The Case Against the Surrender Mechanic
by JR Cook - 10 years ago show comments
If you’ve played League of Legends, you’re no doubt aware of the existence of the surrender mechanic. Requiring 20 minutes to have passed, and a vote of 80% of the remaining players, surrendering ends the game with a loss, and players are free to walk it off or instantly queue for another match. The mechanic serves as an out for those who believe victory is impossible, or seek an escape from being ‘trolled’ by one or multiple teammates. Given how vitriolic League of Legends tends to be at times, the feature makes sense there.
Heroes of the Storm will be different, however. The matches will be a great deal shorter, as Blizzard has all but eliminated the farming portion of the hero brawler experience from the equation. Dustin Browder explained at both BlizzCon 2013 and in the first of the recent Q&A sessions that the average match should last somewhere between 15 and 20 minutes, as opposed to upwards of an hour.
What’s more, shared experience means that no hero will fall behind the rest of their team. This should prevent the all too common situation wherein supports fall behind and serve as little more than fodder for the opposing forces. If you’ve been watching the recent VODs, Naziba seems to try his hardest to feed aggressively, but even at the helm of the feed wagon, he never falls behind in levels. This will create a situation where all players can feel engaged, as opposed to just high level carries and gankers.
At present, there’s been no official word as to whether or not Heroes of the Storm will feature a surrender mechanic, but it seems unlikely, and would only serve to diminish the experience of the game. While the mechanic has its heart in the right place, it’s often utilized by unpleasant individuals who believe that the match is over because they did not get a specific lane, hero, or last hit on an enemy. Blizzard’s already taken strides to distinguish the upcoming title from others within the genre, most of which should greatly reduce the potential for team infighting. Opting out of a surrender feature would only serve to help separate their game from a good portion of the pack, and encourage gamers to play matches out, as opposed to AFK and wait for a concede mechanic to pass.
As always, we here at BlizzPro would like to hear your opinion on the matter. Do you believe a surrender mechanic would help or harm Heroes of the Storm?
Regardless of the game, I believe a surrender mechanic is a luxury to have. Is it *required*? No. Is it nice to have for some situations (afk team members come to mind), then yes.
Of course no… I just love Dota 2 matches where we are loosing 10-62 kills on minute 20 and it last 47minutes cause the other team just want to farm kills on our fountain. I just love that. Please dont add surrender button
I really hope that’s sarcasm. -_-
do you really need to be told wether it is or not? -.-
I completely agree, with the design being shorter and faster matches that keep everyone engaged. There is no need for a surrender feature.
Uhh…how often do supports fall behind?? It’s the junglers that fall off…
Also, add the surrender button. I don’t want to be stuck in a losing match, especially when the enemy team can drag it on indefinitely. The surrender option (with a proper 50%+ vote) gives people the abilty to concede when they know they’ve lost & move on. Without the mechanic, all you promote is people getting more & more frustrated and having a bad experience.
Given the emphasis on PvE quests that reward teams with super powered units/crazy damage to the opposing based, it seems like the amount of ‘dragging it on’ would be fairly limited. Still, point taken!
yes please. id rather not sit and watch my angry teammates pruposely feeding for 20 minutes while the other team doesnt want to end just to be douche bags…. which does happen and in cases like this people that have to be on the losing side do not deserve to waste 20 minutes of their time watching people troll..
im trapped in stupid quick play mode and im thinking of not playing this game anymore. the fact that 2 team mates ditch out of the match and im playing with bots. the other team isnt pushing and im trapped in a game where the apposing side is having fun toying with us and the game mechanics. Seriously they wandered around the map killing off the bots and letting the creeps push the lanes.
GIVE ME A SURRENDER BUTTON!
Seriously its not a luxury its a neccesity