Leaver Penalties

Competitive Discussion
#1

So I have probably played a large number of competitive matches over the past week. Today though in a 3 match stretch I got an error.

Match 1 que up.
in the chat window it says “Failed to connect to server” I am sitting on a 10 minute suspension and lose 50 SR for it. Treated as if I joined and left the game.

I would say a little bit later Match 2 goes just fine.

Match 3. Same thing as match 1. 30 minute suspension and another 50 SR.

Some points I would like to make here.

First my connection never dropped I was doing other things internet dependent that never had even the slightest hiccup.

Second I would like to say the dev team should probably NOT punish people as leavers if they never even get to connect to the match to begin with. A. Because they aren’t a leaver and it’s not their fault this happened. B. Never being able to connect to the match from the get go punished no one elses SR.

I just think it a bit outrageous that I lost 100 SR over this and a whole endorsement level when I did nothing wrong. It was a technical issue. No one else lost SR because of it. I NEVER… NEVER leave any of my matches no matter how they are going… and I have probably played thousands?

So idk. but people who never even get to connect to the server to begin with should not be punished as if they were a leaver.

#2

Welcome, JDong to the forums!

Penalties from technical issues are no fun, but unfortunately, there is a reason for the madness.

Yep, this can happen, however, it is important to realize that the connection to the game server is not going to be on the exact same route to any other internet related service. If there is a problem between you and the game server, it will drop. Also, certain services will drop if the port forwarding is not configured correctly at any given point between you and the game server. This is why you get the “Failed to connect to the server” errors.

This is tricky and there is a reason why you are still penalized at the start of the match. That is to avoid an old practice called “queue dodging”. Once a match loads you are aware of who you are playing with or against, and what maps you are playing on. The idea behind Queue Dodging is to try to dump a match before playing it if you see a map or player you do not want to go up with. Once you are selected for a match you are committed to it.

Technical issues, especially those caused by factors outside of your direct control, are frustrating. It is important to remember to avoid returning to Competitive Play after the first malfunction until you are absolutely sure your connection is not dropping anymore. While it is not always your own equipment, it is important to still troubleshoot any possible causes you can fix on your own (click here). There are methods to track connection problems between you and the game server as well and players like myself or Blizzard Support Agents can help with that in the Technical Support forum.

I hope this information helps. You can also learn more about Blizzard’s policies about disconnections, crashes and why they are penalized in this post here:

Cheers! (^^)v

#3

To be fair… I can’t see who im playing against to dodge if I can’t even connect to the server. Troubleshooting an issue thats happened twice all season when I have probably played what 200+ games this season seems a bit difficult since it is such a rarity that it happens. less than 1% of my games. but having it happen twice and getting that -100 SR AND losing an endorsement level seems harsh af esp because I never even got to connect to the server in the first place.

Whatever since it’s pretty flawed. I will take it as a something I have to deal with if I want to play overwatch.

#4

these dont exist for the elite class the masters and pros only for gold and bronze