Questions about Ranked Play?

Emerald Fang·Apr 29, 2016·2 votes·1,573 views

I'm new to ranked, and unfortunately got put into a higher league than I can handle (I should be in B3-4 but I'm in B1, playing with silvers). 8 game losing streaks with 0.3 K/D is great... just LOOK at my match history.

I was just wondering how the LP system works. I know how promotions work, but these are my questions:

How much LP for a win/loss? (I have heard it is insanely brutal, where you get 5 per win but lose 20 per loss)
How do you get demoted? (I would love to, b/c I can't handle my current league, but I am simply just last in B1)
Does it take a long time to get out of Bronze?
How often are seasons and how long do they last?
Any advice for climbing? (Besides playing easier champs. I am playing a lot of for jungling, but any other advice?)

I know I sound like a noob, but I would appreciate if someone answered me.

Thank you!

8 Comments

TheEvilQueen135Apr 29, 20161 votes

i will number as i address your questions

lp loss/gain as significant as you mention is only if your mmr is WAY lower than where you're placed. typically if you're in the right place you gain 20 a win and lose 18 per loss. it does vary slightly based on mmr 2.you get demoted by losing like 5 in a row and go below 0 or multiple losses at 0lp 3.it can take awhile for some, it depends on the person's role and skill level.
seasons typically start jan/feb and end nov/dec

SrirachaLimesApr 29, 20161 votes

The exact amount of LP you win per game is not set and is variable. In my experience, I'm estimating you get about 20 ish when you win and 15 ish when you lose. Relatively similar values. So no worries about it being too brutal :)
I do not have experience being demoted. I am pretty sure, however, that if you hit 0 LP and you continue to lose games as you sit at 0 LP, you will eventually get demoted. I'm unsure if you have to play a series of 3 games that will determine if you get demoted or not. Perhaps another more experienced player can answer this question.
Unfortunately, I also do not have experience being in Bronze. I was fortunate enough to be placed in silver. Of course, each division has its own form of "ELO hell" with people saying it's impossible to get out of. I'm guessing it entirely depends on you as a player. At the same time, I'm also guessing that bronze would be harder to get out of than silver, since communication tends to be weaker in bronze (I'm assuming).
Seasons last about a year or less. I'm not entirely sure about the exact time it lasts.

Well, I wasn't able to fully answer your questions, but hopefully that helped a little.

Also, don't worry about being too high. It'll balance out over time and you'll start climbing eventually. Good luck!

WeatheredApr 29, 20161 votes

LP win/loss depends on something called MMR, your digital "skill" number. This number isn't given to the player, but will go up and down depending on if you win or loose. Example, if you are winning a lot of games, your MMR will go up. If your MMR is around where a gold player should be, but you are in silver, you will gain MORE LP in order to climb easier. If you have the MMR of a bronze player, but were lucky and got into silver, you will gain LESS LP because the system feels that you should be a lower rank.
You will be demoted if you lose a game while at 0 LP in your respective league. So if you are bronze 1 (as seen in the profile tab) and lose a game while you have 0 LP in bronze 2, you will get a notification after the game that you have been demoted to bronze 2.

HOWEVER, if you have just reached a HIGHER rank, lets say B1 to S5, you will start at 0 LP. This does not mean that your next loss will demote you back down, you get a grace period of about 3 losses.

It depends on luck and skill. If you play games that don't have too many people with bad connections or bad tempers and are generally decent at the game, its very easy (I went from B1ish to S3 in a week at the beginning of this season). However, because of the sheer amount of bronze players there is a high chance of people with poor connections, afks, and people with bad tempers. It's all about patience and determination.

Side note: The idea that other players hold you back from getting out of Bronze or Silver is called "ELO Hell" but isn't truly a legit thing. Yes, there are many games that you may lose because another person's computer crashed or they got very angry and died a lot, but ultimately it is easy to win more games than you lose if you play decently and consistently. You will see a lot of people use ELO Hell as an excuse.

Seasons generally are 2 parts, Preseason and regular season. A regular season will end sometime around December and the Preseason, which follows after the season, will end around a month or so after that. Together, the make seasons year round (we are currently about 1/3 through season 6). [PS if I'm wrong on this because i cant remember dates well someone just say so xD]

Hope this helped! If you have any other questions, fire away.

-SlayerTay6

Emerald FangApr 29, 20161 votes

Thank you for the answers!!

For the demotion, this isn't happening for me. I lost 4 games at 0 LP, maybe more, and I still haven't been demoted. Is this the losing shield? I think I can play with Bronze 2-3 players, but I have 1040 MMR in B1 and it is no fun. I get flamed repeatedly b/c I go 1/9/0, but I can't do anything about it.

And no, I can't escape the ragers. :D

WeatheredApr 29, 20161 votes

If you just did your 10 Promo games and were put in B1, you probably still have a loss shield, yes. That loss shield SHOULD go away if you win a game or two then drop back down, or just losing games will break it.

It's actually kind of nice to see someone accepting that they aren't good at the game just yet and aren't pissed about not climbing fast, so just be patient. If you feel like you are playing with players better than you, take your time to look at what they are doing to do well in game so you can learn from them. If you can't really multitask and watch other lanes while you are playing, try going on Twitch.tv and watching some Challenger streams. Most of them (like Valkrin and NightBlue3) will explain things and talk about why they do different things in game.

Emerald FangApr 29, 20161 votes

Oh believe me, if I though I was good in B1, I would admit myself to a mental asylum. I am prbly B3 material.

But I have learned SO much, even just playing 20 games or so. I am able to effectively play most roles now. I do have a very hard time multitasking, probably not good for a jg main. XD

Thanks for the advice!

JRobin31Apr 29, 20161 votes

Generally, I agree but...

you say, "it depends on luck and skill" and then go on to say, "ELO Hell [...] isn't truly a thing" and "You will see a lot of people use ELO Hell as an excuse."

So I will correct you and clarify that ELO Hell does exist. It is real. It does contain players with "bad connections or bad tempers". ELO Hell won't technically stop you from climbing, but it can effectively stop you from climbing.

When you face an ELO Hell situation, how do you choose to deal with it becomes the most important thing. Getting angry at others will make you part of the problem. Moving past ELO Hell is about learning to face challenges that you think are unfair. No one is going to carry you when you get dealt the short end of the stick. You have to be a champion on the inside and go bravely forth and meet the challenges thrown in your face.

To answer the question posed in the OP about how many games it takes to climb out of Bronze: Last season, it took me at least 500 games. This season I did it in about 200 games. I feel that the change RIOT made to give a free win in promos was very impactful in terms of being able to climb at a reasonable rate. Last season, at more than 200 games I was frustrated at constantly having to win the same promos again and again and again and again. and again and again and again and again and again and again. So props to RIOT on the quality of life change. But the number of games it takes for you to climb probably won't be the same. No one can really say that it takes X number of wins to climb from Bronze to Silver. We can only really give advice on how to go about doing it. In the end, it's still going to be about whether or not you can rise to the challenge.

Emerald FangApr 29, 20161 votes

Added a new question.