Have you ever spent the day playing ranked only to find yourself in the same place you were when you started? Even worse, perhaps you’ve lost some LP. Some players find that even a 50%+ winrate is not enough to guarantee LP gains that are equivalent to the amount of LP you lose when you’re defeated on the rift. Why is that?
Also read: How to Equip Little Legends?
1. Matchmaking Rating (MMR) Mismatch
In “League of Legends”, every player has a Matchmaking Rating (MMR), even though it’s not explicitly shown in the game client. This MMR is a numerical representation of your skill level and is used to match you with and against players of similar ability.
Your MMR is intrinsically linked to your LP gains and losses. If your MMR is considered high for your current rank (for instance, if you’re in Gold, but your MMR is at a Platinum level), you’ll earn more LP for a win and lose less for a defeat. This is the game’s way of pushing you towards the rank that corresponds with your MMR.
If you’re consistently being matched against players of a higher rank than yours, it’s a good indicator that your MMR is higher than the average for your current rank. On the other hand, if you frequently play against players of a lower rank, your MMR might be below average for your tier.
2. Promotion/Demotion Shielding
When you achieve a new tier in LoL (moving from Silver to Gold, for example), the game provides a “shield” that temporarily prevents you from being demoted. This grace period ensures that players don’t bounce back and forth between ranks due to a few bad games.
While this shield prevents demotion, it doesn’t protect your MMR. If you experience a losing streak shortly after promotion, your MMR can drop significantly. Even if you remain in your new tier due to the shield, subsequent games might offer reduced LP gains and increased losses due to this lowered MMR.
It’s essential to recognize that this shield is temporary. Continuous losses will eventually lead to demotion once the shield expires, especially if your MMR has significantly declined.
3. End of Season Dynamics
As the competitive season in LoL approaches its conclusion, the ranked ladder experiences various shifts. Many players intensify their efforts to climb, aiming for end-of-season rewards and bragging rights.
This heightened competitiveness can lead to what’s known as MMR inflation. As more players vie for the top spots, the average MMR for each rank can shift upwards. If you’re not actively playing and improving, you might find that your LP gains decrease and losses increase, as the system believes you’re ranked higher than your current MMR suggests.
It’s crucial to stay active and adapt to the evolving meta during this period. This will not only help maintain your rank but also give you an edge against players who are returning to the game after long breaks to secure end-of-season rewards.
4. MMR “Clamping”
“Clamping” is a phenomenon predominantly observed in the game’s pinnacle ranks, primarily near Master, Grandmaster, and Challenger tiers.
The clamping effect ensures that the very top of the ladder remains exclusive and challenging. It acts as a filter to maintain a competitive environment, allowing only the most consistent and skilled players to retain or progress in these high ranks.
During clamping, players might notice they’re gaining a meager amount of LP for victories, sometimes as low as single digits, while a single loss can lead to a significant LP decrease. This skewed LP adjustment can be daunting but is intentional to ensure that the top tiers are filled with the game’s elite.
5. Smurf Detection
Riot Games aims to maintain a fair and competitive environment in LoL. One challenge in achieving this is the presence of “smurf” accounts—highly skilled players creating secondary accounts to play in lower ranks.
Riot has algorithms that monitor player performance. If a player consistently outperforms others in their rank, exhibiting skills beyond their current tier, the system may identify the account as a potential smurf.
Identified smurfs will experience accelerated LP gains to quickly move them to a more appropriate rank. However, if the system has overestimated a player’s abilities or if they don’t maintain their high performance, they can also face large LP losses.
6. Team MMR Disparity
While the matchmaking system in LoL strives for balanced matches, sometimes there are discrepancies in the combined MMR of the teams.
This disparity can arise due to various reasons, such as off-peak playing hours, group queues with significant rank differences, or simply because of the player pool available at that moment.
If your team’s combined MMR is higher, the game expects your team to win. Consequently, a victory might yield lower LP gains, and a loss can result in a more significant LP deduction than usual. The reverse is true if your team’s MMR is lower.
7. Rapid Rank Progression
Some players, whether they’re naturally talented, returning after a break, or benefiting from the meta, can experience swift rank ascensions.
The matchmaking system, while efficient, might lag slightly behind rapid progression. This means a player’s MMR might not immediately align with their newfound rank.
Until the system recalibrates, players might notice they’re gaining less LP for wins and losing more for defeats. This is a temporary phase, and continued consistent performance will eventually synchronize the MMR with the rank.
While it may sound like the kind of tips you’d find on r/KoreanAdvice (a League of Legends Subreddit that seems to only have one tip: “destroy the nexus”), if you want to gain more LP after wins, you’re going to have to win more.
Thankfully, we have an entire site full of articles that might give you the competitive advantage you need to do that – so don’t stop studying the game, practicing your fundamentals, and winning; soon, you’ll gain more LP than you lose too.
