Ranked Season 3 is Changing!

With the announcement of a new ranked system on January 15^th the way ranked queue works is completely changing.  Some players in the past have been upset with how ranked worked with many threads on the forums asking for the removal of the current ELO system.  Although many people cited problems with the issue nobody could agree on a solution so Riot took action.  The solution they are taking to the problems players have with ranked queue was to say “Out with the old, In with the new.”  The ranked changes took a few features away but added new things that players will need to understand to fully grasp how the game is changing.  Displayed ELO in the postgame score screen as well as the removal of the single ladder.  Some of the new additions are a new rating system, the addition of an interesting divisional system within a tier of play, a new type of advancement system, losing the ability to fall down a tier, and a new pinnacle tier for players.  All of the additions and subtractions will provide for a new ranked experience that should prove to add excitement and a change of pace for the ranked scene.  Although these changes are being added to all ranked queues the biggest impact will be felt in ranked fives where players will be able to achieve their dreams of being a professional gamer.

Under the old system we have been used to since the game was started we were governed by ELO points.  There was one ladder with one system for moving up and five tiers as you rise through the ranks. Many people were unhappy with how ELO worked and thought it was an unfair gauge of skill specifically in solo queue. A string of losses because of trolls and leavers could result into falling into a lower bracket with different players which may not have as great of an understanding or cooperation and could cause further ELO loss.  When a player fell to like this it was commonly referred to as going to “ELO hell” a place where teammates actions could drag down smart plays made by good players causing them to lose the game.  Under the soon to be old system there was no way to really stop this and the only remedy was to hope that you didn’t fall too far and had a string of wins to boost yourself back up.  It was very possible to gain or lose 100 to 200 ELO over a weekend and be playing above or below your real rating.  This was most apparent near the ELO where the next tier (bronze, silver, gold, etc.) of play was divided at.

With the new system we gain something called league points which work similar to ELO with some slight tweaks.  A player will still gain or lose points with a victory or defeat, although the specific amount is still a mystery.  Moving through each division and tier will have very distinct criteria compared to currently where there are no gates to assure someone is ready for higher ranked games.  This could lead to a more stable system where a players rating will fluctuate less and therefore create more even games with a more even skill distribution across the teams.  Under this new system every 100 points there are divisions with six per tier in total.  When a player reaches 100 league points a series of advancement games is triggered.  To succeed in the advancement series it requires winning two of the next three games for a division and three games of the next five for a tier. This helps to assure that when a player moves up a division and especially a tier they are actually ready.  This assures that if someone had a few good games in a row, they are actually ready to move into the next division or the next tier if they are already in the highest division of that tier.

This new system creates and environment where there is a larger feeling of excitement as a player moves up through the divisions and tiers. It is yet to be seen if there will be a congratulations splash similar to what a player receives when they receive a ribbon from the new honor system.  The thing most players will most likely look favorably on is that once a tier is achieved it cannot be lost UNLESS there is a period of absence. For example once a player achieves Gold they can only go as low as the lowest division in Gold, they are unable to fall back into silver tier. It is still possible to fall from the highest Gold division to the lowest Gold division with enough losses.  Without knowing how many League Points a win or loss is worth it is difficult to know how quickly this could happen.

Elo still exists but it is no longer a displayed value on the end game score screen.  The criteria to move up to a higher division it requires gaining 100 league points which triggers an advancement series  The only question is if when advancement games are triggered will all other players be in advancement games as well?  This is mainly for solo queue where it is possible to have ten players with no association in a game.  In a perfect world solo queue advancement games will be between ten people all fighting to advance onward.  In the ranked team queue it seems much easier to find two teams who are both in the advancement stage and have the battle for who gains the opportunity to move on.

After a player has moved up through Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, and Diamond they will have the opportunity to move onto the new Challenger tier. This new tier helps to show which players are the best of the best in that specific queue structure.  This will also help these teams get exposure to sponsors and possibly even tournament invites where they will be able to compete in a LAN environment.  Things like this will help to expose these up and coming teams and give them the opportunity to be discovered and visible.  The chance of gaining sponsors and playing in more tournaments can help them to become even more competitive and challenge for the top spots.  These things could help the teams move up and possibly take the next step by turning them into the next pro team.

With the new season structure the top thirty-two teams, in the Challenger tier, at both the midpoint and the end of the season will be chosen to participate in a tournament identical to the Path to Pro tournament that happened in January 2013.  Thirty-two team online tournaments with the top eight teams will then participate in a sixteen team live tournament against the bottom four pro teams as well as four teams who will qualify from partner events like MLG and IPL. The top four teams from the live tournament will then join the top four teams from the pro league to take part in the League Championship Series Pro League.  This system is similar to what is used in European sporting leagues where teams can be promoted up and relegated down between divisions based on their performance.  Teams will want to continue practicing and attempting to improve since everyone will by vying to get in the Championship Series and nobody will want to fall out.
Changes like these and many others help Riot to create the most exciting environment in E-Sports today.  Along with the Riots massive involvement in the scene through sponsoring tournaments of their own and cosponsoring them through IPL and MLG.  They are blazing a trail that gamers love and Riot as a company should be very proud of.  Hopefully other companies are taking notes and do things to help expand their own E-Sports scene to help the scene as a whole.