With Riot Games using the ranking system, the old system based on MMR or Elo rating has been removed. However, League of Legends players understand that there is still something called hidden MMR that exists in the game and affects the points gained or lost after each match. Everyone knows this, but the frustrating part is that Riot Games does not make it public, which is why winning gives you so few points while losing takes away so many.
This is not necessarily a bug or a flawed feature, but players always want to know everything related to their ranking, including that hidden MMR. That’s why many players have sent questions to Riot Games on how to improve this metric. However, the answer from Riot was so obvious that it felt like a “sassy” remark from the creators of League of Legends.
A player asked: “I’ve been playing League of Legends for over 4 years and it has given me many joyful moments. However, since last season, my MMR has been getting worse. I win and get 17 points but lose and lose up to 20. How can I change this?”
Riot Games: “The short answer: Just keep winning. The purpose of the ranking system is not only to help people climb ranks, but also to accurately reflect the skill level of players. This means that climbing ranks will be increasingly difficult as you reach higher ranks, because at that level, the climb is harder and it gets closer to your actual skill level. If the points gained or lost after each win/loss are equal, it means you are at the rank that the system evaluates you at.
This does not mean you can’t climb any higher; it means that if you want to rank up, you need to play better than you think. The more you win, the more our system evaluates that your skills have improved, and your rank will be raised.”
In reality, everything that Riot Games said is something that… everyone already knows. The fact that you need to win to rank up is obvious. Even the need to try harder to climb higher is something that everyone knows; for the community, this is no different from a “sassy” remark. Isn’t Riot implying: “You all should just focus on winning instead of complaining to us”?
Why is my MMR so bad? Riot: Because you play poorly, lol.
Is there a problem with my MMR? Riot: Have you ever tried to win?
Some high-ranked players have an issue where they receive very few ranking points for wins and lose too many points for losses because almost no one has an MMR close to theirs.
They should stop losing.
That’s how Elo works; it’s not a problem.
Is there a problem with my MMR? Riot: Not my problem, just keep winning.
That’s exactly what Riot Games wants to say.
Just get better, guys – Riot.
Of course, everyone knows that to rank up, you need to practice more and play better. However, what frustrates people the most is that the factors affecting the ranking process, specifically hidden MMR, are not clearly displayed for players. Perhaps instead of stating the obvious, Riot Games should find a way to clarify this MMR system so that players can better understand the ranking system and rank up more effectively.
