League of Legends developer Riot Games has been working hard over the last year to fight what is widely considered to be one of the most toxic player bases in gaming, and the studio implemented a few different programs for that purpose, including the use of machine learning to auto-moderate games and the introduction of a reward system for reformed players.

Now, Riot has announced that its new crafting and loot system will be off limits to toxic players, creating yet another incentive for fans to play nice.

“If you’re a player who is punished for toxicity or intentional feeding or so on, you can’t get loot,” lead game designer of social systems Jeffrey Lin told Polygon in a recent interview.

Active feeding is the act of intentionally dying in a game over and over, thereby “feeding” the enemy team with free kills, which rewards them with currency and experience that they can use to become more powerful. Selfish players will often threaten to feed the opposing team unless they get their way, such as being able to play the role that they want.

“We really want the system to be a reward,” Lin continued. “It’s a new carrot for playing with friends and for being a positive player in the game. We’ve never been able to give skins for free before in League of Legends, so this is our way of saying, ‘Hey, if you’re a positive player in the game, here’s your way of earning something just for playing the game and being awesome.’ ”

Lin explained that Riot has never withheld such a major feature from players based solely on their behavior, and the studio wants “to see what global sentiment and feedback is on that.”

There is no exact release date for the new crafting and loot system yet, but Lin promised that it is at the top of the studio’s list for new features planned for 2016.

Image credit: Riot Games (c)