Okay... The real story about draft... and normal games...

Parkway Drive·Nov 9, 2016·1 votes·1,225 views

It's very basic... and here's how it goes.

Everyone has MMR for the different types of ques (riot can confirm somewhere but i know its true).
New "flex" is the same thing as "draft" but:

flex changes who you can play draft with (rank distribution constraints)
It displays this MMR you probably didn't even realize you had as a rank(as seen in soloQ)

Your "draft" rank will now be reset according to your ranked mmr and placements, so consider it a hard reset to your "normal draft" MMR but taking your current rank as the baseline.
Go play flex and stop thinking of it as ranked... its literally just going to be a rank there instead of being hidden now that I'm sure 80% of you check and look up your opponents when in normal games currently anyway (i know i do, esp after i notice im either facerolling normals or someone is playing really well, brings out the curiosity).
in the long run, normal drafts and flex is the same thing just with a display of your rank and restrictions (that should be removed IMO) that allows the current ranked dynamic to continue.

end note: what you should be caring about is that solo que is not actually solo... its solo/duo... therefore there will still be boosting and manipulation and heavier influence on games. No one (unless they're practicing like many of you keep complaining about) will be playing flex duo Que to grind a rank unless its to practice strategy etc, which makes the point everyone is crying about.

also, it would be different if they made it so you couldn't solo que in flex... but you can so yeah i don't understand the misconception of the removal of draft normal que.

15 Comments

OglafNov 9, 20162 votes

[{quoted}](name=Parkway Drive,realm=NA,application-id=3ErqAdtq,discussion-id=BwiEEY2F,comment-id=000000000000,timestamp=2016-11-09T15:25:05.369+0000)

this is how normals work now? i get stuck with premades all the time and against them.

and you didnt read everything... flex is literally the new draft but it gives you a rank its literally the only difference that is significant (that and who u get matched and can match up with)

And that's a pretty significant fucking difference, m8. Look at my latest game today:

"FIrst time new Katarina".

Cost us the game by feeding like a bitch. That's something that is bad enough in Normal, but in a forced Ranked environment where it WILL affect your "official record"? Nuts to that, Riot! EUNE is done and over with at this point, and I hope Riot realizes that after ruining the server, it is only proper to offer us a free transfer to EUW.

Parkway DriveNov 9, 20161 votes

not at all... its not a rank that anyone cares nor will care about nor will brag about etc... you already have/had a normal rank (MMR) it was just hidden. now it just shows you a rank for it.

also... this is what the new practice mode is for (first time playing a champ) any que, where you are playing against an enemy at all should not be your first time experiencing anything in a game (any game).

cause normals or not that ruins the experience for yourself and EVERYONE else... what you're talking about is not practice or preparation. you should be laying the ground work with learning and acknowledging what a champion does etc prior to entering a game.

practicing would mean you have knowledge, understanding, and a clear path as to what you wish to do prior to entering a game. but entering a game completely blind and not knowing what ur doing at all is like umm the blind pick normal games most of you are describing?

Parkway DriveNov 9, 20161 votes

Like holy shit lol, im reading through peoples complaints about draft and am i off my rocker being the only person that is grasping that in the long run its actually better?

-you get to practice -get a practice rank along with it, matching you consistently against opponents of same skill level -get to play with friends

-no one will take this serious expect at extremely top %'s other than that, flex will be just like normal draft but will display your mmr as a rank rather than completely hidden

x Kuro xNov 9, 20161 votes

I think this all depends on how Riot makes matchups in Flex.

The problem with the dynamic queue, is you could get a 1-1-1-1-1 team (5 solo queuers) against a full-5 premade team. If that happens in Flex, it'll be just as trash. So why not play normal draft, where the same thing can happen, but nobody cares about the outcome?

If Riot would promise Flex will only put a 1-4 or 2-3 against a full-5, then we could take it seriously.

Parkway DriveNov 9, 20161 votes

this is how normals work now? i get stuck with premades all the time and against them.

and you didnt read everything... flex is literally the new draft but it gives you a rank its literally the only difference that is significant (that and who u get matched and can match up with)

DeathBurstNov 9, 20161 votes

-get to play with friends

Well, no, that's the problem... Not if they aren't within one Tiers of yourself anymore.

Parkway DriveNov 9, 20161 votes

already mentioned this above... and stated thats the only change that should be made... read before commenting ~~dumb shit~~

just commenting in general, i don't want to be rude at all by any means but its just im trying to find new information about the new season etc little tips and tricks to give an advantage early and im seeing all this dumb shit about flex and draft.

DeathBurstNov 9, 20161 votes

But you can't have reliable match-making without restrictions. And un-reliable match-making may be tolerable in Normals, but not in a Ranked mode, even Flex. You have to sacrifice something either way, and that's why people are complaining.

Not blaming Riot or saying it's a bad decision, but I understand people's frustration. And you should too. Insulting people and calling them stupid won't help them overcome this frustration anyway.

Parkway DriveNov 9, 20161 votes

but you still don't understand, hence you feeling insulted. this ranking system for flex will have nearly zero impact on anything in the season to come. a ranked ARAM would have more significance than flex.

i've explained this like 7 different times already in this thread. it has no bearing on anything. it won't prove your good at the game, it won't get you into pro teams. it is literally just draft with a visible rating...(+the ranked differential restriction).

its literally for practice/testing your skills with friends. i mean if you've never reached gold or played at higher levels of play... then i understand how this would seem frustrating but i mean anyone with significant skill level and playing for competition won't touch flex unless they're tilted or playing with friends.

like, this is great because:

i can be tilted and instead of going on a smurf i can literally play at the same mmr but do it in flex where i can relax and not care nearly as much. like its actually brilliant for high level play the more i think about it. keep your play vs high level opponents and not have to go on a smurf and steam roll lower elos and ruin others experience.

DeathBurstNov 9, 20161 votes

I feel insulted, not because I don't understand, but because there is "dumb shit" in your bloody post. Saying "I don't want to be rude" is no excuse for saying rude things just after that.

And it's Ranked, so it's not "literally for practice" or playing with friends. Your view is selfish and simplistic, and if you think that all people below Plat are just not trying, you're seriously misguided. Majority of people just play Ranked because they want to see how they stand, they know perfectly well that they'll never reach pro-level, but they still like competition, do their best, and care about being ranked accurately.

OglafNov 9, 20161 votes

Easy for you to say.

Freakin' "Get to keep Draft"-privilege.

Parkway DriveNov 9, 20161 votes

i dont/wont ever play normal games for practice. so it doesnt matter to me, im looking at it from a logical point of view.

its better for everyone overall... ppl now having a rank for "practice" will entice them to perform better and "practice" seriously.

And honestly im glad they have solo/duo back cause i fuckin hated playing ranked 3 with IRL friends cause they would not be able to perform as well as the opposing 3 man squad i would be forced to play against

OglafNov 9, 20161 votes

[{quoted}](name=Parkway Drive,realm=NA,application-id=3ErqAdtq,discussion-id=BwiEEY2F,comment-id=00010000,timestamp=2016-11-09T15:28:20.954+0000)

i dont/wont ever play normal games for practice. so it doesnt matter to me, im looking at it from a logical point of view.

its better for everyone overall... ppl now having a rank for "practice" will entice them to perform better and "practice" seriously.

And honestly im glad they have solo/duo back cause i fuckin hated playing ranked 3 with IRL friends cause they would not be able to perform as well as the opposing 3 man squad i would be forced to play against

You're objectivity wrong here. Your opinion is wrong. Forced ranked is a terrible idea. EUNE will be shit-tier server.

Again, it already was, but now it is firmly cemented and nicely official and stuff.

SohleksNov 9, 20161 votes

You're right they want to remove draft to make room for the new flex queue.

We're going from 1 solo playable ranked and 2 solo playable normals to 2 solo playable ranked and 1 solo playable normals.

With norm draft kinda dead on some servers already (disabled on OCE) they are trying to combine multiple underplayed queues into something sustainable.

But normals mmr isn't gonna affect your flex queue placement. Your solo queue/ranked 5 mmr does. Normal draft and blind normals use the same mmr # actually

Parkway DriveNov 9, 20161 votes

it does use your current ranked mmr... but thats only for the initial play. once the new season starts they will have the same mmr entering placements but will be seperate upon playing your first match in either que