Boards›[ARCHIVED] Miscellaneous

[Part 1 - Data] Promotional Series' in Ranked

Daen·9/12/2014, 7:23:43 PM·6 votes·864 views

Hi everyone,

This was discussed recently on GD, I wanted to bring it over to the Boards and add to it!

This is Part 1. If I get enough data here (admittedly, not super statistically relevant), Part 2 will be an analysis and discussion on promos and why they might not actually fulfill their design goals.

Promotional series', for those that aren't aware, are the current method of limitation between Divisions (e.g. Gold 4, Gold 3, etc.) and Tiers (Gold, Platinum, etc.). Here is how they work:

  • Upon winning a game to reach 100 LP in a given Division, you enter your promotional series
  • If you are moving to a new Division in the same Tier, it is a best of 3 (win 2/3 games to progress)
  • If you are moving to a new Tier, it is a best of 5 (win 3/5 games to progress)

Pretty simple. These promotional series' are designed to fulfill a few central ideas:

  • Give the player the feeling of progression
  • Create an exciting eSports-like competitive atmosphere for advancement
  • Add challenge to Ranked
  • Make the impact of falling in rank less significant once you've hit a certain point
  • Reduce ladder anxiety

Do promotional series' accomplish these central ideas in a meaningful and engaging way?

What do you guys/gals think?

5 Comments

The Chin9/12/2014, 7:52:16 PM2 votes

I like them a lot, they're more exciting than a normal ranked game. Some people get stressed about it but I think that's good, people need to learn how to perform under pressure.

It's one of the things that makes league a unique game, it's the only game where I've actually felt any kind of pressure to perform. People are counting on me, things are on the line... It's a cool experience for a video game.

Some people can't handle it and they troll or afk if things aren't going their way - which kinda sucks cause it fucks over the team but it's not something you can control so no point getting salty about it.

Anyways, I'm a fan of the best of series and I hope they stay.

Tahalden9/12/2014, 7:53:58 PM2 votes

I honestly like them because it adds something additional to play for. It's a bit of a milestone to be able to reach the next division or tier through a promotion series. You should always feel encouraged to do your best throughout ranked play, but most players will do that little bit extra if they are in a promotion series or even if a team member is in a series.

And that's where a potential improvement can be made: Why not declare in champion select that someone is in their promotion series? It gives extra incentive to perform, and adds positive encouragement for players to do well as opposed to throwing or reacting in a toxic way in any given game. A lot of behavioral measures in the game are focused on negative reinforcement rather than positive reinforcement unfortunately (reports/bans versus honor/the rare, occasional ribbon). This could add a bit of positivism!

One of the frustrating aspects of promotion series in terms of actual ladder mechanics, however, is the ease with which you can drop a division, and the subsequent need to go through promotion series again. When moving up a tier that Bo5 feels like a true accomplishment. You also know you're safe for a while to stick around in your new tier, because it's not easy to drop back.

Compare this to the Bo3s between divisions, though. Entering Gold 4 from Gold 5 feels good, but if you lose two games (and your MMR is not too favorable), you'll drop back to Gold 5 quite easily. Perhaps a bit more protection from dropping a tier could be a good thing and make moving up a division feel really good rather than punishing when you drop back down. It adds a bit of extra reward to the fact you're going through a Bo3 series, which does take more effort than reaching 100 LP and being promoted instantly.