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Ranked Systems - The Flaws in ELO

Frenzicles·9/29/2015, 11:49:55 PM·2 votes·1,212 views

Having played League of Legends for over 5 years, I've decided I wanted to share some "thoughts." There are too many problems in the ranked game mode - I will try to be as concise as possible!

I recently ranked up to Gold 3, lost 3 out of 4 games, then got demoted to Gold 4 again. In my last 2 games, I went Ezreal adc. I did the most damage on my team, I had the most kills, and the least deaths. I lost both games, and was flamed at by my team when I offered some advice (play safer, buy wards, try not to get caught out, etc).

As a Physics Graduate, I like my numbers and formulae, and I can tell you that whatever equation is being used to judge rankings is entirely flawed, since it seemingly considers only wins/losses. There are many other different aspects to the game, and I guarantee that more could be done to benefit those players who perform well despite being on losing teams. I implore Riot to either change this themselves, or allow me to help!

Furthermore, the matchmaking is almost insulting. I have never been banned or restricted. I play with a good attitude and do my best for the team, rather than flaming and giving up like so many players do in this volatile community. Yet I still get matched with players who obviously have been banned/restricted before, and who receive reports on a regular basis. On behalf of all non-toxic players, this needs to change! Put the flamers and toxic players in one basket, and put everyone else in another! I would happily experience larger queue times if it meant a more positive gaming experience.

I ask you all, am I being crazy? Or are Riot simply not doing enough to make their game fair? What are your experiences with ranked?

NOTE: I have developed a draft formula which judges the amount of LP a player should receive after a game (relative to his team mates)! Send me a link to a match in your history so I can test it on multiple games please! I can tell you the results too :)

22 Comments

Matthias91199/30/2015, 4:11:20 AM1 votes

As a Physics Graduate, I like my numbers and formulae, and I can tell you that whatever equation is being used to judge ELO is entirely flawed, since it seemingly considers only wins/losses. There are many other different aspects to the game, and I guarantee that more could be done to benefit those players who perform well despite being on losing teams. I implore Riot to either change this themselves,

  1. Elo is someone's name, not an acronym. For a "Physics Graduate" you don't seem to do much research on things.

  2. There are a number of issues with using individual stats to determine matchmaking in a team game. While this might get people closer to their correct rating more quickly in some cases, it can create perverse incentives in others, which is really bad. (Basically, sometimes it becomes better for someone to throw the game and preserve their personal stats.) It can also stifle creativity and evolution of the metagame, since "off-meta" play might generate poor statistical performances even if it is effective at winning matches.

  3. Riot has spoken a number of times about why "Prisoner's Island" approaches are not effective for behaviors like raging. Most "toxic" behavior comes from players who are normally fine but have the occasional bad game or bad day. Taking those players and putting them in a horrible gameplay environment makes things worse overall.

Edit:

Not to say there couldn't be some value in using individual stats to weight MMR changes. But the simplistic approaches people usually suggest (like basing it on KDA or assists or gold earned) are badly flawed.

LaceUp2310/2/2015, 4:23:27 PM1 votes

My team is 104-226 over my last like 8 losses. That's the problem with League.