LoL: LP Changes AGAIN, It's Harder to Climb in Ranked

It seems like League of Legends is constantly adapting and changing its gameplay to maintain balance and fairness. However, not all changes are met with open arms by the player base. Patch 14.6 has brought the newest batch of changes to Ranked, which sparked heated debate within the community.

Ranked Changes

These new changes concern demotions on the Ranked ladder. Just recently Riot removed the Demotion protection, which caused negative LP sates for some players. It seems like the state of Ranked after this change has been too forgiving to Riot so in the recent patch they introduced even newer things for players to consider.

"Continuing on with our updates to the LP system, now that we’ve made promoting much easier we’re also adjusting the LP that players are set to once demoted. In its current state, demotions are a bit too forgiving, meaning some players are playing a rank above their actual skill level which results in negative LP gains. In order to help address this problem, we’ll be lowering the demotion LP starting point from 75 to 50 to help make those demotions more meaningful."

Previously, when a player faced demotion, they would be reset to 75 LP in their new rank. However, Patch 14.6 introduces a notable adjustment: upon demotion, players will now find themselves down to 50 LP, significantly elongating the journey back to their previous rank.

This means that instead of the usual two LoL Ranked matches to reclaim their lost rank, players now face at least three matches, an increase that has not been well received by the community.

Riot Games, the development team behind League of Legends, justified this change by stating their belief that demotions had become "too forgiving." They want to introduce better penalties for falling and losing ranks. This puts a greater emphasis on consistency and skill to maintain your spot on the Ranked ladder.

Community Reactions

The response from players has been overwhelmingly negative. Many League of Legends fans have taken to social media platforms to express their dissatisfaction. Riot Games has been making a lot of changes to Ranked since Season 14 started and it seems like they're never satisfied.

Riot usually defends itself by claiming players should accept their real ranks and that good players wouldn't be bothered by such changes. However, once more, we pose the question about casual LoL players who can't spend a whole day climbing and use the game as a way to have fun. For casual players or those with limited time to dedicate to LoL, the prospect of having to grind through additional matches to regain lost ground can feel discouraging and demotivating.

As the community continues to voice its concerns and feedback, it remains to be seen if Riot will listen to the fans or continue making the Ranked experience less satisfying to casual fans.