Riot Games introduces rank seeding changes for new League of Legends ranked players, including match-making with bots on lower ranks.
From “losers queue” to mismatched rankings, many questions and speculations surround the League of Legends matchmaking system. While devs have long debunked some of these theories, Riot Games is still keen on overhauling and introducing changes to how ranked games go.
According to a recent announcement from LoL Game Designer Phroxzon, the devs are taking a new approach to giving ranks to first-time ranked players. The change involves seeding players correctly, which has been an issue for players who did not play Summoner’s Rift.
The decision follows a recent issue in which all players were mistakenly seeded into Gold 1. With this change, Riot Games aims to grant players their rightful ranks based on their actual skill level.
However, this change doesn’t come without its drawbacks. Phroxzon laid down the cons of the rank seeding change, including negative LP gains for players “caught in the transition” after the seeding missteps in February.
While it is unpleasant for League of Legends players to have minimal LP gains during wins and massive LP losses on defeats, this promises to be a good step toward resetting players to their rightful placements.
Phroxzon suggests that the LP discrepancy can reach up to 15+ for wins and 35- for losses.
The game designer also suggests that it is better for new players to be ranked correctly for the overall playerbase and the players’ improvement. So, while being ranked in lower elos at the start can be unmotivating, you’ll also face players with similar playing styles and skill levels.
Aside from the MMR changes, ranked League of Legends players may also experience a new gaming environment, especially in higher-ranked elos.
As previously discussed by Riot Games, most of the ranked game cheaters and scripters are in the higher ranks (Masters—Challengers), which is expected to change upon the introduction of Vanguard in the early weeks of May.