Explanation: The formula to the ranking system

At some point, the community apparently deluded itself into believing some seriously stupid shit about the ranking system. Next time Riot makes any major feature changes like this, they should pin it and make it as clickbaity as possible so people will actually read up on these things and not spiral off into mythology with their delusions. Crates don't factor into what rank you get.

Here's how the system works. It works off of a percentile system, directly comparing you with other people who played that champion in that role. If you play Yasuo mid like everyone else in the universe does, you're playing against everyone else's stats and results, and due to statistics, it becomes much harder to gain a higher rank. If you play Janna top, it's comparatively much easier because Janna top is extremely rare. Yes, the system does know the difference between the same champions in different roles.

With that out of the way, how does the formula work? Now, the EXACT specifics of this, I don't know, but it takes a ton of factors into account. I'm guessing it compiles it all into a lengthy algebraic formula and creates a final score that is compared to other scores, and your ranking is based on where you are in that percentile.

D-: 0-6% (basically AFK) D: 6-12% D+: 13-18% C-: 19-25% C: 26-30% C+: 31-37% B-: 38-44% B: 45-50% (this is the average, and where most players in an average game will wind up) B+: 51-66% A-: 67-72% A: 73-78% A+: 79-83% S-: 84-88% S: 89-94% S+: 95-100%

It's not entirely accurate; the margin of error is probably 1 or 2%, but this is how percentiles work. It's not like the grade system used in schools.

Now, what does the system factor into your ranking? This is where it gets hazy. Yes, it factors in your...

• Role,
• Kills
• Deaths
• Assists
• Creep score

But it also factors in...

• Ward count
• Damage dealt
• Damage taken (damage taken being factored as a positive thing. A lot of champions, like tanks, focus on being a damage sponge, and the ones besides are likely doing a good job by the system's logic if they can almost but not die)
• Time elapsed
• Turrets destroyed
• Healing (again, champions like Soraka, Bard, Taric, Alistar, Janna and Sona whose gameplay largely focuses on their ability to heal their allies).

All of this is compiled into an algebraic formula that I don't know the specifics of, and then you get your final score that's translated into your rank. It probably modifies points here and there based on things you did or did not do. Someone who goes 15/0/8 in 20 minutes who didn't ward once or smash a turret probably won't get as high a score as someone who got 13/1/6 with the same champion in the same role and general time scale who did.

Likewise, it becomes harder to score a high rank with certain champions in certain roles if the average player is just that good in that role, doubly so if it's a large pool of players to draw from. And it doesn't matter if you're the support, the top laner, or Yasuo mid. The scoring formula is probably the exact same for everyone, and supports aren't going to have kills counted against them. That's what the community does, not the ranking system.