It is quite normal for League of Legends to encounter bugs, and in fact, some bugs even appear in professional matches. However, typically these bugs only occur with new champions or items and over time will gradually be fixed by Riot to prevent players from exploiting them and causing the game to spiral out of control.
However, with elements that have been in the game for a long time, bugs can occasionally emerge, which really puts both the players affected by the bug and Riot in a difficult position. The most recent example is the bug related to the Rift Herald during the match between DWG KIA and Nongshim RedForce in the fourth week of LCK Summer 2021.
Specifically, at the 17th minute of the third game between DK and NS, Peanut and deokdam from NS released the Rift Herald between DK’s first and second mid towers. At that moment, DK’s first mid tower had very low health, and when released, the Rift Herald faced this tower. However, just as the Rift Herald was gaining momentum to charge, the first tower was destroyed. Immediately after, the Rift Herald charged straight into DK’s second tower. Normally, after this charge, if the opponent has minions out, the Rift Herald would prioritize attacking the minions first before gaining momentum to charge again. However, in this case, the Rift Herald completely ignored the minions and charged a second time, taking down DK’s second mid tower.
During the match, the commentators were also extremely surprised by this action of the Rift Herald. According to the commentators and some other opinions, this could be a bug or a trick that NS discovered and exploited. However, regardless of the concept, the fact that the Rift Herald could be so “overpowered” is truly concerning. The clear example shows how this bug (or trick) could affect a professional match if exploited.
If it were new champions or items encountering bugs, Riot could ban their use, but with such a crucial element in a game of League of Legends experiencing a bug, Riot’s response must be swift and thorough to avoid compromising the fairness of the match and causing players to feel frustrated and uncomfortable.