Huge LoL ranked changes set to shakeup placement games, demotions, more

League of Legends developers at Riot have revealed a large set of changes coming to the MOBA’s ranked mode in Split 2. This includes updates to placement games, demotion protection and the ability to duo in Masters+.

League of Legends ranked is about to change in some big ways thanks to a slew of new updates being introduced to the mode. The developers announced that there would be three significant changes joining ranked in Split 2, which launches on May 15, 2024.

These changes are being made to help address issues like negative LP gain. As such, the devs have increased the maximum rank players can finish once they’ve completed their placements. Now instead of Emerald I being the highest possible placement, this has been extended to Diamond III.

The devs believe that this change will allow players to get to their real rank faster on their main account than on a new account. This should de-incentivize players from purchasing new accounts to play on, with the devs also sharing new plans to punish players who do so.

Demotions are also receiving a change in Split 2 of 2024’s ranked season. Demotion Protection between divisions is being adjusted in the new split, giving less opportunity to hold onto their previous rank. This means that if you lose enough LP to drop below 0, the remaining LP will be deducted from 100 in the lower division.

Tiers will still have demotion protection, however, so if you’re at Gold IV 0 LP, you’ll still have a bit of leeway before losing your rank. This does mean some adjustments, as when you do demote, you’ll be automatically put at 25, 50, or 75 LP depending on how far off your actual skill level is.

The last change coming to ranked in Split 2 of 2024 will be the re-enabling of duo queue in Masters+. This was previously disabled back in 2021, but Riot believes that they are able to enable this once more. China and Korea will not be affected by these changes.