A few thoughts on Dynamic Queue, and potential changes to maintain a competitive environment

Howdy, folks!

So we all know about Dynamic Queue by now and have had time to play around with it for a while, and I'm well aware that there are many diverse opinions regarding its function. While I for one have had a fine personal experience, it cannot be denied some players, particularly Diamond Tier+ players, have seen their playing experience soured due to the prevalence of four-player or five-player queues.

These players see this system as having a negative impact on the competitive nature of League, and many of these have yearned for a pure Solo Queue format since its inception. Though this was initially promised, it is now seeming like less of a possibility as time goes on. However, that is not to say that it is a certainty that Riot intend to keep the system as it is forever. As can be seen in the Premade Limiter released in the latest patch, Riot is taking steps to alleviate some of these issues currently facing high level play.

While this is a start, it's certainly not going to fix all issues with the current system by itself. Therefore, I've made a list of solutions that could, in theory, alter Dynamic Queue in ways that both maintain a competitive environment without a Solo Queue and preserve a party-friendly system.

1) Club Matches: No more full teams in Dynamic Queue

This is the most crucial step to fixing the inherent issues with Dynamic Queue at present. Currently, a mixing of both full teams and solo players into a single queue and ranking system makes for a very messy experience. Particularly in high level play, this means that teams comprised of Challenger players hoping to earn spots in the upcoming NACS are thrown into the same ladder as your average solo Challenger player, making it hard for any involved to gauge their own personal skill.

Therefore, it is imperative that a separate queue be made for these full teams, both to make sure that they can be matched properly against each other, and also that a player's skill in both a personal and team environment can be adequately measured.

Back at the start of the season, when Ranked Teams were first dissolved, Riot promised that a new system would be in place next season. Assuming that this system is still on schedule, this next change may need to wait until then to be implemented, in order to give these Clubs a way to play together.

2) Limit Diamond+ ranked parties to a maximum of 3

In the same vein as Club Matches, this change would help to ensure that fully-coordinated teams do not completely take over the higher tiers of the Ranked ladder by limiting how much influence a pre-made group can have on the direction of the team. Limiting pre-mades to be 3 players at maximum ensures two things:

• The solo players cannot be completely ignored: With a 4-man system, it is rather easy for these pre-made groups to completely leave the solo player to their own devices while they focus on themselves. In a 3-man system, this is impossible, as a pre-made can no longer ignore the needs of half of their team, while also ensuring that the solos (or duo-queues) have a voice in the Surrender votes.

• Duo-queuing is once again an effective option There is currently no incentive in high-level play to queue as a Duo when a 4 man queue accomplishes more with no penalty. Especially in the rather homogeneous ranks of Diamond+ where the same players face off frequently, and will often join forces. With a 3-man maximum, duo-queues will be seen as a great compliment to the trio-queues, with both much shorter queue times and, as stated above, much more influence over the course of a game.

Those are the two biggest suggestions I've thought of over the past few days. While they likely are not perfect by any means, I believe they are a step in the right direction for the future of League's competitive environment. I would love to hear any questions or concerns others may have!

Thank you for reading!