League of Legends devs nerf LP gains but only for players at certain ranks

The League of Legends developers have nerfed LP gains but only for players below the rank of Emerald.

League of Legends is one of the most competitive games out there. The MOBA places 2 teams of 5 against one another, creating a competition to see who comes out on top. Riot plays into this by having a stalwart ranked system that allows players to climb or drop the ranked ladder, proving their competence at the game.

With such a varied player base, League hosts a large number of divisions and ranks, each indicative of a player’s skill level. This includes the more recent Emerald rank, which slots in between Platinum and Diamond.

Season 14’s ranked start has been a tad tumultuous for many, with some players receiving negative LP gains. As such Riot is looking to fix these issues, by decreasing the amount of LP players below Emerald gain.

As announced by Riot Phroxzon, Patch 14.4 saw a decrease in the amount of LP players below Emerald gained.

Now instead of a 28 LP gain or loss, players should instead be averaged to around 25. It’s worth noting that this is an average, meaning players may receive more or less depending on their MMR and the games they get placed in.

The reasoning behind the higher LP gains at the start of the season was so that players below Emerald could feel good about ranking up in a timely manner. And while this worked for the vast majority of players, it led to some receiving negative LP gains.

The negative LP gains were caused by demotion protection, which gives players a second chance to prove they belong in the rank, however, this could cause some desyncing between the player’s skill and their visible rank.

As a result players should be able to climb more consistently, but will also be at risk of demoting easier with the new LP nerfs.