RANKED: The Silver 5 and Bronze Curse that cannot be broken.

Hello. This has been something I have been thinking about for a while now, and It's time to make a post.

This game is beginning to reach a point for me where it's becoming no longer fun. First of all, I am in Silver 5. When I completed my placement I was in Silver 4. I was demoted due to three games in a row with disconnects in every mid game, which in turn caused losses in otherwise winning games. Since then, The Ranked experience for me has gone from bad to worse, and I know many players out there feel the same way. I have entered the pit we all know as ELO hell. Now this unfortunately condemns me to being matched with players that troll, or are generally unskilled. I am generally positive in chat, try to discourage ragers, offer helpful tips and strategies to players that might be falling behind, and even prop them up by sacrificing kills so they feel a little better about themselves. This game is highly team oriented, and generally, players in Silver 5 and Bronze don't seem to understand that. They are more content with blaming others, than improving their own game, or listening to teammates that issue instructions based on the fact they actually know what the hell is going on in the Mini-map. I am getting tired of being matched with players below my own personal skill level, and have no ability to control emotions on the rift based on a flawed assessment of personal skill, called MMR.

As a result of the above, now I absolutely CANNOT get out of silver 5. It's literally impossible. I wouldn't be posting about this if I even fluctuated between Silver 4 and 5. I would be completely content with that. I have played over 50 games in Silver 5. Whenever I get a winning streak, and perform extremely well in my role, I get an amount of LP that's insulting. 10-14 per match. Then when I lose, I go back so hard that it's unrecoverable. 20-25LP is lost per loss. It's impractical to win 10 ranked games in a row, just to get your MMR back where it should be so you can actually win a decent amount of LP. Even if I were to win 50% of my games, that would get me nowhere. I would literally have to win 70-80% of the games I play just to move up the ladder. In Silver and Bronze this is just not practical. I have even tried getting good Duo partners to help with wins. While this has helped some, (I cracked 40LP for the first time in 4 weeks recently. Took 4 wins in a row.) One loss and I am right back where I started. There is literally no opportunity for us players, who are good players (and not feeders) and take the game seriously to move up the ladder to Gold or Platinum. In a game, where your deaths make up 10% or less of the total deaths on the team, you can safely say it was not your fault for the loss when you get rolled on. I am TIRED of being matched with players that do not take the game and the sportsmanship it requires as seriously as me, and are below my personal skill level.

Ok so given this rant, which is over, I would like advice, stories, tips or tricks to get out of Silver considering this flawed MMR system isn't going to be changed any time soon. I am calling upon Platinums, Diamonds, Masters, and Challengers to share on this thread. Not just for myself, but the other players trapped in the same pit I am in. I am currently doing everything I know how, as I mentioned above, including evaluating my plays to find where my misakes are or where I can improve.

This is a far reaching question and I am sure the Answer is, "You need to get up there first." Is there any way to get matched with or even against Golds or Platinums so I can have a better experience, and actually play with players that understand all aspects of the game including sportsmanship and most importantly, over-communication? Is there any way I can gain more LP from match wins? I am also sure the answer to this is "You need higher MMR first."

However the above answers do not provide a solution to the inherent problem, which is the flawed way MMR detects skill. Its far too generalized. Is there a more complex formula I am unaware of? Or is it just based on wins and losses? Does KDA or objective control factor in? The amount of wards purchased and used? Skill shot hit ratio? Inhibitors taken down? Towers killed? If I am indeed correct and all MMR consists of is wins/losses, then in order to more accurately determine skill, a more complex formula needs to be employed, or else great players are going to continue to become frustrated, and ultimately leave the game. Players need a sense of reward for the long hours they put in. I am not saying hand out promotions like candy, but atleast make it attainable for those who had a bad break over 5 or 6 games, or lost due to constant disconnects.

Thanks for reading, and I look forward to the constructive replies so we can make this game better for the community. Hopefully this thread catches on enough that Riot sees it as well.

P.S. If I placed this in the wrong section MODS, my apologies. I got warned last time for violating rules by placing a topic in the wrong section, and I hope I didn't this time.

Testosterox