Behaviour in Ranked vs in Normal

This concerns the matchmaking process and its effect on player behaviour.

My suggestion is to alter the visual experience of the matchmaking process to better reflect whether you are queueing for a Ranked or Normal match. I would keep the current design for Normals, but change it somehow for Rankeds to highlight the more focused attitude of players in that queue. The different design would come into effect the moment you hover over that 'Ranked' button. It would emphasise the gravity of the selection, but also inspire the player to push themselves for this game, to learn and improve.

I think this change would help the player to choose the game type that is more appropriate for their current mood. This is where player behaviour comes in. It would help to balance games because players on opposite teams are more likely to both have that focused mentality and are therefore a better match for each other. A focused player will beat a casual player, given equal skill and game knowledge. This alteration would a be subtle way of guiding the focused player to Ranked queue and the more relaxed, casual player to Normal queue.

To go into a wee bit more detail, I want to look at how a casual player is likely to act when placed in a game alongside a focused player. On opposing teams it's obvious - the casual player will win. But the behavioural imbalance can also have an effect on two players in the same team.

A casual player will be slightly more likely to:

• Make poor decisions
• Not fully understand their champion's kit
• Play less vision game
• Get tunnel vision
• Work less well as part of a team

For the focused player, this means a slightly more irrational, unpredictable, less team-driven teammate. This not only applies in game, but also in champion select. I'm starting to ramble on a bit :D let's get this on the road muthaf aaaaaaa. Haha gotta love Rick and Morty

Anyway yeah, make the Ranked queue awesome. Make it feel epic. Make it feel like your stepping out from Normalsland up to the gleaming battlegrounds of ValhallaRanked. You have to steady your mind and get your sh together. Get it all together. All of your sh . Get it - together.