'League of Legends' Position Rank Previews May Come to an End, Riot Said

After testing the position ranking system in League of Legends and releasing the feature to mixed [...]

By Tanner Dedmon

After testing the position ranking system in League of Legends and releasing the feature to mixed reception that's been skewing negatively lately, Riot Games said it's considering ending position ranking previews and partially resetting ranks.

Ed "SapMagic" Altorfer, the lead designer for meta game systems like ranked games and matchmaking, shared a third update on the status of League of Legends' ranked system and announced the possibility of ending the position rank previews. The Rioter's post broke down the positive effects of the system Riot Games has seen as well as the negative feedback received from players who didn't like having separate ranks for different positions, but a TLDR provided succinctly summed up Riot Games' current thinking.

"The core Ranked changes have been well-received and positional matchmaking is an improvement in several areas," the Rioter's update said. "However, reception of position ranks hasn't been as positive, and we're investigating issues with Diamond+ matchmaking/ranks. We're exploring fixes for these, but if they won't yield significant improvements, we're considering ending the position rank previews and partially resetting the top of the ladder."

Three points mentioned specifically in the post the most pronounced frustrations from players' perspectives is that the system is too grindy, doesn't feel rewarding, and lowers competitive intent. If Riot Games did choose to end position ranked previews should solutions for these problems not be found, the Rioter said the system would revert to giving players a single rank and the highest position rank would be kept. More information on that is expected to come on March 8th.

"We're investigating how we can solve these, including further changes to splashing and bigger bonuses to your main position," Altorfer said. "Based on the feedback and reception, we're also evaluating whether we should end the position rank previews and go back to a single rank. If we do this, players in North America and Korea would retain their highest position rank and all progress toward split rewards. We'll detail the actions we're taking here on March 8."

The decision doesn't appear to be one that's made lightly. Position ranks and other changes to the ranked system were first discussed back in April 2018 when Riot Games release the video above that gave insight into its plans. Altorfer and other League of Legends designers have explored more changes and taken feedback from players since then. In a story shared in a comment within a Reddit thread where players discussed those ranked changes, Riot Cactopus quoted Altorfer as saying "if players don't love it, it's the right thing to do" when asked about position ranks and whether Riot Games was prepared to reset them.

More information on League of Legends' position ranks is expected to come on March 8th.

-----

Have you subscribed to ComicBook Nation, the official Podcast of ComicBook.com yet? Check it out by clicking here or listen below.

In this latest episode, we talk about the new X-Men: Dark Phoenix trailer, Will Smith breaking up with the Suicide Squad, & so much more! Make sure to subscribe now and never miss an episode!

0comments
Start the Conversation

of