The latest LoL ranked update didn’t stop the lopsided games, so Riot is trying to implement more changes

League of Legends ranked has been a hot topic for Riot Games in season 14, and despite a ton of changes, the developers have decided it still isn’t quite where they want it to be after “deep research.” This means more changes⁠—most of which are now in Competition Patch 14.16 this week.

In an attempt to push things in a better direction, Competition balance team will be taking another look at several key elements of matchmaking, including red vs. blue side balance, how players are matched (particularly when it comes to skill levels), and how the queue treats returnees. All of these, the game’s balance boss Matt Leung-Harrison explained, should help optimize things.

“We made changes in 14.14 to change the default camera angle to the red side and noticed some improvement, but there is still more to be done,” the top developer admitted.

When it comes to how much of an advantage the blue or red side has over the other, Riot devs believe they’ve narrowed it down to the camera angle and how Summoner’s Rift has been built over the years. While they’re staying mum on how those might change, both are top priorities for the developers.

On top of these core changes, the Competition team is diving headfirst into matchmaking and the coding behind pairings. “We’ve identified improvements in how individual matches are balanced, especially at the top,” Leung-Harrison said.

These adjustments to the links will also address several other elements of matchmaking that play a crucial role in Competition lobbies, including off-role balancing and how long each of the ten players has been grinding in the season. Riot is changing the code to be a bit more aggressive with how rank and skill will drop during a break, to prevent rusty players from getting crushed in lopsided ranked matches.

These upcoming code changes should (and again, it’s worth remembering that Riot has tried this before in Season 14) promote “fairer matches.”

However, all these plans are a perfect balancing act, with the Competition Developers are also aware that anything too far in the wrong direction can dramatically increase queue times, and they take this into account in their work.

These latest matchmaking changes go live in Competition ranked playlists this week, with Competition Patch 14.16 is scheduled for Wednesday, August 14th.