New Match Making System

I imagine a group finding tool that would look similar to this in basic appearance only. People would select a background image of a champion or a roll or fill or maybe a generic out of meta icon (possibly more or less choices). Circles would come in 4 sizes, solo/duo/trio/quad. Every division would have a separate room/grid to roam around in (with possible limit caps). Possibly have a minimum of 2 grids per rank (more at lower ranks where more players are) so teams forming wouldn't see the teams forming they might face (like a red side and blue side).

As a circle you would select what icon you wanted (pick intent) and float around looking for possible others to group with. As your group got closer to full your circle would expand in size (and split into pie pieces representing each player in the group). A solo Player might have a circle "size 1" but when they found another player who wanted to attach they would both merge to a circle "size 2" with one half being first players icon and other half being the other players icon. When the third player joined it would grow to "size 3" and split to third sections for each icon. 4 players into fourths.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/staticarchive/deb3bdb06c63841873bc8bce3c61cf4b2cad763f.gif (sorry for low res image click for better view)

Possibly allow text for things like "LF MAGE" or "NEED top" or "prefer Urgot" to be displayed (by individual or groups) to provide clarity for those hoping for specifics. I can Imagine a players who mains having said icon with a text that reads "prefer Janna" or "LF malphite".

Once the group filled they would leave the group finding grid and go into a waiting list to be matched against other full groups of similar rank. This method would allow players to auto lock w/e they want and roam around looking for a group. In my mind it would have everything (except bans) that the current system has but allow everything we loved about team builder to run along side it without taking anything away from either group.

There could even be an "opt out" feature where you just appear as an immobile icon and wait for other groups to choose you only without having to participate (lazy mode).

An after thought, groups could select bans after grouping and just wait until another group forms without those champions (or the ones selected). Partial groups should be allowed to disband or adjust (adjusting should remove you from the group by default) If waiting to long (at the digression of the players, not an auto fill substitute). This system might not be appropriate for LCS but should be able to accommodate bronze-diamond and normal.

If queues get to long for individuals an indicator or priority could be given for first come first serve. So say 50 players in a pool of 500 all want to be a modifier could be in place that only allows "x" amount floating around in any grid at one time and other players who want to play could sit in a queue time or offered to switch icons (pick intent) and enter immediately (until others found groups) to be allowed access to matchmaking. Players used to the current system (auto fill) shouldn't get longer wait timers, while players who want/need something specific would wait longer without holding anyone else up. No more dodges, no more auto fills, no more disputes.

During high traffic times bronze might have 100 separate grids forming groups, while during low traffic maybe only 10 are needed. If a build up of pile up in one grid they could side shuffle players into grids (of the same rank) without any before placing them into a queue if all grids are backed up with .

This might also be a more meaningful format (than loading screen) to allow display of champion mastery or teamwork badges. Perhaps a thin ring around your icon could display your champion mastery or overall mastery or honor rewards to encourage groups to prioritize (without forcing) the most dedicated or well behaved.

This is a rough draft version of the idea and I imagine much tweaking from the design team and community would be needed before it replaced the current system, but I feel like it could be better than anything past or present (minimizing roll/champion disputes, and providing transparency for groups forming. Players who want low queue times could pick more generic icons like fill or jungle or top, while players who wanted more specific things could pick roll and an icon. Hopefully this would provide more control for the individual on what we get and how long we wait (everyone could adjust for personal preference rather than being forced through a mold).

Players should also be able to invite friends to group of similar rank. Maybe also Include a list of recently played to invite.

If you made it this far thank you, and if you have anything to add or change please share it with me any input is appreciated (the video clip was selected purely for variety of icons and to visualize how matchmaking might look).

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