The New League of Legends Season: Changes and the Dividing Position Ranking System
The 2019 League of Legends season has brought a multitude of changes that are shaping the game and developing the meta. While these changes have been positively received overall, the introduction of the new position ranking system is causing division within the North American community.
Position ranking is Riot’s way of addressing off-roles. Currently implemented in the North American and South Korea servers, this system assigns an individual matchmaking rating (MMR) for each position. European players will have to wait for the system to be applicable to them.
Understanding Position Ranking in Simple Terms
The new system eliminates the worry of losing hard-earned league points (LP) when playing off-roles. Previously, losing a game in an off-role would affect your overall LP. Now, losing a game in an off-role only impacts LP for that specific role, while your LP for your main role remains largely unaffected.
The Division Caused by Position Ranking in the Community
The new position ranking system can be frustrating for players who enjoy multiple roles or have limited playing time. Instead of completing 10 placement games and receiving a rank, players must now complete placement games for each role they play. This can significantly lengthen the ranking process.
Some members of the League of Legends subreddit argue that the new system has made the game more of a grind, discouraging players from switching roles frequently. This slower progress can be demotivating for players attempting to improve their rank.
Even for players who primarily play one or two roles, the system can be disheartening. If players are autofilled into a role they are not interested in, they feel that the game becomes a waste of time with little incentive for victory or consequences for defeat.
Another concerning aspect of position ranking is how it handles promotions and demotions. While players cannot be promoted to the next division while playing an off-role, they can be demoted. This can feel unfair to players who are forced to play their off-role when they want to focus on ranking up.
A Possible Solution to the Position Ranking System
One League of Legends subreddit user proposed a solution to the issues surrounding position ranking. They suggested that skipping promotions should be allowed if a player’s rank in one role is two divisions higher than their ranking in another role. This would speed up the ranking process for off-roles and make the system less frustrating for players.
League of Legends, esports, position ranking, off-roles, matchmaking rating, LP, promotion, demotion, division, meta, North American community