LoL Ranked Season 14 Split 2: Devs Reveal Changes In Second Split
LoL Ranked Season 14 Split 2 is going to start soon, but Riot has some major plans for ranked in this split to make it more competitive.
Ranked Season 14 Split 2 is just around the corner. With LoL Patch 14.10, players will have to once again hop into the ranked grind to try and get their hands on the upcoming Victorious Sona skin that will be made available. Of course, Riot is also going to make some changes for this split.
With the ranked season being split up into three parts each year, Riot has to monitor it a bit more closely to see where they can make changes and adjustments. After the first split, they found a few pain points that need addressing.
LoL Ranked Season 14 Split 2: All Upcoming Changes
Duos Back For Master Tier
Riot Games previously removed the option for duo queuing in Master tiers and above but has now reversed this decision. Players who achieve the Master tier can continue to play ranked matches with a friend, although those who advance to Grandmaster will still need to play solo. This change aims to reduce the isolating effect of solo play, as well as help content creators.
The reintroduction of duo queuing will be implemented globally except in China and Korea, where the community remains divided on the issue. As a result, the solo queue policy will persist in these regions to maintain match quality and competitive integrity at the highest levels.
Demotion Protection Removed In Divisions
Riot Games is set to remove the demotion protection that currently exists between divisions within the same rank. This change means that players will immediately drop to a lower division if their performance falls below the threshold, such as moving directly from Gold III to Gold IV without any buffer game for protection. Additionally, Riot plans to introduce a system where players have a base LP to which they can demote.
"[...] when you demote down a tier, you will demote to either 25, 50, or 75 LP depending on how far off we determine your actual skill level is. If you’re exactly a Gold IV 0 LP player, you’d be going through a lot of promotions and demotions each season, so we don’t want to slap you with a -50LP each time you go through that."
The intention behind these changes is to create a more dynamic and fluid ranking system. However, the protection against dropping from one major tier to another, such as from Silver IV to Bronze I, will remain in place to mitigate too rapid a descent.
Higher Starting Rank For High Elo Players
Riot Games has implemented a new system where the ranked year is divided into three splits. This structure requires high elo players to engage in more strenuous climbing efforts to reach their desired ranks. According to Riot’s recent blog post, this has led to increased fatigue among Apex players as they are required to climb back to their previous ranks within the same timeframe, which with the changes to a three-split ranked season involves a greater journey.
To address this issue, Riot is adjusting the initial highest possible placement for players at the start of a ranked split. Whereas the previous cap was set at Emerald I, players can now begin a split as high as Diamond III. This change is intended to alleviate some of the climbing fatigue by providing a higher starting point.
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