What Happens if You Dodge a Placement Game?

The League of Legends Champion select is a place with much more depth than most would anticipate. It is home to some quite meticulous calculations that can determine the game’s outcome before it even begins. 

Players with a high understanding of League will always perform these calculations. If the odds go in their favor, the game goes on. If not, well, they will opt for a dodge. 

Dodging in League of Legends is often seen as harmful, wrong, and unrecommended. However, players of high class and knowledge would beg to differ and actually see dodging as an excellent climbing tool. 

This article will go over what exactly dodging is, how it works, and why you shouldn’t overlook it. Of course, we will also be answering the topic question. 

So, with the introductions out of the way, let’s begin! 

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What Even is Dodging? 

To dodge a game is to leave the Champion select screen before it is over. This means that you will prematurely abandon the Champion select, kicking yourself and all other players out of it. 

This can often be insanely annoying, especially when people do it last second. So many layers go into dodging as a mechanic that it is insane, considering how basic an action it really is. 

Dodging, of course, being a rather negative thing to do, doesn’t go unpunished by Riot. There is a system in place for penalizing players who dodge. The first punishments are, of course, a -3 LP and a 6-minute queue lock. If you hover at 0 LP, you even have the chance of dropping down to a lower rank. 

This might seem severe to any unsuspecting players. And, honestly, it is. Losing 3 LP and having to wait six whole minutes to start another game without a guarantee that it once again won’t warrant a dodge is a pain. 

That’s why dodging is seen as a skillful act that requires much knowledge, calculation, and psychology to perform correctly. Just outright dodging a game without putting genuine thought into it is as dumb as it sounds. 

We’ll go over why you might want to dodge in the next bit. Keep reading to find out both the good and the wrong sides of this infamous mechanic.

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Why You’d Want to Dodge?

Various situations can immediately call for an early abandonment of the game. A game with so many players simply makes escaping toxicity an impossible feat. So, what toxic situations might make you leave prematurely? 

Well, there are trolls, for starters. People always love pissing off others. For some reason, this brings special satisfaction to a particular player demographic. These people go around the game, picking random stuff and ruining it all for everyone – all for the sake of having a few laughs. How they don’t find this behavior boring is beyond me, but they do, and that’s why you’d want to dodge. 

Losing 3 LP for a dodge rather than 20 for a loss with an obvious troll on the team is a fair trade. 

The second toxic reason might be toxic teammates. Genuinely toxic people can’t hide their behavior and immediately start plaguing the chat during the selection. This can allow you to identify a potential loss quickly, and thus you can quit while you’re at it. Once again, the 3 LP loss is a much better deal than a definite -20 LP. 

Of course, toxicity isn’t the only issue that calls for dodging. Even when your teammates seem relatively sane and stuff seems to be going well, the team compositions might already determine the game’s outcome. If the enemy team comp seems overwhelming, and defeat is just about imminent, dodging the game is a good option. 

So many reasons and calculations go into dodging a game. This is why higher-ranking players see it as something that is to be learned and mastered. Like any other mechanic in League of Legends, dodging represents something that can make your climbing adventure much easier. Avoiding definite losses as much as possible will allow for a net increase in your LP gain. 

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What Happens When you Dodge in Placements?

You will immediately guess why I delayed answering the topic question this long. 

Nothing. Nothing happens. 

Dodging in placements doesn’t lower your MMR (Riot’s “under-the-hood” rating system), nor does it count a loss in your placements. It simply gives you a 6-minute queue lock and nothing else. Honestly, it may be a surprise to learn that Riot doesn’t severely punish an act. 

Conclusion

Dodging in League of Legends is indeed something of an art form. People who know how to utilize it properly and fully will undoubtedly have a better time climbing. Make sure you give dodging the proper respect it deserves. I would also recommend you take the time to research dodging as much as possible since it can genuinely have a significant impact on your climb. I’ve always noticed how many of the high Elo players and streamers dodge frequently and have only recently realized how potent that can be. 

I hope you’ve found this article informative and fun to read, and I wish you all the best on the Summoner’s Rift!