What is MMR in League of Legends?
MMR in League of Legends
MMR stands for MatchMaking Rating, which is a system of individual skill points that is intended to be hidden by Riot Games, the American company that develops the game League of Legends. Riot Games has stated that you will never see your MMR – it’s what they use to create fair matches.
Your Matchmaking Rating (MMR) is what Riot uses to determine your place on the ladder and match you up with similarly skilled players. In League of Legends, your MMR is used to determine the average skill level of your opponents and teammates in ranked matches. Win, and it goes up! Lose, and it goes down.
If MMR is your overall skill level, rank is a fluid representation of your current position on the path to fulfilling that potential. It helps contextualize where you are on the ladder relative to other players and offers meaningful progression in the form of tiers and divisions.
The interplay between your MMR and your rank may be hidden, but the results can be seen through another system that ranked players are intimately familiar with: League Points (LP). League Points are how you move through the ranks; they are rewarded for victory and deducted upon defeat.
However, a common misconception in the community is that your KDA and individual performance impact your MMR. This is a myth, as you gain or lose the same amount of MMR, regardless of your score. You should keep this in mind instead of letting your ego force you to take unnecessary risks.
MMR Secrecy in League of Legends
What’sMyMMR? Your MMR is…a secret! MMR has been custom-tailored to work with the backend systems that help place you into fair games. Removing it from these systems strips away a lot of its context, making it less useful to players as a hard indicator of skill.
The hidden MMR system is viewed as a method to maintain player engagement, even at the expense of fair matchmaking. The higher a player’s MMR, the more league points they stand to win in a victory and the less they are likely to lose in a defeat. However, a player’s MMR is also determined by winning or losing streaks, the average MMR of their team, and the MMR of the opponents.
Furthermore, MMR is the hidden assassin that often silently murders our chances of getting to the rank we desire. After a tedious, long-lasting game that you lose, the feeling of your LP losses increasing and your MMR tanking can be depressive, to say the least. The worst part of Riot’s matchmaking rating is the fact that it takes forever to be fixed, which often results in low LP gains and a poor ranked experience overall.
The main advantage of a smurf lies in the fact that it has untouched, ranked-ready MMR, allowing you to start a ranked climb without poor LP gains. Luckily, there are dozens of legitimate websites that sell level 30 ranked-ready s with untouched MMR. In addition, you can also find smurf s with high MMR, which can give you a solid LP boost before you start playing ranked.
Lastly, decay is a strategy that works for Diamond+ players since only those ranked tiers can decay in rank because of not playing solo queue games. As a result of decaying, your will be demoted in rank, but the MMR will not fall off as much, allowing you to play against weaker opposition while still having strong MMR. This will open up more space for you to correct your LP gains by getting on a win streak before you reach the rank you were previously in.
Why Does Riot Keep MMR Secret?
Riot Games keeps Matchmaking Rating (MMR) secret for several reasons:
- The exact formula remains undisclosed to prevent exploitation.
- This hidden MMR helps create fair matches and regulate rank progression.
- Players cannot directly view their hidden MMR.
Riot Games employs a sophisticated system to maintain accurate player rankings in Valorant. The game aims to create balanced matches where each team has a 50% chance of winning. This approach validates the accuracy of players’ MMR, as consistent losses signal a potential inaccuracy in their rating.
The ranking system considers several elements:
- Individual performance
- Team performance
- Match difficulty
- Rank disparity between players
Furthermore, MMR is a hidden value that tracks a player’s true skill level. In contrast, Rank Rating (RR) is the visible rating players see in-game, determining their rank. MMR remains constant across episodes, while RR resets each episode. This allows Riot to place players appropriately at the start of new episodes.
Riot developers have clarified that no hidden systems exist, such as “winners queue” or “smurf queue.” Reports of easier climbing on certain s often stem from different playstyles or group compositions. Riot stated: “MMR has been custom-tailored to work with the backend systems that help place you into fair games. Removing it from these systems strips away a lot of its context, making it less useful to players as a hard indicator of skill.”
Ultimately, your MMR determines your place on the ladder and matches you with similarly skilled players. If you are winning about the same amount of LP in victory as you lose in defeat, it means your MMR and rank are just about even. This indicates that the system has determined your current rank is an accurate reflection of your skill level.
How MMR Affects Matchmaking in LoL
MMR Overview
MMR stands for Matchmaking Rating. The MMR system is used to determine your in-game skill level with the focus of placing you against opponents who share a similar skill level as you. Your Matchmaking Rating (MMR) is what Riot uses to determine your place on the ladder and match you up with similarly skilled players. MMR goes up when you win and it goes down when you lose.
How MMR Functions
- This rating system calculates your Elo rating status based on the number of games played and how well a player’s MMR performance has been.
- Whenever you play the game, your wins and losses in ranked matches will focus on an Elo rating system as you strive to improve your MMR.
- Each time you win a placement match, the MMR system will pair you up against tougher opponents.
- Whenever losing placement matches, you will be subsequently placed against easier opponents.
Factors Influencing MMR
- Most competitive online multiplayer games, like League of Legends, pool together several factors that extend beyond your win/loss ratio. Winning is the most important aspect of achieving a high MMR rating in the gaming world.
- Another factor taken into consideration is how your team plays.
- The higher a player’s MMR, the more league points they stand to win in a victory and the less they are likely to lose in a defeat.
- However, a player’s MMR is also determined by winning or losing streaks, the average MMR of their team, and the MMR of the opponents.
MMR Decay
For multiplayer matchmaking games like League of Legends, another factor to take into consideration is MMR decay. This is a slow, steady drop in rank for higher-ranked players who take extended breaks from playing these competitive games online. MMR decay is great for players who take long breaks. When returning to a game after taking a few months off, odds are you won’t be at the same skill level before you leave. Automatic decay can help adjust your match difficulty to a workable level as you ease back into the game.
Can You Estimate Your MMR Performance?
Estimating your MMR performance in League of Legends involves several factors:
- Due to the hidden nature of data, rough estimates are used with an accuracy of ± 95%.
- When estimating your MMR, the ± symbol indicates a difference of about 200 points. For example, if you have a score of 1300, your actual score would probably be between 1200 and 1400.
- This data can vary depending on your games and your score:
- The more games you win with a good score, the more your MMR increases.
- Conversely, the more games you lose with a very bad score, the more your MMR decreases.
- Your MMR is likely to change depending on the number of games played. The more games you play, the more accurate the MMR will be.
Additionally, the ranked games system allows you to gain or lose LP (League Points):
- LP varies according to your MMR score and the average MMR score of your rank.
- If you win a game with an average MMR higher than your rank, you will gain more LP than you lose.
- If you are below the average MMR, you will lose more LP.
Your estimated MMR can also be determined by:
- Observing how much LP you gain or lose after every ranked match. The higher a player’s MMR, the more league points they stand to win in a victory, and the less they are likely to lose in a defeat.
- The MMR system uses your win-loss record and opponents’ MMR to calculate your rating. Winning against higher MMR players gives you more points, which can help you estimate your performance.
Understanding LP Gain and Loss
League Points (LP) serve as the metric for tracking a player’s progress and skill level in League of Legends, akin to ELO or MMR systems in other competitive games. To climb the ranks in LoL, players must accumulate LP, typically requiring a total of 100 LP to advance from one division to the next within their rank. However, reaching this LP threshold triggers a series of promotional matches rather than an automatic promotion. Players must secure a victory in at least 3 out of these 5 crucial matches to ascend to the next division or rank.
Winning matches is the key to earning League Points (LP) in League of Legends. The amount of LP gained or lost after each match is influenced by the player’s Matchmaking Rating (MMR), an underlying metric that reflects their skill level. Notably, MMR is not directly visible. Players with higher MMRs will find themselves rewarded with more LP for each victory and facing smaller deductions for losses. If you win against players with higher MMR, then you obtain more LP; conversely, if you win against players with lower MMR, then you obtain less LP. The same logic applies for losses: you lose more to opponents with lower MMR.
The variation in League Points (LP) gains post-match in League of Legends stems from a blend of factors intricately tied to both the player’s and their opponents’ ranks, as well as in-game performance metrics. Principally, the system is designed to reward more LP when a player secures a victory against an opponent of higher rank, reflecting the greater challenge overcome. Conversely, wins against lower-ranked opponents yield lesser LP gains, reflecting the expected outcome based on ranking disparities.
The impact of Matchmaking Rating (MMR) on League Points (LP) gains in League of Legends is substantial and fundamental to the game’s competitive ranking system. MMR is a hidden score that represents a player’s skill level, which the game uses to match players of similar abilities in ranked games. If your MMR is higher than what’s typical for your current rank, the system perceives you as being placed too low and, consequently, rewards you with more LP for wins and deducts less LP for losses.
The way you gain higher LP is either going on a massive winstreak, consistently winning games yet failing/dodging promos, or duo queuing and winning with someone higher rank than you. It is essential to note that LP loss almost doubles that of gain, which indicates that your MMR is much lower than the shown rank. Ultimately, your performance in the game has no impact on your LP/MMR gain. You just need to win more and have your MMR catch up with your rank.
In summary, LP gain/loss mechanics can be extrinsically categorized as follows:
- Bigger LP gains and smaller LP losses occur when MMR is greater than rank.
- Smaller LP gains and bigger LP losses occur when MMR is less than rank.
Consistent play and performance can help equalize LP gains and losses, while MMR dictates your LP gains more than your visual rank. Additionally, after 28 inactive days in Diamond, players begin to lose 50 LP each day they remain inactive. In Apex Tiers of Master and above, players lose 75 LP each day after just 14 days of inactivity.
The Impact of MMR on Competitive Play
The Impact of MMR on Competitive Play in League of Legends
MMR plays a critical role in matchmaking. While it doesn’t directly impact gameplay, it determines the skill level of the opponents you face. The MMR system aims to create fair matches by guaranteeing that players of similar abilities are playing against each other. This helps maintain a level playing field and offers more competitive games.
Moreover, MMR influences the amount of League Points (LP) you gain or lose after each match. If you consistently win against opponents with a higher average MMR than your current rank, you’ll be rewarded with more LP for your victories. Conversely, if you lose against lower-MMR opponents, you may lose more LP than usual.
To improve your MMR, the most effective approach is by consistently performing well in your matches. Focus on winning games, maintaining a high kill-death-assist ratio, and contributing to objectives like towers, dragons, and barons. As you continue to play well and win more games, your MMR will gradually increase over time. Players with s in Diamond Rank and above often let their s decay to a division down to have higher MMR than their current rank. This strategy results in their s gaining more LP and losing less.
Moreover, win streaks and consistent wins do affect the rate of MMR increase. Similarly, loss streaks and consistent losses over time can negatively impact MMR. The overarching purpose behind MMR is to help improve each player’s gaming experience in games such as League of Legends.
In conclusion, understanding what MMR is, how it works, and how to increase it is essential for improving your gameplay and climbing the ranks in LoL. to stay persistent, focus on personal growth, and most importantly, enjoy the game!
Differences in MMR Across League Editions
Two different ranking systems determine a player’s position in League of Legends. The first is League Points (LP), which are well-known. The second is Match Making Rate, or MMR, which is less prominent.
In League’s early seasons, MMR was much more accessible to players. However, this has changed since the introduction of LP. Nowadays, there’s no easy way to find a player’s MMR since not even third-party websites can provide 100% accurate data.
League of Legends isn’t the only game to use MMR, which stands for Matchmaking Rating. It’s a metric used to calculate the player’s overall proficiency. Winning raises MMR, while losing lowers it. Thus, it shows the system where you’re ranked in relation to everyone else.
Matchmaking Rating (MMR) is an invisible number that determines your actual rank in League of Legends. Players of similar MMR will be queued together to ensure more fair matchmaking. Every single LoL player will have their own MMR number, and it is separate from their visual rank.
If you are visibly ranked way lower than your MMR, the system will try to get you to your actual skill level faster by giving you more LP for a win and less LP loss after losing a match.
There’s a “soft reset” each season in League of Legends. This means that your MMR doesn’t reset completely, but it does drop below the previous season. LoL has never had a “hard reset” where all s were equalized.
Consistent performance affects MMR adjustment. Win streaks and consistent wins lead to a faster MMR increase, while loss streaks and consistent losses decrease it. Your MMR can also be determined based on the amount of LP you lose or gain per match and your rank relative to other gamers in your ranked games.
Additionally, MMR differs across roles in servers with positional ranking. In ranked solo/duo games, there is a separate MMR for ranked flex queues, meaning the matchmaking system tailors distinct MMRs for different game modes.
Finally, other LoL game modes have their own MMR. Thus, players who frequently play ranked games may find their matchmaking rating less accurate in normal games, as MMR does not cross over between these modes.
Exploring Smurf s and MMR Manipulation
Smurf s and MMR Manipulation in League of Legends
Firstly, smurf s are often created to gain an unfair advantage by playing below one’s true skill level. This leads to situations where highly skilled players are matched against less experienced players.
Indeed, MMR (Matchmaking Rating) manipulation can occur, which is sometimes referred to as “MMR Boosting.” This practice may involve a player intentionally losing games to lower their MMR while playing on a lower-ranked . However, it is important to note that players can face bans for engaging in MMR manipulation, especially if they exhibit behavior such as intentionally feeding to remain in a lower ELO.
Furthermore, if you start playing on a freshly purchased level 30 , you won’t face players like Gold4s or Silver1s. Instead, you will only encounter other level 30s who have also acquired their s. This ensures that the matches are not representative of the genuine skill levels across different ranks.
