[2021] A closer look at queue penalties received from character select dodging.

Nearly two weeks ago in the the patch 2.0 AMA in this sub, r/RiotPizzagram confirmed that there would be penalties for character select dodging. I personally believe these have been silently shipped in a recent patch and will provide my rational further below. First I would like to explain why I'm firmly against these harsher penalties.

RiotPizzagram statement.

1. Dodging improves overall game quality.
   When you join a lobby and it is populated by either toxic people or people without mics you are certain that you will be at a disadvantage going in to the game. This is a big deal when playing ranked. I understand Riot does not endorse dodging neither in League or Valorant because it increases queue times and makes the getting into the game part quality worse, but I strongly believe that it is worth it to get into a game after a couple people dodged than it is to be forced to play a game where you are at a disadvantage from the start. It just does not feel right.
2. Correctly dodging is a skill.
   I am not in favor of completely removing penalties of queue dodging, at the end of the day it slightly lowers the character select quality of other players. I personally think that having the old queue penalties were sufficient but if there needs to be harsher punishment may I suggest implementing the same system as in League. Simply remove 3 - 5 RR but leave the MMR of the dodger unaffected this plus the old queue penalty is more that enough to discourage most unnecessary dodges. I believe that being able to dodge certain games is a skill, because you have to outweigh the reward ( not having to play a lost game) vs the punishment. Mastering dodging raises the skillcap of Ranked.
3. Longer queue penalties will result in people not being able to play that day.
   If the queue penalties have increased like I have been recently experiencing than this will limit the amount of time people can play the game. Most people do not have multiple hours available when they want to play the game, longer queue penalties for dodging a game that would have been started as a disadvantage would mean not being able to play for some players. Which would eventually lead these players to leave Valorant.

Example of queue penalty.

Why I believe that these harsher penalties have silently shipped:

The last few days I have gotten insane queue penalties for my first dodge after multiple completed games whereas a couple of weeks ago the queue penalties were significantly lower the first one 3 min the second 30 min and so on. I have even gotten a queue penalty after winning a ranked game (Proof!). A couple games later I dodged again and I received a 2hr+ queue penalty, insane. A final point I would like to make is that queue dodging from unranked and ranked should be handled differently.

TLDR: Dodging should not be punished harsher and is an essential part of the game!