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LoL MMR Explained: Ultimate Guide to Matchmaking Rating in League of Legends
The LoL MMR system is important for the most prominent League of Legends modes, like Ranked Queue. Here's everything you need to know about MMR in League of Legends, including what it is, how to determine your MMR and how you can increase it.
If you're new to League of Legends and don't know what MMR is and what it does, or how it affects your ranked climb, don't worry. We're going to check out everything you need to know about League's Matchmaking Rating.
LoL Ranks: Explaining the Ranked System in League of Legends
LoL MMR: Matchmaking Rating in League of Legends Explained
Matchmaking Rating (MMR) is an invisible number which determines your actual rank in League of Legends. It is a hidden rating system which the League of Legends algorithm uses when matching players together for games. Players of similar MMR will be queued together to make matchmaking more fair.
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Every single LoL player will have their own MMR number. Winning or losing games will either raise the MMR. Your MMR is also separate from your visual rank, since players can have a high MMR due to their skill, but because they play few ranked games they can be stuck in low elo.
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LoL MMR Checker: How To Determine MMR
Let's take a look at how MMR is determined in League of Legends, how it differs to LP and how your teammates' individual MMR affects the amount of gained LP.
League MMR and LP - The Differences
A player's Matchmaking Rating, as mentioned, is invisible. This means players don't know exactly what their MMR is, but players can determine whether their visible rank is close to their MMR or they still have a long way to go.
The League of Legends system wants players to get as close to their MMR as possible with their visible rank. This means that if you have a high MMR, but play in Bronze, winning games will mean you gain more LP, while losing games means you'll lose less LP.
LoL LP: What Is LP and How To Track It
The system is trying to even out your hidden MMR and visual LP and rank. Now, while you might gain more or lose more LP, for every win or loss MMR moves forward or backward linearly, meaning the number never changes.
So, for example, you win a game you will gain 20 MMR. Losing a game will mean you lose 20 MMR. The length of the game or how well you played has no influence on this number.
Meanwhile, LP gains and losses depend on how far from your MMR you are. If you are visibly ranked way lower than your MMR, then the system will try to get you there faster by giving you a lot of LP for a win, while giving you less LP loss after losing a match.
| LP | At Victories | At Defeats |
| 23 or more | MMR higher than your Elo | MMR lower than your Elo |
| 20-22 | MMR and Elo are Equal | MMR and Elo are Equal |
| 19 or lower | MMR lower than your Elo | MMR Higher than your Elo |
Team Influence on MMR and LP
Since League of Legends is a team game, the players on your team, as well as your opponents will also influence the amount of LP you gain. So, if you are paired up against a team of players with higher MMR than yourself, you'll also gain more LP, since the system recognizes that you beat a stronger opponent.
The same will be done if you play with a team of high MMR players, but beat a team with lower average MMR. Then, you will gain less LP in the long run for your ranked climb.
Do Other Game Modes Affect MMR in League of Legends?
Other LoL game modes have their own MMR. This means that players who play a lot of ranked games and a normal every once in a while, when testing out new champions or something, they will have a less accurate matchmaking rating when it comes to normal games.
MMR does not cross over from one game mode to another. That's why you could be Silver IV, but play against Platinum or Diamond players when they play a normal game. They will have to play multiple games of normal games to boost their rank and have a more accurate matchmaking.
The More You Play The More Accurate Matchmaking Becomes
It's also important to note that the more someone plays one specific game mode, the more data Riot will have and the more accurate matchmaking will become. The matchmaking rating tries to bring together players of a similar skill level and therefore try to match by MMR.
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If someone plays one specific game mode over and over, there will be more data and eventually there will be more accurate games of players of the same skill level coming together.
League MMR in Duo Queue: How It Affects Your Matchmaking
When you're playing duo queue in Diamond or lower, the system will take the average score of your combined MMR into account while matchmaking. This means if you're riding the coattail of your Diamond III friend while trying to get out of Silver I, you could end up playing against higher skilled players due to the higher matchmaking rating number.
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How to Increase LoL MMR
Your matchmaking rating is based on wins and losses. So, naturally, you will be increasing your MMR simply by winning games. You will be able to gain more MMR by continuously winning games, so going on a win streak is probably the fastest way of increasing MMR. Unfortunately, knowing other LoL players this is difficult to do.
5 Things Riot Should Bring Back Into League of Legends
Overall, MMR is a simple number Riot uses to create even lobbies. At the start of 2023 the devs have also stated that matchmaking will focus less on visible rank and more on MMR to make things more fair for players. Will you be able to even out your LP and MMR in this ranked season?