Solo Queue Returns to League of Legends
Solo queue is making a comeback in League of Legends, after Riot Games removed it at the start of the 2016 season.
Riot’s decision to replace solo queue with dynamic queue initially seemed like a good idea. Playing with friends is more enjoyable than playing alone. However, unforeseen circumstances quickly revealed that the idea was better in theory than in practice. Queue times increased and matches became unbalanced due to differences in MMR. Additionally, the lack of preferred positions made it harder to be matched with players of similar MMR who chose different roles. After a certain amount of time in queue, the algorithm would broaden the pool of players to fill in other positions, resulting in imbalanced matches.
Many League players, including professional players, expressed their dissatisfaction with the new system, calling it “awful.” Some of the problems with dynamic queue were later discussed in a roundtable with former professional player William “Scarra” Li.
After 11 months of dynamic queue, Riot has finally listened to the community and announced that solo queue will be reintroduced with a few changes. Unlike the old solo queue, players will now be able to select their preferred positions, just like in dynamic queue. Riot is also adding a flex queue for players who want to play with more than one friend. Flex queue allows parties of up to five people. Team Ranked 5s will also be merged with this queue, making it available 24/7 instead of only during peak hours.
Chris “Pwyff” Tom, Communication Lead for League of Legends, shared his thoughts on the matter on Reddit. He mentioned that dynamic queue brought more people to ranked, but the perception of the ranked system decreased for those who care deeply about it. He also stated that while dynamic queue was effective at getting people to play ranked, it wasn’t worth compromising the integrity of the ranked experience.
The two queues will have separate ladders, and Challenger players will only have the option of solo queue.
League of Legends, solo queue, dynamic queue, MMR, flex queue, positions