League of Legends Ranked Seeding Changes Delayed until 2021 Preseason
League of Legends players who are fed up with smurfs taking over their solo queue games will have to wait a bit longer before changes are implemented. According to Mark “Scruffy” Yetter, the lead gameplay designer for League of Legends, the ranked seeding changes for new accounts have been pushed back to the 2021 preseason patch.
Scruffy explained that there have been some challenges in translating normal matchmaking rating (MMR) into ranked MMR due to the differences between the two queues. The goal of the project is to accurately seed ranked players based on their skill level. To achieve this, Riot needs to do additional work to correctly translate between the two MMR systems.
Previously, Riot had stated that players are given a “fixed placement” towards the lower half of the solo queue curve. However, smurf accounts starting from the same rank as beginners have caused issues with matchmaking quality, particularly at the highest-populated skill level.
The new ranked seeding feature would use MMR from normal queues to determine a player’s ranked MMR for their initial competitive matches. This means that if a player performs well in normal games while leveling their account to 30, they would be placed in a higher solo queue rank.
However, translating normal MMR to ranked MMR has proven to be a challenge for the developers. As a result, Riot has decided to postpone the implementation of these changes until the preseason. Additionally, division promotional games will also be removed during this time.
Players will have to be patient as these changes are being worked on behind the scenes. The hope is that once implemented, the ranked experience will be more balanced and enjoyable for everyone.
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