An In-Depth Look at the Issues of Dynamic-Que

Because time after time I have seen people commenting as if dynamic que and the new champ select are related, I want to clarify before starting the post:

Dynamic que is the system of being able to que with as many friends as you like in rank, from a duo que all the way to a full 5-man squad. This is the system responsible for playing with 4-man premades, playing against 5-man premades and getting stuck with boosted animals.

New champ select is the system of being able to choose 2 roles and assuredly get one of those 2 rolls, as well as the new allotment of bans to the last 3 picks on each team. This is the system responsible for long que times and the possible incoming high-elo bandaid of auto-fill in extremely long ques.

Getting down to the meat of the post, the main issue with dynamic que is the lack of competitive integrity- or so many say- but how is this the case? Solo players can still play solo, I mean, all Riot did was add an avenue for larger premades. A system like this functions well in Dota, another extremely competitive game, which is why I believe the failure is in Riot's implementation of it. To stress my view, I believe dynamic que can work competitively, but not how it is currently implemented. The biggest issue with dynamic que killing how competitive ranked used to be is that the ranking experience with premades is not consistent, and falls on the same ladder as solo players. A premade only player who climbed to Plat V with their group of friends can jump out of the premade and run a solo game at Plat V level. The issue with this is that the player who only ever played in premades does not have an adequate estimation of their solo skill established. Much like Riot has been trying to shift ranked from a solo carry to a coordinated team experience this season, this premade player was only ever ranked on their coordinated team play yet is now being dumped in a game with the expectations that they also have the solo carry potential of a Plat V. On top of the fact that dynamic que naturally lessens the individual skill necessary to rank up (you can rely on your friends to fill in the gaps in your skills!), this premade player will also expect a level of coordination privy to a premade and overextend or over-commit in thinking that their yolo-que team will synergize well enough to folllow up or hard peel for said player. Without perspective, these players are often viewed as idiotic 1v5 engagers and feeders, the "dynamic boosted". Not to say that some of these players aren't just making dumb plays, but some of those dumb plays are simply a shift from the premade playstyle to a less team-reliant playstyle. How many of you have ever played ADC and engaged on the enemy bot lane while your support was sitting back 500 units behind you under tower watching you 1v2 without moving to help (or vice versa, sometimes the ADC is too busy farming to want to help their support)? This is the same concept as the switch from premade ques to solo que.

The other main issue is that solo and premade skills are compared on the same ladder. No, I do not mean that a Gold I premade player should not be Gold I, I mean that a player with a 51% winrate in their premade should not be treated like a player with a 51% winrate in solo que. With premade matchmaking, premades should be matched based not on their accumulative MMR but based on their overall winrate as a group. Sort of like how you can look up your winrate when playing with a friend on op.gg. A 70% winrate premade with 500 MMR should not be matched against a 45% winrate premade with 500 MMR. While the technical skill of both premades should be the same (similar MMR), the 70% winrate premade will likely win because they have much better teamwork. Likewise, when the individual players in premades have their MMR adjusted based on victory and defeat, the MMR for premade play should be mostly separate from solo MMR. For example, if I have 100 MMR for both solo and premade play, and I win a premade game, then my MMR for solo might go up to 104 while my MMR for premade play might go up to 120. This would account for the small increases in solo carry potential that will inevitably occur from rising in the ranks (even if in an environment vastly different from solo que). Sort of how if you're a competitive Dota player switching to LoL. Yes, the games may be different, but many basic skills transfer over regardless. By separating premade and solo player MMR, you can account for the situation where a Plat premade player switches to solo. The Plat player will not be dropped into a game with bronze players because they haven't played solo, instead, they might be dropped into a game with low golds until the system can adjust for how good they are in a more individual-skill based environment. In doing so, this should alleviate the pain of getting matched with "dynamic-boosted" players while preventing the situation where a high-skill player is dumped into a low level game so as to pub-stomp their way into a more suiting MMR.

As an add-on to my main points, I would like to say that while adjusting MMR for premade players would solve many of the competitive issues in ranked, there are still a few things I think could be done to alleviate frustration in dynamic que. This is a game and we're all here to have fun more or less (whether your fun is facerolling the enemy team with full build Master Yi or setting up some crazy wombo combo with a Malphite ult), so the worst thing for a player trying to have fun is to feel helpless as to the outcome of events in game. There are a few pain points for solo players right now and if they could be resolved I am positive that even the pure solo que players might accept dynamic que.

• 5-man premades should NEVER be matched against anything other than a 5-man premade: Complain about que times all you want, the fact of the matter is that if a 5-man is matched against anything other than a 5-man, then the enemy team is at a HUGE disadvantage. Putting a 5-man premade against anything other than a 5-man premade is an almost free win thanks to the massive difference in team coordination. While the que times may be harsh if dynamic que can't just throw a 3-man + 2-man team against the 5-man they can't find a good match for, remember that the alternative is the 5-man receiving an almost guaranteed win. A free win is not good for upholding the competitive value of ranked, and would probably feel like crap to those on the receiving end of the 5-man's coordination. Essentially, right now, the system will (in extreme cases) more or less sacrifice both the fun of the non 5-man and the competitive integrity of the match in the sake of shorter que times. Rather, I believe that it is in better taste for the 5-man to have to sacrifice some time in order to find a match vs another 5-man than it would be for the smaller premades (or solo players) to take the hit to shorten the 5-man's que times.

• 4-man premades should not exist: Yes, I understand that it would stink to have to drop a person if you could not find a 5th man for a full premade but, again, this is about the principle of sacrificing the enjoyment of a solo player to cater to the enjoyment of the premade. As it stands, a 4-man premade will either be silent the entire match and not speak to the solo on their team (talking in comms like Skype, Curse Voice, or Discord) or blame all of their mistakes on the solo player (odd-man-out). Yes, the Bronze V "it's never muh fault!!!111!" mentality has always been a thing, even in solo que, but dynamic que exacerbates this issue because people will naturally be more inclined to shift to their friend's point of view on an issue if they are neutral about it. A single person on the 4-man talking trash about the solo can cause the entire 4-man to go mob-mentality and gang up on said solo. This is unfair to the solo and can easily tilt most people who aren't hardened to the flaming of LoL, causing them to want to return fire, ending up with them being reported. While toxicity may go down with larger premades (who would start spewing slurs and hate speech to their friend?), the chances of the odd-man-out having a fallout with his entire team skyrockets because angering one member of the premade can see the entire 4-man turning on him. On the flip side, if the 4-man is silent the entire game, then the solo player will feel almost helpless to the outcome of the match. Trying to get the 4-man to help you with your strategy is nigh-impossible because you must convince the entire 4-man to follow suit, otherwise, none of them will. In the event that you are simply following along with the 4-man's plan, then you are at the whim of their decision-making and will lose or win the game almost entirely based on the skill of the 4-man. This devalues solo-skill and teamwork skills. How can a player become more skilled with teamwork if they are literally matched with a team that refuses to work with them?!?

• Solo players should be matched in full solo player games as a high priority: The essential thing to understand with this point is that coordinated teamwork is OP. No matter how statistically even the match is based on 2-man + solo + solo + solo vs 2-man + solo + solo + solo or whatever configuration might occur, if a solo player is up against a coordinated group (no matter how small) they are at a disadvantage which can make them feel helpless. If the enemy toplaner is qued with their jungle, then you can prepare to get your toplane camped no matter how stupid of an idea it is. Even if camping a low-priority lane eventually results in the enemy team falling behind yours, it will cause extreme frustration for the person being camped. What can you do when you are constantly 1v2 or 2v3? This is not a question of statistics but rather a question of fun. In matches like these the fun of the solo players on both teams is often sacrificed in the name of statistical equality. If 4-man premades are removed, then the only time a solo would ever have to be on a team with and against premades would be when when que times are extremely long (say for example, 5 or more minutes beyond the average solo que wait time). If a solo player is only occasionally matched with premades then they won't mind that 1 out of 15 games where they have to sit through the lane camping, team silence and mob-mentality.

The principle of these 3 points on premade matchmaking is that the enjoyment of the solo players should not be put on the line to cater to the enjoyment of the premade players. Playing against or with premades who are coordinated leaves solo players feeling helpless as to the outcome of the match and it can be infuriating knowing that everyone but you has an advantage in communications (this point reminds me of a principle of Riot's game design: optional power is mandatory).

• You should be able to see who is and is not in a premade together, even if the premades don't have the same club tag This is self-explanatory and would go a long ways in relieving the solo playerbase. Knowledge is one of the key factors affecting perception- if I don't know who on the enemy team is or isn't premade, then my gut would be to assume that any well-coordinated enemies are in a premade based on past experiences. The players will assume this even if they don't know this for certain and will perpetually blame dynamic que for them being put up against "premades" even if they weren't, and the coordination they faced was simply several solo players with good synergy. This is a vital change if dynamic que is here to stay. How can players provide criticism on dynamic que if they don't even know when they are up against players in a premade? Aside from the fact that it would aid in player perception of how dynamic que actually works, it would allow solo players who are put in that one match with premades adjust their playstyle based on who on the enemy team is qued together, a fair tradeoff considering the solo player is already at a significant communication disadvantage.

One last comment I want to make is about the talked about idea of removing 5-man premades in Diamond V or higher matches. This is a horrible idea!!! Rather than remove 5-man teams (the guys you forced into dynamic que with the removal of 5v5 ranked), the future pro and LCS material, simply adjust matchmaking as stated previously to where a 5-man can only ever fight 5-mans. Truthfully, a high elo challenger 5-man team cannot find a good match most of the time, but that is the case in LCS as well. Remember season 5 worlds where SKT1 went almost undefeated all the way through the tournament? Yes, matchmaking will be bad for 5v5 in high elos, but that is probably the best way for high elo teams to practice- fighting more skilled 5-mans. As long as the fighting remains limited to 5v5 fights, that is.

Comments on my views about dynamic que? Think Riot or I are full of it? Keep comments civil please and remember the differences between dynamic que and new champ select when you do comment!