The Ethics of Boosting in League of Legends: A Balanced Perspective

League of Legends boosting has been a subject of ethical debate in the gaming community for years. One side of the argument looks at boosting as a form of cheating. The other side disagrees. They regard boosting as an opportunity to further enjoy a game without diving into blatant cheats and hacks to do it. Then there’s also looking at LoL boosting services from a more balanced perspective.

Balancing Perspectives

No matter the topic, people usually have a habit of taking sides. Too often, they do so in haste as they behave like nuclear reactors. As quoted by Obi-Wan Kenobi from the first Star Wars movie, “Your eyes can deceive you. Don’t trust them.”

That was after Luke Skywalker complained he couldn’t see when his instructor placed a blast shield on his head. As soon as the young Jedi student overcame what felt like a disability, he learned to tap into a talent he never realized he had. From there, he eventually became a Jedi master himself. However, things could have gone differently for him if he stubbornly refused to take on the new learning curve Kenobi gave him.

So what does the analogy of an old Star Wars scene have to do with balancing perspectives and LoL boosting? Skywalker had to approach his Jedi training session from a different perspective once the blast shield gave him a visual impairment. It’s no different than people perceiving something a certain way before new information comes along that could potentially change their point of view.

Skywalker’s decision to continue learning from Kenobi could have been different. Instead of approaching the lessons he was taught from a new angle, he could have opted out. If he had, he never would have embraced the new learning curve and his perspective would have remained unbalanced. He’d be too one-sided to understand a much broader spectrum Kenobi wanted him to learn.

All people are like this. They always start with a limited viewpoint based on the information they first encounter. It’s up to them to decide if they care to learn more about the topic at hand or not. This is especially true when there are at least two sides to a story and each person is staring at it from where they’re standing. There will always be conflict with opposing viewpoints until they learn to meet in the middle. Then and only then will they potentially reach a balanced perspective.

Breaking Boosting Myths

Part of the problem boosting services for games like LoL face is the prideful stance of people who refuse to budge from their position. This comes from a mix of assumptions, misinformation, and scammers. Games like League of Legends, Counter-Strike, and Valorant are very competitive. These encourage ambitious players to learn how to adapt accordingly as they rise above the competition to be the best.

Because games like LoL are so competitive, the moment some gaming community members learn “inferior” players are getting help from boosters they voice their disapproval. They usually see it as rank manipulation performed by an expert LoL player who has been paid to give their client a boost.

Although boosting is what boosters have been assigned to do, it’s not quite as unethical as some gamers think. Gamers who know what boosting is really about will defend their side of the argument that it’s not a form of cheating at all. What boosters do for their clients is no different than what the best players of LoL already do for themselves.

LoL Boosting Defined

What exactly do LoL boosters do? Usually, a League of Legends boosting service helps struggling players rank up their accounts in the ranked queue. They’re normally hired by gamers who are either new to games like LoL or have reached a rut they want to climb out of. Once they pay for this service, gamers share their account information with the assigned booster.

Although boosters are typically hired to boost a player’s rank for games like LoL, this isn’t the only thing they do. Division, Duo, Solo Win, Duo Win, and Placement are popular boosting services. The ideal goal for many gamers who use this service is to increase their MMR (matchmaking rating) rank. A higher MMR rank helps a player lose fewer points per match and win more points per match. It also requires more losses whenever a player faces the possibility of demotion.

On the surface, boosting suggests it’s challenging certain game-related ethical codes. It’s a viewpoint gaming giants like Riot Games have taken. However, the primary concern isn’t about boosting as a service. Riot is more concerned about account security as it wants to protect every player in its database. It’s also out to protect its brand as the developers worked hard to present a game that’s popular enough to rake in a healthy profit.

Boosting: Ethical vs. Unethical

Before it became a “thing,” boosting wasn’t really a big deal until a few bad apples corrupted it. Their unethical stunts included conning players to do business with them so they could seize their accounts and sell them to interested buyers. Due to a growing trail of victims plaguing games like LoL, Riot Games was placed in an uncomfortable situation.

Cheaters and hackers who exploited LoL’s weaknesses added even more fuel to the fire as some of them pretended to be professional boosters. They preyed upon newcomers and struggling players to pay for what seemed like a legitimate service. Once these gamers realized they were duped, they shared their stories with an audience that included game forum moderators and developers from games like League of Legends.

The more attention unethical boosters drew in the more scrutiny ethical boosters received. It remains an issue as professional boosters and their clients continually face criticism from a community that remains divided about boosting services. Some see it as a cheat while others see boosters as unsung heroes who deserve more credit than they receive.

LoL Boosting Services Truths

It is true LoL boosting services include rank manipulation. Boosters help their paying clients achieve goals they can’t always do on their own as a service. Is this an ethical practice?

When done at a professional level, yes it is. A client is paying for a boosting service to enjoy their LoL gaming experience even more. Is this such a bad thing? Aside from it being a paid service, it’s no different than two people in the same household sharing the same account for the same game. While one person is away, the other takes over and works as a team to advance their character.

The truth about LoL boosting is that it offers a valuable service to players who need a helping hand to overcome game-related obstacles. Only some gamers have a knack for understanding all the nuances associated with games as complex as League of Legends.

Make no mistake. LoL is a complicated game with its list of champions, MMR, and constant updates and tweaks. Even the best players in the game struggle. What boosters provide is a service to eliminate the frustration some players experience when they feel like they’ve hit a dead end.

Truth About Ethics

So, let’s ask the question again. Is LoL boosting ethical? From a balanced perspective that doesn’t take sides, yes. Boosters offer struggling players an opportunity to do more than just improve their rankings with games like LoL. Boosting offers a player to rise to the occasion and improve their gameplay without resorting to hacks and cheats.

LoL boosting provides a service that keeps players from becoming too discouraged to continue. This helps keep games like League of Legends competitive and popular. These two factors are key to the continued success of LoL. If a gamer is willing to invest money to hire either a booster or coach then they’re likely willing to dedicate their time and money to maximize their enjoyment with League of Legends. This includes using microtransactions to customize their favorite characters.

Those microtransactions are essential to keep League of Legends going. The happier the player base is the more time and money they’re going to spend on their favorite game. For Riot Games, this is a good thing. It means it has a business that’s thriving. A thriving business will be encouraged to keep the momentum going.

So what does this have to do with ethics? To be honest, nothing. We’re now talking about a balanced perspective here.

Truth About Perspectives

We live in a world where people have their own ideas about ethics. When it comes to League of Legends boosting, this is no different. It comes down to perspectives. A balanced one looks at LoL boosting as a service that follows its own code of ethics. Those include making sure their clients have their accounts protected at all times.

Professional boosters who care have the balanced perspective to ensure games like LoL maintain their integrity level by also offering struggling players an opportunity to learn how the game works. This is called coaching. An ethical coach will teach players how to improve their gameplay. By doing so, this ultimately works in LoL’s favor.

Proof in the Pudding

Where’s the proof League of Legends boosting is ethical? How has this service worked in its favor? Considering LoL began in 2009 and is even more popular now than it was then is proof enough. Boosters brought players on the brink of quitting the game out of frustration to having a new appreciation for it. How is that not ethical? Instead of encouraging gamers to cheat, they’re offering a tag-teamed effort to help struggling players go from zero to hero.

Without the presence of boosters and coaches, it’s likely LoL’s player base wouldn’t be so competitive. To be frank, it’d probably be boring. That’s what plagues so many games that start out strong, only to fade into obscurity because not enough people were kept entertained to continue. Whether you think it’s ethical or not, entertained people are more likely to spend money on something they love. With LoL, this is very much the case.

Riot Games wouldn’t be able to keep titles like LoL going if not enough players were entertained enough to fork money for anything. Frustrated players either resort to cheating or quitting. This doesn’t do games like LoL (and its player base) any favors. It hurts them more than anything and it often speeds up a game’s demise as honest players will become frustrated with the blatant cheating and leave. At least with boosters and coaches, they encourage players to refrain from quitting and resorting to cheats. So when you look at the spectrum of gaming in general, is boosting nearly as unethical as naysayers claim?

The Delicate LoL Boosting Balance

LoL boosting only becomes unethical when scammers prey upon targets with the intent to rob them. Truth be told, these aren’t boosters at all. They’re con artists who lured struggling gamers to part with their money and surrender sensitive account information. It is because of these unethical people that the LoL boosting service has received such a bad rap.

Professional boosters who care prefer to treat their paying customers for their services with utmost respect. This is what makes them ethical. Instead of scamming them out of their money, boosters, and coaches work with their clients in a one-on-one relationship that’s fruitful for everyone involved. This includes benefiting LoL as a game as it’ll have a better player on their hands instead of someone who decided to quit.

Many people don’t realize some of the best players in League of Legends have used a boosting service to overcome in-game obstacles. Because of this, they also learned how the game works. This includes rank manipulation. While some may see this unethical, bear in mind even without boosting services some of the best players in the game learned about and used rank manipulation so they can get to where they are now.

Many of LoL’s best players offer professional boosting services to people who are willing to pay for it. Does this make them unethical? In all honesty, no. It’s no different than people paying servicemen to take care of something they need. What LoL boosters and coaches do is keep its future as bright as it can be by helping players rise up and improve how they play the game.