The Ultimate Guide To Dodging Games In League Of Legends: Penalties, Strategy, And The NEW 2025 System
Dodging a game in League of Legends is one of the most controversial yet necessary high-level strategies in ranked play, acting as a critical risk management tool for serious players. As of December 2025, the system remains a delicate balance between punishing chronic abusers and giving competitive players an escape route from unwinnable champion select lobbies, toxic teammates, or obvious troll picks.
The core philosophy behind dodging—intentionally exiting the champion select screen before the game begins—is to protect your Matchmaking Rating (MMR) and, more importantly, your mental health from a guaranteed loss. However, Riot Games has consistently tightened the screws on the accompanying penalties to preserve the competitive integrity of the ranked ladder and reduce overall queue times for everyone else. Understanding the current penalty tiers is essential before you decide to hit that 'X' button.
Profile of the League of Legends Queue Dodging System (December 2025)
The queue dodging mechanic is not a feature but an unintended consequence of the champion select process, which Riot Games manages through the automated LeaverBuster system. This system is designed to penalize players who fail to commit to a match, whether by declining a Ready Check, going AFK during champion select, or disconnecting mid-game. The penalties for dodging are specifically tailored to be harsh enough to deter frequent abuse but lenient enough not to punish a player for a single, necessary dodge.
The Current Ranked Dodge Penalty Tiers (Solo/Duo and Flex Queue)
The penalty for dodging is a scaling system that resets over a rolling 24-hour period. The tiers escalate rapidly, making repeated dodges in a short timeframe extremely costly. The penalties specifically target League Points (LP) and Queue Lockout time, leaving your crucial Matchmaking Rating (MMR) untouched.
- 1st Dodge in 24 Hours:
- LP Loss: -3 LP
- Queue Lockout: 6 minutes
- 2nd Dodge in 24 Hours:
- LP Loss: -10 LP (Some reports suggest up to -15 LP in certain circumstances)
- Queue Lockout: 30 minutes
- 3rd+ Dodge in 24 Hours:
- LP Loss: -15 LP
- Queue Lockout: 12 hours (This is the "nuclear option" that severely limits playtime)
Crucial Entity: The MMR Factor. The most significant strategic advantage of dodging is that it does not affect your Matchmaking Rating (MMR). MMR is the hidden score that truly determines your rank, while LP is merely the visual representation. Losing a game costs you both LP and MMR, whereas dodging only costs LP, meaning a player can strategically maintain a high MMR while avoiding a guaranteed loss.
The Strategic Art of Dodging: When is the LP Loss Worth It?
Dodging is a form of risk management. A serious ranked player views the -3 LP or even the -10 LP penalty as a small investment to avoid a 15–25 LP loss, a significant MMR hit, and 20–40 minutes of wasted time and frustration. The decision to dodge should be based on a clear, objective checklist of "red flags" encountered during champion select.
The following are the most common and justifiable reasons to execute a ranked queue dodge:
1. Extreme Toxicity or Intentional Feeding Threats
The most common reason for a necessary dodge is a toxic player who is actively flaming, threatening to intentionally feed, or holding a position hostage (e.g., locking in an off-meta champion in an inappropriate role). These players create a guaranteed negative environment that drastically reduces the team's chance of victory. The 30-minute lockout from a second dodge is often preferable to 20 minutes of being held hostage in a toxic game.
2. Severe Champion Pool or Role Disadvantage
A poor team composition is a major red flag, especially in high Elo where margins are thin. Dodging is warranted if you encounter:
- Multiple Off-Role Picks: For example, a player locking in an obscure champion in a completely different lane (e.g., Zed Support, Janna Top).
- No Synergy/All AD or All AP: A team composition with no physical damage (all AP) or no magic damage (all AD) is easily countered by the enemy team building one defensive item.
- The "First-Time" Champion: A teammate openly stating they are playing a champion for the first time in ranked.
3. The One-Trick Pony Ban
In high-level play, many players are "One-Trick Ponies" (OTPs) who only play a single champion. If a teammate's one-trick champion is banned by the enemy team or another teammate, and they lock in a completely unfamiliar champion or a known troll pick in retaliation, this is a prime dodge scenario. The player's mental state is already compromised, and the risk of them performing poorly is extremely high.
Riot's Evolving Stance and Future Changes (2026 Outlook)
Riot Games has consistently stated its commitment to competitive integrity, and queue dodging is viewed as a major obstacle to that goal. While they acknowledge the need for an "eject button," they are focused on making the penalty system more effective against the small percentage of players who dodge frequently (the 1% who dodge 3+ times a day).
New Penalty Mechanics and The Autofill Change
Recent and upcoming changes show Riot's intent to make dodging less rewarding for game manipulation:
- Autofill Status Not Reset: Previously, a dodge would reset a player's autofill protection, allowing them to dodge an unwanted role and immediately re-queue with a guaranteed primary role. This is being removed. Dodging will no longer reset your autofill status, meaning you will carry that autofill tag into your next queue, making the dodge less effective for role manipulation.
- Harsher High-Elo Penalties: For players in Master tier and above, there are discussions and rollouts (some slated for 2026) where a dodge in the lobby will count as a full loss. This is a significant change aimed at reducing queue times and manipulation at the absolute pinnacle of the ranked ladder.
The goal of these changes is to reduce the incentive for "soft-inting" (intentionally playing poorly) and forced dodges, where a player tries to bait a teammate into dodging by locking in a troll champion. By making the penalty for dodging less advantageous, Riot hopes to encourage more players to commit to the match, even with a suboptimal draft.
How to Manage Your Dodges and Maximize LP Gain
For the serious ranked grinder, managing your dodges is a core skill. Here are the best practices for minimizing the impact of the penalties:
1. The "One-Dodge-Per-Day" Rule: Treat your first dodge (-3 LP / 6 min) as a free pass. It's the most LP-efficient way to skip a guaranteed loss. If you encounter a second red-flag lobby, you must weigh the -10 LP / 30 min penalty against the potential loss of 20+ LP and MMR. A second dodge is rarely worth it unless the lobby is truly catastrophic.
2. Time Your Dodges: If you must use a second dodge, do it when you are about to take a break or step away from your computer. The 30-minute lockout is less painful if you use it to eat, exercise, or study, rather than staring at a timer.
3. Never Dodge the Third Time: The 12-hour lockout is a massive time sink that completely derails a serious ranked session. It is almost never worth the -15 LP to dodge a third time. At this point, it is better to play the game out, surrender early, and take the LP/MMR loss, which is recoverable faster than a 12-hour ban.
4. Understand the Decay: Your dodge penalty tier drops one rank every 24 hours. This means that if you dodge once on Monday, you are safe on Tuesday to use your first dodge again without incurring the second-tier penalty. Planning your sessions around this decay is crucial for high-volume players.
Ultimately, while Riot Games continues to refine the LeaverBuster system to discourage queue dodging, the mechanic remains an essential tool for competitive players. By understanding the current 2025 penalty structure and applying a disciplined risk management strategy, you can protect your MMR and climb the ranked ladder more efficiently.
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