League of Legends Ranked System Gets Major Overhaul
The recent League of Legends developer update may have been dominated by discussion of the long-awaited Shyvana rework, but Andrei Meddler Van Roon and Paul Pabro Bellezza also gave some interesting insights into how ranked is shaping up this season. According to Van Roon, the time it takes to get into a game is down by about 30 percent because of tweaks to some of the timers in champion select and harsher punishments for dodging.
Climbing The Ladder Just Got Easier For Players
Lobby dodge rates have dropped from 19 percent to just 4 percent, a significant improvement for players who just want to get into a game. Is this the fastest players have ever gotten into a match? This season has also seen significant tweaks to League’s matchmaking rating system, which was changed to address the clumping up of players of diverse skill levels in the same bracket.
Many players have found this season to be a much easier climb compared to past seasons, where MMR seemed to stagnate very quickly. The developers wanted to make sure that each rank accurately reflected a player’s skill level. For example, Iron, League’s lowest tier, historically housed an outsized population of around 14 percent of players globally, consisting of mostly seasoned veterans.
The goal shifted to making Iron a true starting place for new players rather than a permanent home for experienced ones. Adjusting the MMR to rank correlation helped push those veteran players out of the bottom bracket. How does a player truly escape the lowest depths of the ranked ladder?
Iron Rank Finally Becomes A True Starting Place
Unfortunately, Riot has found that some experienced players are still struggling to escape the depths of League’s lowest rank. Van Roon mentioned that the team might someday need an entirely new rank below Iron. Similar issues also appeared towards the top of the ladder. The skill differential between a player in Diamond 4 and Diamond 1 was roughly the equivalent of the difference between Bronze 4 and high Silver.
This wide gap meant that players at the bottom and top of the same rank experienced the game on completely different levels. The developers concluded that they needed to spread that player base over a wider range of ranks. What does that mean for a player clawing their way through the middle of the pack?
Master Tier Players Face A New Climb
The solution involved widening the LP range of Master and increasing the LP requirements of Grandmaster and Challenger. Bellezza added that Riot is also considering additional tiers at the top of the ladder because of the stark difference between a Master 0 LP player and a Master 900 LP player. These changes aim to create a smoother skill progression through the highest echelons of play.
Interestingly, Riot is tweaking a system that tries to match autofilled players against other autofilled players in the same role. The difference between someone who mains a role and someone who doesn’t can be staggering, so this change should lead to fairer matches. A player autofilled into the jungle now faces a higher chance of facing another autofilled jungler. Can a system truly compensate for the chaos of autofill?
The Meme That Could Become A Real Rank
In a Reddit post concerning the update video, Van Roon revealed that Wood and Sand were the two-tier names being used internally to refer to potential new bottom tiers. He clarified that these are not serious name suggestions yet. Wood tier has been a meme in the League of Legends community for a decade, often used as a comedic line to diminish someone’s ability.
A player might jokingly say this Maokai is Wood 7 after a particularly poor performance. The negative but funny connotations of the name will likely put Riot off using it officially. There are only so many materials that suit the ranked naming scheme, especially materials considered inferior to iron. How long before a player finds themselves stuck in a rank made of sand?
What The League of Legends Team Is Fixing
The ranked system continues to evolve as Riot gathers data and listens to player feedback. These adjustments aim to create a more accurate and satisfying competitive experience from the bottom to the very top. A player who once languished in Iron might now find themselves climbing to Bronze with less friction.
The changes at the top ensure that a Master tier player truly belongs in that exclusive club. Every adjustment serves the purpose of making each rank feel distinct and meaningful. The developers remain committed to refining the system for seasons to come. A player’s journey through ranked should feel like progress, not punishment.
