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Things Riot Can't Fix About Dynamic Queue

Mandang0·5/31/2016, 11:28:05 PM·5 votes·454 views

We just got the news that solo queue is dead, so this isn't a plea for solo queue. Instead, I wanted to address Riot's confidence that they can fix dynamic queue's problems with the right tweaks to their system. So, here's a list of some fundamental problems with dynamic queue that Riot can't fix.

Using the same MMR for a player when they play with their usual premade as when they play solo is getting matchmaking wrong in at least one of those cases.
If a combination of roles is very common for a premade (adc + support), then any solo players wishing to play these roles is routinely at a disadvantage.
Handicaps applied to help the team with a smaller premade won't always go to the player(s) who need it.
Even between statistically-even premades, laning will be further undermined by player mismatches (if both premades have 4 bronze and 1 gold, a gold vs bronze lane is gonna be a blowout)
Where each team has the above mismatch will have a significant impact on games (teams will feel compelled to put their best player at the most impactful position)
Lastly, it's easier than ever for people to boost accounts. 5 people each get a customer, then they queue up together. What used to be 2 smurfs duo-queuing is now up to an entire team.

Just to reiterate, these are all problems absent (or very diminished) in solo queue, and these are problems that Riot will be unable to ever fix, no matter what systems they roll out. Even if Riot gets to the point where, statistically, the matches are even, they're losing the above quality along the way.

4 Comments

Leopards Ghost5/31/2016, 11:41:04 PM1 votes

absolutely. a handicap system will need to be implemented, even Riots graphs show premade winrates far exceed soloQ winrates.
true. to a lesser degree soloQ players may need selection preference.
also true but MMR isn't perfect either.
iirc premades can only include players 1division apart. perhaps this may need to be revised to "group queue summoners may only join ranked in group-leaders division, or if they are one division below group-leader's division".
DQ in a nutshell
see 5)

these are all problems absent (or very diminished) in solo queue

c'est la vie.

Quepha5/31/2016, 11:54:46 PM1 votes

Not true, assuming the player plays often both with and without their premade. When the premade wins a game, the whole premade gains in MMR; when the solo player loses a game solo then their individual MMR drops while there is no effect on the MMR of their team mates. There does not necessarily need to be any mechanic that pushes their MMRs closer to each other after each game when they play together. You could argue that if the player very rarely plays outside of their premade group it creates unbalanced games, but that would happen very rarely almost to the point where they would be intentionally trying to damage the integrity of games. It would be akin to an adc main who has made it to plat as an adc then deciding to learn jungle using only ranked games at the detriment of their teammates.
Only if that combination has special synergy when played by members on the same team. That does seem like an issue but it was one that also existed with solo/duo queue. Riot could also adjust matchmaking to consider the positions that are part of the premades as a factor if it became statistically significant.
I don't know what you mean by this. Handicaps would be given to the players in smaller groups/solo which seems like they would need it the most to increase their agency over teh game.
contrariwise, the bronze v gold lane for the other team should also be a stomp. It can very easily come down to how good the bronze players are at not feeding their opponent rather than how good the gold players are at snowballing a winning lane.
this sounds like an issue of strategy between teams of even premade size, and strategy should be a valid part of the game
boosters are rooted out through unrelated methods and are still banned for this action.