Queue dodging is the act of leaving the champion select screen by interrupting the connection with the server. The act is generally not appreciated, and the player is penalized by the system, due to the potential for abuse. There are various reasons why people queue dodge; generally, because they are not content with the champion selection or the perceived ability of their team-mates.
Sometimes queue dodging is not intentional, but instead the result of a connection loss, computer crash, or other technical mishap.
Methods
The most common method to queue dodge is to close the client before the game starts. This is done using the 'X'-button in the top right corner.
Another way is to simply wait for the timer to run all the way to zero. The advantage of this is not having to close and open the client again. However, after picking a champion this is no longer an option as it will just lock in the champion you have selected.
Penalties
Penalties for queue dodging vary according to the game type, although certain aspects are shared. See the Leaver Buster page for additional details.
Time penalties
All queues dodges give time penalties that prevent you from queuing again immediately after. Those are increased for subsequent queue dodges within a 16 hour window. This time penalty is shared between the various queues, except for ranked team queue.
| Queue type | First dodge | Second dodge | Every dodge after |
|---|---|---|---|
| Normal | 5 min 30 seconds | 15 minutes | 60 minutes |
| ARAM | 15 minutes | 30 minutes | 60 minutes |
| Dominion | |||
| Ranked solo | 5 min 30 seconds | 30 minutes | 60 minutes |
| Ranked team | 1 minute for the team | 60 minutes for the team | 60 minutes for the team |
Other penalties
Besides time penalties that prevent you from queuing again immediately, there are also other penalties to be suffered. These penalties depend on the queue type you dodged.
Normal game penalties
- A time penalty is to be suffered (see above).
ARAM game penalties
- Only a time penalty is to be suffered (see above)
- If reroll is used it will be lost
Dominion game penalties
- A time penalty is to be suffered (see above).
Ranked solo queue game penalties
- A time penalty for the player (see above).
- A League Points penalty is applied to the player who dodges, 3 points for the first time and 10 for the second time before the timer reset.
- In a Qualifier Series the penalty is 10 League Points and it will count as 1 loss, this will end your series if you were 1 loss away from losing it.
- You will not lose MMR for queue dodging.
Ranked team game penalties
- A time penalty for the ranked team (see above).
- A League Points penalty is applied to the player who dodges, 10 League Points is deducted from the team.
- In Qualifier Series the penalty is 10 League Points, this will end your series if you were 1 loss away from losing it.
Reasons
Although it is commonly assumed to be the primary reason people queue dodge, the selected champions of their teammates and/or enemies isn't actually it. It is, however, one of the main reasons. They may not feel comfortable playing against a certain champion, team composition, or believe the champions their teammates selected may lead to a loss. It should be noted, however, that due to the nature of random champion selection in ARAM, players will often dodge if they are given an undesirable champion and neither will their teammates trade away the undesirable champion nor can they reroll to get a different champion.
The main reason (by far) for queue dodges is actually the presence of trolling, unskilled, or confrontational teammates, as determined through chat, champion choices, etc., which causes the player to decide to dodge as to avoid a possibly unnecessary loss. There is much controversy over this subject, as people imagine they shouldn't be punished (with time or league series penalties) due to their desire to avoid what they assume is an almost certain loss because of the misconduct of other players.
Some people may also desire to play an already selected champion. This is often the case when a new champion or skin is released, or during their free week, when many people want to try the new champion/skin. Another person picks this champion first, causing the people who want to play this champion to leave. This can happen many times in a row, possibly causing long queue waiting times.
Technical problems, including client/computer crash, internet connection failure, and game server problems may also result in a queue dodge.
In rare occasions the client might glitch, resulting in the player not being able to pick a champion and automatically being removed from the champion selection.
Players may also queue dodge in order to rejoin the queue with friends who weren't with them in the original queue.
Some people may queue dodge because of unexpected interruptions, such as social obligations or time constraints.
How to avoid
Individual prevention
Check the stability of your system in order to prevent errors, crashes and other problems. You might want to close other applications to reduce the risk of this happening.
If the game is constantly crashing during champion selection, the League of Legends repair tool can fix most crashes and issues with the game.
If you still have crashes or other issues contact Riot's technical support.
Keeping others from queue dodging
Talking during champion selection is important in reducing the chance there will be someone who dodges queue. Creating a positive environment in which summoners feel comfortable to talk about their builds is ideal. Asking the other players what champion they would like and compromising is a great way to make sure queue dodgers are minimum.
Remember that Co-op vs. AI games don't count towards your normal game or ranked game score, and it is a mode for testing out builds/ideas, having fun and allowing new players to learn the game without playing against smurfs or other summoners.
Glitches
Sometimes, the sudden interruption of the game can cause glitches in the server or your client. Some of these glitches are as follows:
- Splash art of your picked champion will remain on the right hand side of your screen until you reenter champion selection.
- A friend that you entered queue with is removed from the queue, while you advance to champion selection.