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DQ has caused a shift in the player base, and quite a significant one.

LatetotheRace··50 votes·3,222 views

http://www.leagueofgraphs.com/rankings/rank-distribution

Although I cannot see any immediate way to review older information, from what I can remember the player-base was distributed into the top 8.79% being in plat-challenger and the bottom 73.1% being in bronze-silver which leaves roughly 18.11% of the community in gold. Right now as you can see there has been an influx of players into platinum (myself included, soloQ for the win baby) and gold in particular with a .3%~ increase to diamond V. This is a total of 1% of players (roughly 1 million players) being injected into platinum, and close to 5-6% (5-6 million into gold.) What does this all mean? Well boosting as a whole is just rampant whether it be via illegal or payed measure or just friends helping out their lower skill buddies the results are evident. Dynamic queue has caused a general rank upset overall, and my recommendation is to introduce a much harder MMR reset to all players bronze-platinum at the end of this season, and the introduction of pure soloQ. We've gotten ranked teams, both 3v3 and 5v5 so the excuse of not having ranked to play with friends no longer holds water and can easily be dismissed. (Keep in mind team ranks have their own benefits and what not to those successful at playing with others.)

If someone can get me last season's information that would be fantastic, as it's far too late for me to think rationally and actually find it. (I'm going off mostly memory, but I do recall this as being accurate. If not, by all means correct me.

88 Comments

Leetri12 votes

It's impossible to tell if it's actually DQ doing this since Riot introduced a host of new features at the same time. For all we know the increase in average rank could be because of the new champion select and people getting their main roles instead of having to fight about it and tilt their team before they've even banned.

Dextix LT4 votes

How convenient ain't it?

LatetotheRace3 votes

I don't believe that the shift is from the other new features, or at least not as significantly as from DQ itself. "people getting their main roles instead of having to fight about it and tilt their team before they've even banned." I can get behind this somewhat helping bronze-silver, but I don't exactly see this causing such a shift to both gold and platinum, over 1 million players in platinum is a HUGE shift, and simple QOL updates are not going to cause that.

Rorana2 votes

there is also promo helper in gold and below that gives 1 free win in promos artificially inflating the amount of plats

manbearswine1 votes

{quoted}

increase in average rank

That pretty much can only be done by relaxing the mmr needed to gain said rank.

Average mmr always stays the same, and so should the average rank, so if the average rank changes, the mmr/league system changed, no other way around it.

ThePartyLeader8 votes

I get so lost by these posts. I understand that boosting may be easier in some sense with DQ. What doesn't make sense is no one has this data. I could make a different argument using the same graph that says the new champ select and rule preference pulled a lot of people out of lower elos since they no longer had to carry teams from an off roll. I mean naturally you'd expect people to be better if they only queue as there best roles, correct? So the mmr/division distribution shift is easily explained by this. Maybe all these coordinated dives aren't because DQ but instead are because junglers are actually jungling and you don't have some derpy top lane teemo main first timing rek sai since he was forced into an off roll.

Fenikkusu16 votes

But even with this, I would say DQ is most of the issue, because you can play your main role all day, but just because your getting your best role and your best champ doesn't mean you will always go up in rating. I don't think someone would suddenly jump from plat to diamond just because they are always getting their main role, hell I've been getting mid lane a lot, which is my mine role, and I've been on a losing streak. DQ boosting is the more likely set up imo, and your right, no one has this data because Riot refuses to release it for whatever reason.

ThePartyLeader2 votes

{quoted}

But even with this, I would say DQ is most of the issue, because you can play your main role all day, but just because your getting your best role and your best champ doesn't mean you will always go up in rating. I don't think someone would suddenly jump from plat to diamond just because they are always getting their main role, hell I've been getting mid lane a lot, which is my mine role, and I've been on a losing streak. DQ boosting is the more likely set up imo, and your right, no one has this data because Riot refuses to release it for whatever reason.

It's purely anecdotal though. I'm saying he's talking a graph and just drawing accusations. Nothing supporting it.

It may be DQ I just find it odd when people just ignore some factors to draw conclusions that support there argument.

Also I would find it hard to believe that most people out there play every role at am equal mmr skill level.

Vistha Kai6 votes

Because showing us this data would be admitting that DQ was a mistake.

Well, they already indirectly admitted that like 3-4 times by now.

  1. 5-man premades are a no-go and got their own queue (again)
  2. Premade sizes in Diamond+ lowered to 3 people.
  3. Multiple matchmaking adjustments to artificially lower winrates of people playing in premades - for comparison before the average was like 60-fucking-% and that's Riot who said it.
kile1478 votes

You can say that all you want, but you have no data to back it up. You are on a losing streak maybe because all your opponents are getting their desired roles, and they're better at them. I often hear that League has a high concentration of one trick ponies, and new champ select would benefit them greatly which could account for the skill distribution change. I'm not disagreeing that DQ probably has an effect, but if you can't isolate any of the variables then you can't make informed decisions on which of them are responsible. ThePartyLeader's explanation is just as valid as yours because the data also supports it as does his hypothesis on why that is.

Basically the only way I can see to figure this out would be to revert the champ select or revert DQ, neither of which is likely.

Dextix LT6 votes

Convenient how both systems were shipped at the same time, ain't it?

kile1472 votes

Don't disagree that the data is probably somewhat intentionally obfuscated.

FioraWillCarry7 votes

Why would should I be concerned with .3% increase of players in D5 ? Like how does that really affect me ?

jaymc113025 votes

{quoted}

Why would should I be concerned with .3% increase of players in D5 ? Like how does that really affect me ?

D5 and up, in the past seasons, typically consisted of the top 1% of the playerbase. This season it consists of the top 1.3-1.4% of the playerbase. That means we have almost 30% or 40% more total players in diamond and up this season. Most of them do not belong at this level of play. You are mistaking .3% increase to the population in diamond for an increase in the number of players in diamond and up from 1% to 1.3%.

That is a hugely significant increase. Particularly since there are less total players playing this season than in the prior 2 seasons.

This season there are about 30-35,000 players in diamond and up on the NA server. Last season there were about 20-25,000 total. Meanwhile the total number of "players" to play ranked on the NA server has not changed. (We all know "players" just means accounts right? Not actual players...)

ThiccNugg2 votes

Is it crazy to say people are getting better? But more than likely they're are some boosteds.

LatetotheRace5 votes

No, I agree that players can and do get better. (Excluding those trapped by skill ceilings built into their DNA. hehe) But to see such a large jump in just one season is very concerning. Either a ton of players went balls to the walls and started getting coached to perfection, or something fishy is afoot.

Jax the Stampede2 votes

but....fish don't have feet......

doombotMECHA3 votes

exactly!

Anags4 votes

And how many of those accounts are just second or third accounts for people already in Plat or diamond?

I'm not saying that accounts for it but it could be part of it.

So what if more people have these borders? Where is the downside for anyone. They have to play the game to get it.

There is no negative to anything you have stated at all. And who says that people don't belong there? You? The system determines how to get that rank. If they can get it then they belong there.

Now maybe it isn't as hard this season to achieve certain ranks but that is what the ranks are right now. What you think they should be is irrelevant.

Also unless Riot is giving you these numbers they may not be completely accurate.

The Deckowner10 votes

it basically means there is 20% chance of having a boosted player.

Mr Fidori6 votes

It's hard to find this info, but one source I found (reliability pending, since source website no longer exists, but it was pretty accurate when it was around): http://www.lolsummoners.com/stats/rankings. It lists player in Plat-Challenger as being the top 10.026% of players in season 5.

Current distribution (http://www.leagueofgraphs.com/rankings/rank-distribution) lists players Plat-Challenger as being the top 10.03% of players.

As you can see, the numbers are pretty close. Additionally, the percentage of players in Bornze-Silver has, by this data, grown from 62.4% in Season 5 to 66.2 now. Even assuming a reasonable margin of error, it would seem numbers are pretty consistent.

Which makes sense. It wouldn't make sense if many more people somehow ended up in higher divisions.

LatetotheRace3 votes

From what I've seen is that the players in platinum as of last season were about 9.1% max and fluctuated to as low as 8.9%. I have not seen anything even close to 10% until this season in particular. That being said, the most percentage of players should be in bronze, not silver, and then less and less per rank until we finally get to platinum which should be about 5-6% (which would weed myself out unless I started actually working at it) and then less and less until the .01% in challenger/master. The MMR and ranked system is in need of update, and from what I've seen from this season only proves that.

Maximum Morde4 votes

A large portion of the shift is from promo helper. Some is also from dynamic boost, but I think promo helper has had the larger impact.

The Deckowner3 votes

promo helper only exist when you are in promo to a rank that you already achieved before, it helps you get back to a rank that you got demoted from, but it doesn't actually help you climb higher than you already were.

DrCyanide3 votes

No, it helps you climb higher because you get it on the second and third try at a new rank.

The Deckowner4 votes

if you can get into promo 3 times you probably deserve to rank up and just got unlucky. Even without the promo helper eventually you will win the promo.

Dr Poro3 votes

Yes, but before, some people failed to rank up (although they deserved to) because of continuous bad luck at the wrong time.

He's not saying that promo helper is a bad thing, but it's a factor that might explain the increase of higher ranks (mostly, the increase of division V players because they briefly get there and then drop again in MMR but remain in their new tier).

The Deckowner2 votes

Winning 2 games comparing to 3 games doesn't seem like as much of a difference as having premade boost against solo team.

Very Hard Engage2 votes

promo helper does nothing, it gets you up 1 tier/division at best, but in the end you still wont climb if you cant win against better players. thats why the division 5 brackets as always, have been full, because they cant fall back down as easily.

pregroups help you win against better players, namely by getting carried and the huge discrepancy in ranks with friends you are allowed to bring with you. it may be balanced 50-50, but it still creates an unfavorable situation for some or more than 1 players in the room.

Lirik4 votes

andddd thats why i don't play league anymore thanks rito.

LatetotheRace2 votes

You did something many of us could/did not, and for that I commend you. I'm still clinging to the data and the various hints riot has been dropping that Solo Q might return in all tiers.

Aptest3 votes

this has nothing to do with DQ. the average MMR in elo-based systems is dependent on the size of the player base league has increased the number of players therefore average MMR also increase

if MMR cutoof for brackets not change than expected to see this change. has nothing to do with boosting.

jaymc113025 votes

{quoted}

this has nothing to do with DQ. the average MMR in elo-based systems is dependent on the size of the player base league has increased the number of players therefore average MMR also increase

if MMR cutoof for brackets not change than expected to see this change. has nothing to do with boosting.

Pretty much every thing in this post is incorrect. Complete lack of understanding regarding the subject being discussed.

Aptest2 votes

orly ?

show information pls.

xXMrPeanutXx1 votes

{quoted}

orly ?

show information pls.

How are you this stupid.

Aptest1 votes

I could make a joke about how your username alludes to the size of your dowery. But i wont.

notice me Sin pi2 votes

if challenger tier takes up 0.01% of the player base in NA, that would mean there are only around 1.44 million player base that play ranked ~~well, 1.44 mil accounts~~ right now. Explains why queues take pretty long even as a support main.

Auroramancer2 votes

I'm already feeling this. I got to Diamond V on my own at the beginning of the season while solo queue was still around. I didn't play much while Dynamic Queue was introduced. Only 1 game per month just to keep decay away.

Last week, I accidentally let myself decay, and having to work for my rank again in a Dynamic Queue environment is hell.

There's significantly more flamers in DQ. There's significantly more players who feed hard without their high elo crutch in DQ (2 in successive games, I had a solo laner go 0/14/1 and 2/13/1 respectively. This is very atypical of high plat and low diamond players...) Teamwork and communication is at an all-time low (my own anecdotal experience). I've had so many teams who don't communicate in chat, they ignore pings, and some just act like they are playing PvE.

This was not the norm for high plat/low diamond Solo Queue. The rank injection due to DQ is apparent and clear.

Very Hard Engage1 votes

[deleted]

Horse Grenades2 votes

All of season 6 has had DQ. It was introduced with the beginning of the season

Swiftstrike41 votes

I remember at the end of last season I looked up the stats to see player distribution. I recall 75% of the community being in bronze and silver and 25% being in Gold V or higher, I wanted to see if I could get into Gold and the likelihood of it (I was in high silver at the time).

Current distribution is approximately this, so I don't think boosting through dynamic queue is as prevalent alot of members that post on the forums think. Also towards the end of the season more players make the push to Gold, so there usually is a shift in the lower elos. The shift may have started already or it will start pretty soon.

I also think another factor is that there are more players getting their main role than in the past. My ELO is much higher just because of pick order being removed. Last season, I frequently played in roles I was not comfortable in.

LatetotheRace1 votes

From everything I can find on numerous sites, bronze is no longer the largest tier (which is a problem in itself.) but it also has not been that way for a couple of seasons now. These stats have also been relatively consistent for a couple of months, so I don't think it's as a result of that ranked push. Whereas main roles can benefit players, it's also all encompassing. So top mains are up against other top mains so it really cancels itself out in that aspect.

Parceval1 votes

No, it's not. Bronze should never be the largest tier. This means that elo hell is dying. You're considering statistical methods with a bias.

LatetotheRace2 votes

Umm... if silver becomes too large, it simply makes elo hell larger. It's not dying, in fact it sounds as if it's only engulfing more players.

Parceval1 votes

While this is technically a situation that is a little closer to a pareto, what we have here is a Bell curve.

What we want, is a Bell curve.

A Bell curve places the majority of players in the middle, with fewer going out to the tails.

We are seeing that happen with DQ. This is good. This is evidence that skill is playing a more important role in the game.

Most of us belong in the middle.

Not the lowest, not the highest.

The middle.

Gnart Even Close1 votes

This doesn't really have anything to do with Dynamic Q... You're using a logical fallacy, the statistics are not related. Besides, when people are using DQ, that means they are usually matched against other DQ players. All this means is they can climb faster, not further (assuming they're on the same level; DQ boosting is another story). In order for someone to win, someone else has to lose; the average winrate is 50%. Basically, this means that some people are winning more and some people are losing more. The best win more and the worst lose more. I don't necessarily see a problem with that.

Also, the much more likely explanation is that Riot changed how LP gains and losses work and changed matchmaking so that the distribution of ranks changed. You're just making something out of nothing and making massive jumps in logic that don't work if you stop and take a second to actually think about it. /rant

The Yetii Rider1 votes

Being helped out by higher rank friends is the point of Dynamic Queue. Having more people in the higher ranks is fine, either the people who don't belong there drop down immediately, or they stop playing after they get the border in which case they aren't hurting you.

LatetotheRace2 votes

"Being helped out by higher rank friends is the point of Dynamic Queue" No, that's effectively boosting in a nutshell. PLAYING with friends is the point of DQ. "or they stop playing after they get the border in which case they aren't hurting you." This is also why queue times are so freaking long.

The Yetii Rider1 votes

Queue times are freaking long for a sparse 1.3% of the playerbase, who don't even need to play as often because most of them have hit their ceiling. Boo hoo.

And you can call it 'effectively boosting', but Riot doesn't have a problem with it, obviously.

LatetotheRace2 votes

I have 9-12 minute queue times for plat V. I'm part of the top 10% and this is a huge issue as it only gets longer the higher rank you go.

Also, it's not that riot doesn't see boosting as an issue. -See banned challenger players- It's that the only viable solution is to kill DQ which they are quite reluctant to do. (All hail the tencent overlords!!!)

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