League of Legends Competitive Season: Updates and Future Plans
The 2022 season of League of Legends has reached its three-month mark, and players have already experienced a series of balance changes and ongoing issues in ranked queues. Riot Games is now sharing its insights on the current state of competitiveness in the game and what players can expect in the coming months.
In a recent developer blog, Riot Codebear, the competitive gameplay project manager, and Riot Riru, from the marketing communications team, provided an overview of Riot’s perspective on the competitive scene in League so far this season. They discussed key areas such as competitive integrity, progression opportunities, and the focus on team and organized play. It is important to note that competition exists at both the individual and team levels.
To address the state of Solo/Duo queue, the devs stated, “From a high-level viewpoint, Solo/Duo queue is currently in one of the healthiest states we’ve ever seen.” However, they also acknowledge that issues with boosting and MMR balance still persist, impacting competitive integrity.
The developers identified the influx of premade parties, especially those consisting of three or four players, as a contributing factor to the disparities in solo/duo queue. This situation affects queue times and reduces non-premade players’ chances of securing their preferred roles.
In response, Riot is exploring the possibility of introducing a “Solo-only” queue, which would redirect premades to Ranked Flex or a dedicated premade queue. While this concept is still in the early stages, the game’s developers believe that a “Solo-only” queue could mitigate boosting, minimize autofill instances, and increase the popularity of Ranked Flex. They emphasize the importance of balancing all game modes in League to ensure accessibility for all players.
As the 2022 season progresses, Riot will delve further into enhancing competitive integrity across all modes available in League of Legends. The devs will provide more updates on the development of a “Solo-only” queue if it becomes a viable option.
Related
League of Legends, competitive season, balance changes, ranked queues, Riot Games, competitive integrity, progression opportunities, team and organized play, Solo/Duo queue, healthiest states, boosting, MMR balance, premade parties, queue times, preferred roles, Solo-only queue, Ranked Flex, accessibility, updates, future plans.