If you’ve been playing Ranked Games in League of Legends for a while now, you may have experienced being “Autofilled” by the matchmaking system. This means that you don’t get the role you selected and instead have to play a different role. It can be frustrating, but there is a reason for this autofill function.
Back in 2016, Riot made changes to the Ranked match-making system to introduce Position Preference. This allowed players to select the roles they wanted to play before queuing up. It was meant to reduce the need for players to adjust their champion selection and provide a sense of comfort.
Autofill was introduced to address long queue times, especially for high-elo players. Before autofill, queue times could be very long, sometimes even hours. Autofill helps by assigning players roles they didn’t select, usually the Support role. It reduces the time it takes to find a match and start playing.
Another reason for autofill is positional shortage. If there aren’t enough players queued for a certain role, the system will autofill players into that role. This ensures that matches can still be found quickly.
Unfortunately, there is no way to avoid autofill. Even if you’ve been “Autofill Protected” in a game, the autofill functionality will still be activated. It depends on the game server’s traffic and positional shortage. In some regions and at certain times, you may not get autofilled as frequently.
To get Autofill Protected status, there are a few things you can do. First, playing games in an autofilled role will make it less likely for you to be autofilled in the next few games. The system takes into account your secondary role and how recently you played in an autofilled role to determine the best candidate for autofilling.
Playing Support or Fill for a couple of games will also reduce your chance of being autofilled, even after autofill protection wears off. So if you want to play a specific role in the next few days, consider playing Support or Fill to have more control over your position preference.
Some players claim to have found a way to “trick” the matchmaking system and get their preferred roles even with autofill activated. The trick is to not accept or decline a game if the queue timer exceeds the estimated time. However, this may result in longer queue times, especially in high elo.
It’s important to note that dodging a champion select lobby does not remove the autofill status. You will still get autofilled in your next game and receive a penalty. So it’s best to accept your assigned role and make the best out of the situation.
In conclusion, while Autofill Protection is a way for players to play their preferred roles, it’s also important to be flexible and learn how to play other roles, including Support. Each time you play in an autofilled role, you contribute to shorter queue times for everyone. It’s a way of doing your part for the community. So embrace the challenge and play the Poro Way!