If you’re thinking about taking the game more seriously then the League of Legends Ranking System is where you’ll be looking. Whether you’re new to League of Legends (LoL) or you’ve been playing this multiplayer battle online arena (MOBA) game for years now, you always have something to learn when it comes to playing competitively.
One of the most crucial bits to understand is how the LoL Ranking System works, especially if you’re interested in becoming one of the top players in the world.
We unpack everything you need to know about LoL Ranked, how to unlock the game mode, its different systems, and much more in this comprehensive guide.
What Is “Ranked” in League of Legends?
In LoL, the ultimate competitive mode is Ranked. It features the same rules as the game’s esports tournaments, and summoners who are brave enough can choose this mode over “Normal” and All Random, All Mid (ARAM).
In Ranked mode, gamers earn League Points (LP) for winning matches, and lose LP if they suffer defeat. When you earn 100 LP in your division, you move up one division. The exact amount of LP you earn is determined by your Matchmaking Rating (MMR). We’ll talk about this in more detail later. Also keep in mind that if your MMR is much higher than your division it is possible to move up two divisions (the so-called “skip”).
You can also earn rewards and achievements at the end of each season. Depending on the rank you competed in, the number and quality of awards you receive will increase. While most players don’t play Ranked for prizes, sometimes there are some stunning ones. Your tier and division will be locked in as your official rank end of each season.
Ranked is a high-stakes competitive mode where everyone fighting in Summoner’s Rift shows no mercy with precise tactics and champion builds.
How to Unlock Ranked in League of Legends
New players who want to unlock Ranked mode in LoL will have to put in some significant gameplay time. There are two main requirements to start enjoying LoL’s competitive mode:
- Reach level 30 on your account.
- Play five placement matches.
Once you complete these requirements, you’ll receive a rank based on your performance. The average time it takes to reach level 30 on your account depends if you pay for XP boosts. On average, without any XP buffs, new players will have to grind 180 to 210 matches (30 to 45 minutes each) to reach level 30, then play five placement matches to unlock Ranked mode. Good luck with the grind!
What Does Placement Matches Mean in LoL?
Remember that you must have reached a minimum of level 30 before you can start playing Ranked. And, you must at least own 20 different champions in your account.
When you first start playing Ranked, you don’t start directly in Iron IV, the lowest rank in the game. Instead, each player must complete temporary ranked games, commonly known as placement matches, in order to determine their official LoL rating.
When a player initially begins playing ranked, they will be placed in one of five placement games to establish their starting rank, just as they are at the start of each new ranked season. The more games you win throughout your placements, the more likely you are to begin in a Silver rank.
Fear not, when you first start out, you’ll be matched with people like you who just started playing Ranked so you can rank fairly. There is even a high probability that you will be matched with other people playing placement matches. The League of Legends ranking system makes it so easy for players to be matched equally.
After playing all your placement matches, you are placed in a certain rank according to the number of games you have won and lost. So what will you do now? Although this rank is low, you can easily climb up, so if you play the game regularly and strategically, you will reach the rank you want quickly.
What Are the Ranks in League of Legends?
The ranks in LoL represent a player’s skill level. You’ll start edging closer to a new rank as you improve and compete in solo queues or with friends.
There are ten (10) ranks, and from rank 1 (Iron) to rank 7 (Diamond), there are four subdivisions (I, II, III, IV). In Ranked matchmaking, players compete in these subdivision pools against others with the same skill level, as measured by Riot Games’ intricate ranking system.
Fewer than 1 percent of players ever reach the Apex ranks, including Master, Grandmaster, and the Challenger tier. Challenger is the highest rank, with only 200 to 300 players per region reaching this status. If you reach Master, you’ll compete against all the other Apex ranks. The top of the food chain in the Summoner’s Rift begins with Master-tier players.
You’ll find a broad overview of the rank names below.
All League of Legends Ranks
- Iron
- Bronze
- Silver
- Gold
- Platinum
- Emerald (New)
- Diamond
- Master (Apex)
- Grandmaster (Apex)
- Challenger (Apex)
Notice the Emerald rank in our list. Developer Riot Games implemented this brand-new League of Legends rank once Split Two 2023 begins on July 18, 2023. Along with adding an Emerald rank, this is the first time Riot Games will reset ranks during a season. They also changed the placement game requirements from ten to five.
How to Increase Rank in LoL
There is no easy shortcut to increase your rank in League of Legends. You’ll need to put in the time and effort, research tactics, and “git gud” (aka “get better”). The most crucial aspect is ensuring you win more Ranked matches than you lose, which is challenging in higher divisions.
You’ll earn League Points for a victory and lose them as a punishment for suffering defeat. There’s also a hidden Match Making Rating (MMR) in play, where the amount of LP earned is more (or less) based on whether you win or lose, and on how closely the player’s MMR and current rank match up. For example, if your MMR and rank match closely, you’ll gain 25 LP for a win. However, you may receive 30 LP for a win if your MMR is lower than your rank. So if your MMR is lower than your Rank, you will receive less than the average amount of LP per win and lose more per loss.
You need to earn 100 LP to advance to the next rank. But don’t feel bad if you can’t increase your rank quickly in League. According to the latest rank distribution data, roughly 60% of all LoL players are in the lower ranks, from Bronze to Silver divisions!
What is Matchmaking Rank (MMR) in LoL?
Riot gives each player a Matchmaking Rank (MMR) depending of their skill level, which impacts how much LP they earn or lose in each game. The higher a player’s MMR, the more LP they can earn in a win game and the fewer they can lose in a loss game.
MMR is determined by the win and lose streaks you make. So the more games in a row you win, the higher your MMR will be, which helps you earn more LP. But keep in mind that as your MMR goes up, you’ll be matched with opponents with higher MMR so the games may be more challenging for you.
In other words, even if you are in the Gold II rank, if you have a high MMR, the opponents you will encounter may even be Plat III. It all depends on your success and ability. But if you lose too many games, the game offers you a chance to win and pairs you with opponents with low MMR.
The only downside of this situation is that if you’re playing Solo/Duo, your teammates will also have a lower MMR, so you’ll be playing with people who lost so many games. If you or your duo believe you can carry the game, you can increase your MMR and rank up by winning the games in a streak.
Solo/Duo and Flex Ranked Games
If you have tried to play a Ranked game, you must have seen two options; Solo/Duo and Flex. These are two separate Ranked modes. In the past, only Solo/Duo was played, but now Flex mode is also playable. Keep in mind that in the highest tiers [Master, Grandmaster and Challenger] only solo queue is available, so all 4 teammates are chosen randomly.
Solo/Duo: Solo/Duo, as the name suggests, is a Ranked mode that you can play alone or with a partner. This mode is the most preferred mode because it was active when the Ranked system was first introduced. In addition, your job is more difficult because you are with people you do not know, so the competition is quite high. You cannot play this mode with more than 2 people. If you enter as a single person, the remaining 4 people will be distributed randomly, if you enter 2 people, the remaining 3 people will be distributed randomly.
Flex: This mode is a Ranked mode where you can play with one, two, three, or five people. The ranking system in Flex mode in League of Legends is the same as in Solo/Duo mode. The only difference is that you can play with more than one friend. This is great practice for better communication and coordination. But you can’t play as a team of 4 players because that would be unfair to the last 1 player. If you enter as 3 people, the remaining 2 people will be chosen randomly.
What Is Elo in League of Legends?
Elo is a rating system that calculates the relative skill level of a player. Hungarian-American physics professor Arpad Elo invented it as a ratings method for chess. Since Feb. 1, 2013, with the start of Season 3, Riot Games has stopped using this system for League.
The developer now uses the Ranked system to rate LoL players, along with the hidden player MMR. Even so, fellow gamers may still ask what your League of Legends Elo is. If they do, they’re asking for your current rank.
Demotion and Decay in Ranked Gameplay
During a Ranked season, demotion and League Point decay are as painful as the effects of long-term tooth decay for League of Legends players. We’ll explain these rating drains and how you can avoid them.
What Is Demotion?
Demotion from one rank to the next-lowest rank occurs when your LP in the current division reaches zero. At this point, if you lose your next Ranked match, you’ll find yourself in a lower division. But you’ll only have to win a few games in a row to climb back up, as you’ll have plenty of LP in the lower division.
Demotion sounds scary, especially when you put a lot of work into reaching a new rank, just to lose it after a couple of matches, right? Don’t fret, as Demotion Shield is in play for the first ten matches after you reach a new rank. This protects players from dropping after a few losses, giving them a chance to prove they deserve a spot in their current division.
What Is LP Decay?
If you’re relatively new to Ranked Play, you don’t have to worry about LP decay. That’s because it only rears its ugly, albeit necessary, head in the Diamond division and above.
LP decay is when you start losing your League Points if you haven’t played a Ranked match for “too many days,” according to Riot Games. When you reach Diamond, you’ll get “banked days,” where you don’t have to play. Once these run out, you’ll start losing LP. Play more matches to earn more banked days and avoid LP decay.
You’ll find an example (for Diamond rank) below:
- Banked Days per Match: 7
- Maximum Banked Days: 28
- Initial Days Before Decay: 28
- LP Lost on Decay: 50
LP decay continues if you’re currently banned. If you fall to or below 0 LP due to decay, you’ll automatically be placed in the next-lowest division. Again, this only applies if you’re on Diamond Rank or higher.
Going AFK in Ranked Matches
Going AFK or leaving the game in Ranked matches can have terrible consequences. League of Legends is a game played 5v5 and each role has its own sharp responsibilities, if even one person is missing, there will be a negative impact on the game.
That’s why being AFK in LoL, especially Ranked matches, is subject to huge penalties. There are also serious penalties for dodge games, i.e. leaving a game while on champion selection. This is a big problem for queues, when a game makes you wait for a long time, especially at high ranks.
Riot designed numerous tiers with varied punishments to prevent inactivity in-game. Tier 0 is for individuals who have never AFKed before, while Tier 7 is the most extreme tier, which means players will be locked out of the queue — meaning they will be unable to get into a queue in LoL and will face a 15-minute queue delay for the five games.
Players who demonstrate excellent attitude will be rewarded, and they will be able to show that they have learned their lesson. This means that if a player has been placed in one of the lower levels for being AFK, they will be able to work hard to go up. If players do not change, they will remain in their tier, and a single AFK match will result in them receiving the punishments associated with their tier once more.
How to Rank Up Easily in League of Legends?
Choose a role for yourself
Although there are different roles and lanes in LoL, it is very important to find the one that works best for you. If you master that role, your job will be easier and it will help you practice. For example, if you are an ADC main who plays Vayne all the time, you will memorize all the mechanics of that champion after a while and you have certain tactics. But remember that there is a ban system in League of Legends ranking and the champion you play the most can be banned. So don’t forget to play other champions in your main role.
Know all the LoL champions
This is very important because no matter which lane you play in, if you do not know the skills and mechanics of the champion in front of you, your job will be very difficult. Just because you don’t play a champion doesn’t mean you don’t have to know about it. For example, if you’re a mid-laner, you might find yourself dead suddenly if you can’t figure out when Ahri will do her combo.
Watch professional LoL players
If you are going to grind Ranked, we strongly recommend that you apply this recommendation. Most meta elements such as which champion can be stronger than once and can be played in a different role, new combos are often determined by professional players in League of Legends esports. The moves made in professional stages of League of Legends, such as MSI, LCS and of course, the World Championship, and the selected picks are often reflected in Ranked matches. For example, Ziggs first appeared as an ADC, at LCK Summer 2021 and has since been played in that role, though unrelated. We can say that it carries! You can follow world-class players such as Faker, Perkz, Rekkles, Rookie to learn meta news like this and more critical information.
LoL Betting at Thunderpick
Attempting to climb through the League of Legends ranks via Ranked matchmaking requires vigor and commitment. As you play more, you’ll learn more about the popular MOBA, and you’ll build a better understanding of the intricacies of an esports match. This may translate well into esports betting knowledge and give you possible advantages over those who only watch streams of matches.
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