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Ranked Matches Feel Predetermined

DrDubb·10/3/2019, 12:10:01 PM·49 votes·15,893 views

Lately I feel as if the games are almost ALWAYS predetermined by the ranked matchmaker. My team and I either DEMOLISH their team, or we're completely getting demolished. It's never a close game anymore. I never was the one to look up summoner names, I've always had the play your best and don't let stats get to your head mentality... but lately I've been looking up the stats of summoners after matches just for an explanation of how the match I just played went TOO well or SO awfully bad. (Almost every game is like this!) Well when I look up the stats, the answer is staring me right in the face. I was never supposed to win that game, or lose this game. It's obvious when I'm looking at stats, and this guy and his duo combined haven't had more than 5 deaths in their available match history in client. It's obvious I was supposed to win that game when we crush every lane because the game stacks 3 players on the opposite team that all have terrible KDR's and winrates, and my team has all decent-good players. Why not give my team one of those bad players, and the opposite team one of our good players so the match will be even?

It's gotten to the point that being vigilant of the players in your match in champ select and dodging is a very efficient strategy in climbing in ranked.

Maybe the clients are too saturated with smurfs, but I don't feel like that's always the issue in these one sided matches. I feel it's the unintentional result of a system that is trying to keep your W/L ratio even. In these styles of ranking systems, the system matches you in such a way that attempts to challenge you and keep your W/L at 50/50. Ideally this is done by matching players up in CLOSE, COMPETITIVE games where the outcome of the game could swing either way. Performing better than average in your ranked division, IMPROVING , and performing game changing feats is what allowed you to climb! But sadly, that's not how the ranked system feels... anymore.

70 Comments

Kovorix10/3/2019, 12:41:30 PM28 votes

Just equal matches would be good but that is not what riot wants. With equal matches you could start climbing instead of grinding. So they give you unwinabale games and games where no matter what you do you will never lose.

Eybdoog10/3/2019, 2:42:27 PM11 votes

You’re not alone. I notice the same thing. It makes the game feel like a joke

Zardo10/3/2019, 12:59:06 PM8 votes

But sadly, that's not how the ranked system feels... anymore.

And this fight here lies your issue. You're going off of your feelings. Since you cant climb you're looking for some sort of external force that's holding you back.

Riot uses mmr to balance matches. That's it. They don't sabotage matches by using psychic powers to guess the the vayne one trick is going to try to first time yasuo. Riot isn't trying to hold you back. You're holding yourself back.

Nea10410/3/2019, 1:19:42 PM7 votes

It's just how their matchmaking works. This way they can control in a simple and efficient way the outcomes of your games (not every, just what is enough), and so they make you play way more to get to your "fair" elo. And even there, you will regularly go up and down.

Niggel Wessom10/3/2019, 4:31:15 PM5 votes

I have a strong feeling matchmaking was always like this, only reason people are unhappy with it now is because of how quickly games end. Games end faster, you play more games, and it feels like you lose more than ever. Granted you do lose more games than when games were longer, but on the flip side you're also winning more games than previous seasons. Not excusing how shitty games feel to play, just pointing out how previous seasons may have seemed more fair due to the length of time it took for teams to actually close games out and win. My thoughts.

playboi2001xD10/3/2019, 9:30:54 PM3 votes

This is what it feels like to plateau. If you want to rank up, you can keep a 50% winrate and you'll still rank up if you just keep at it as you'll always get more LP for winning than losing, if you really want an above 50% winrate you have to be significantly better than the players you're playing against, the games systems are not working against you. If you're struggling to stay above a 50% winrate, it's because you're only good enough to have a 50% winrate.

Obviously, even the best players will lose games, there are bronze games Faker wouldn't be able to carry, but it would be disingenuous to say that they happen so often it's making it impossible for you to climb.

You will only 'climb' instead of 'grind' if you're actually good. If you're a 50% winrate player, you're already in the elo you belong.

Leadboo10/3/2019, 2:49:55 PM3 votes

Have you heard of the 40-40-20 rule? It's basically this: 40 percent of matches, you'll win, 40 percent of matches you'll lose, so it's up to you to win that 20%. Ranked can be hell at times but it's all about constantly preforming well. I've found that matches aren't as horrible if your playing to learn from your mistakes ad recognize them, instead of solely focusing on winning.

Frikgeek10/4/2019, 5:12:10 AM3 votes

Unless you believe Riot's matchmaker is balanced around you and you alone this is mathematically impossible. There are 10 players in every game. Every time you're "forced" to lose 4 players are forced to lose with you and 5 players are "forced" to win. For the system to keep up a 50% winrate for everyone it would need a literally infinite playerbase which is something that simply can't exist.

Stop and think about this for more than 5 seconds. If Riot is "intentionally" matching you against players with shit winrates that you're sure to win against then how is the system working for them? Clearly they're going further and further away from that 50% and into the negatives. If Riot is matching you against total beasts with high winrates that are sure to win then how does the system work? Again, they're clearly going away from 50% and further into positive winrates. The simple fact is that you're not the centre of the universe and every single account you play with or against is just as valid as yours. This kind of "forced 50%" system simply cannot exist. If you try to push the players that were just handed a "free" win into a "free" loss against higher ranked players you're right back where you started. Those higher ranked players just got a free win. You're gonna have to expand indefinitely and you'll hit the ceiling very quickly. With the amount of LoL games played daily this would happen within a week.

What you're actually experiencing is the fact that you're 1/10th of every game and you're not gonna have 100% of the impact on its outcome.

ITZ ICY10/3/2019, 4:17:51 PM2 votes

That's why it's nice playing games in shit elo. One team just starts to dominate and waste an easy win by throwing, allowing enemy team to win. Works both ways of course, one team throws, second gains lead, it throws hard, first wins. That's like 80% of my matches.

haaaaaaalp10/4/2019, 1:21:03 AM1 votes

Meta snowballs far too hard to be pre-determined. Weaker teams are constantly winning off of snowballing small leads into stomps to the point that I doubt any system can predict the outcome of games before they start.

F1uttershy207510/5/2019, 4:29:42 PM1 votes

{quoted}

Maybe the clients are too saturated with smurfs, but I don't feel like that's always the issue in these one sided matches. I feel it's the unintentional result of a system that is trying to keep your W/L ratio even. In these styles of ranking systems, the system matches you in such a way that attempts to challenge you and keep your W/L at 50/50. Ideally this is done by matching players up in CLOSE, COMPETITIVE games where the outcome of the game could swing either way. Performing better than average in your ranked division, IMPROVING , and performing game changing feats is what allowed you to climb! But sadly, that's not how the ranked system feels... anymore.

You hit the nail on the head honestly

This System has become so saturated with Smurfs and Rank bought accounts its horrible now ( Gold and Below ) Cause personally I've never seen a bought Plat account.

But yes. I've had this experience so many times and i'll see some silvers or unranked players on the enemy side. then suddenly I'll lose and i'll see I have a Silver 4 and a Un ranked placement match player on my team vs gold 2 > players.

I think awhile back I had a Actual Jinx Who in her entire match history had 2 games played That's it. or multiple times i'll see players who have 19 Games of Aram played.. then suddenly one game of Ranked

or they are gold 1 but have 20 games of Normals or arams and they haven't touched ranked for 3 months?

hoganftw10/4/2019, 7:21:40 PM1 votes

Forced 50/50s is real.

Jeanne fan club10/5/2019, 12:45:40 AM1 votes

My games are either a close win or my team combined is like 2-25 by 15 minutes

itaiIKi10/5/2019, 11:29:03 AM1 votes

Its pretty dumb when a challenger player can't carry some games in silver because of unwinable games like those. Just proves system is bad.