[ Hextech Keys ] Any matchmaking que?

KuroiArt·Mar 29, 2016·2 votes·931 views

As Title says: Can You get keys in any que? (3v3 / ARAM / co-op vs ai ?)

Has anyone checked that? Thanks in advance! [slayer-jinx-catface]

5 Comments

Mysticman89Mar 29, 20162 votes

You are intended to be able to get keys from any matchmade queue (so 3v3, ARAM, SR, but not bots/customs), but ARAM at least is currently broken so you can't get them there. I think TT is also broken but I'm less sure of that, as I only do SR and ARAM.

MinardeMar 29, 20161 votes

Support site says that key fragments are currently bugged for everything except SR.

Furthermore, the chat restriction support article specifically lists Co-op as a matchmade queue, and the Hextech Crafting support article mentions nothing about it being restricted to PvP-only. So key fragments should drop in Co-op games too if it's not bugged.

Mysticman89Mar 29, 20161 votes

Interesting. I feel like there was something where they referred to matchmade queues and bots didn't count, but it may have just been unclear in one of the cases. Or perhaps I'm misremembering, as your sources do seem to imply that bots count.

Having bots count seem weird though, as bots are pretty much a 100% win chance, so unless the odds are different in that queue, key grinding would be best accomplished via spamming bot games, and that seems like it should not be the case.

MinardeMar 29, 20161 votes

I'm having some trouble thinking of occasions when Riot specifically limited rewards to PvP queues, so my examples are a bit lacking. However, in the Dominion retirement announcement, they explicitly excluded Co-op games from being lumped with other matchmade games. Additionally, in the Bilgewater event, a Rioter confirmed that Co-op games counted as matchmade games.

It wouldn't surprise me if drop rates varied from queue to queue. The fact that the solution to keys only dropping on SR isn't "Just flip the switch" implies that Crafting drops aren't a shared global setting. Moreover, if drop rates were the same across all modes, key grinding would still be best accomplished via spamming the shortest-length games, whether that's bot games, ARAM, or the rotating mode queue.

Mysticman89Mar 29, 20161 votes

Well, it wouldn't necessarily be shortest, so much as shortest to win on average since you can only get key fragments on wins. Bot games are essentially an assured win, but the other modes would in theory level off to 50% win rate as your mmr adjusted appropriately. If those other modes take less than half the time as a typical bot game then it'd be worth it, but otherwise bots would be at least as good if not better even if the other modes game times were shorter.

Hopefully they will clarify if queue type influences the drop rate once they get things fixed.

Although, if all SR queues work for fragments currently, perhaps if someone was so compelled they could spam some bot games for awhile and see if any key fragments show up. (Ideally someone who hasn't had very many fragments drop yet, since the drop rate decreases with every fragment drop until the monthly reset.)