message is as follows:

"This account has been suspended until October 11, 2012 due to you idling in or leaving games. Please visit http://support.leagueoflegends.com for more information."

I already read this article (in fact it was one of the first things that I read when I started playing). I've left one game so far due to a fire alarm on my dorm floor, and idled on two more games because I had class (these were games that had been going for 50+ minutes, and I expected them to be over soon as they already had been going for forever). I've played probably about 15-20 games (all vs. bots) since downloading it about 2 days ago..

I still need help though:

What is "leaver level"? Is there a way to reduce it? How can I avoid getting banned for idling in the future, or should I just never play unless I have like 2 hours+ to devote gluing my behind to my seat, just for a single game? What do I do when games surpass the 45 minute mark and are still going nowhere? Argh

Yes, you should set aside more time if you are finding that you are idling a lot.

Though going against bots should end faster if you take advantage early on and build a bigger advantage from it.

50+ minutes isn't out of the normal for PvP games though so I guess you might as well get used to the long games.

Alright. The thing said games should last only around 30 minutes, but I guess if an hour+ is a reality and I am going to be penalized for leaving, I shouldn't play so frequently.

How does one reduce leaver levels? Can you even reduce them? What do they indicate?

You stop leaving.

It is ratio based. Not sure what the ratio is though. Riot keeps that to themselves.

Dominion is really the only game mode that end consistently before 30 minutes. As long as one team is winning, then game time is effectively decreases. I suppose both teams could be tied forever but that is unlikely.

I see... alright, thanks for the help. I guess I can't really do anything but wait it out and try and play less often haha.

Hi Jello

Leaving games in the case of an emergency (fire drill!) is OK, but you will have to be more careful about planning around class times in the future.

If you would like to play LoL but don't have time for a full game of Summoner's Rift 5v5, you can also try out Dominion or Twisted Treeline which typically have much shorter game lengths. You can also practice in custom games with no worries about leaver penalties.

Hope this helps!

Dominion is great when you don't have a lot of time!

As a note, you will not get an email or a message or a notification when your leaver level drops. This is intentional, so people don't go "Well, I'm back down, so I can leave another game."

Just make sure that you know you'll have time to spare when you commit to playing a game. Remember, it's not entirely fair to your teammates if you find you're out of time to play; they were expecting you to be there to help them through to the end, after all!

LoL makes a poor choice for something in-between classes, or anything where you'd find yourself thinking "I'll just do a quick bit of _____". If you need a game to fill in gaps like that, League of Legends isn't it.

On the other hand, there are a few options still open: playing Dominion or 3v3s last shorter, and to further illustrate, the leaver system isn't applied to custom games. If you leave a custom game that's ALSO an ARAM, though, you can get reported for that. But for all other custom games... You're in the clear. So if you wanted a quick, possible-to-leave bit of Summoner's Rift, you could find one or more friends and create a custom match. As long as the number of players (not counting bots) is the same on both sides, it counts as a legit game and awards XP/IP for completing it. Of course, you'll get none if you leave it, but you wouldn't get punished either.

You can get punished for leaving custom game.

Tribunal is still in full effect so people can still report you.