LoL Ranks and Ranking System, Explained

Since League of Legends is a competitive MOBA, it only makes sense that there is some sort of ranks for you to brag about. While you can play the game without worrying about your rank or trying to climb the rank ladder, most players will be curious about how they play compared to the rest of the League of Legends community and will play to earn their rank and improve it. Let’s go over the ranked system in League of Legends and what the ranks are.

How Does Ranked Work In League of Legends

In order to begin your ranked grind in League of Legends, you will need to reach level 30 on your account. When you go into your first ranked game you will be matched up with people around your skill level from playing normal games. You will need to play 10 games in order to be given a ranked and begin to climb the ladder. Whether you win or lose those 10 games you will still be given a rank, but if you lose all 10 games the rank will be much lower than the rank of someone that wins all 10 games.

After you have been given a rank you can begin to earn League Points or LP for short. As you win or lose games you will gain and lose LP until you reach either 100 or 0 LP. At 100 LP you will begin your promotion matches to go up to the next rank. You will need to win three of your next five games in order to go up one rank and you will then be placed in that rank depending on how much LP you gained during your promotion matches.

If you lose enough LP to hit 0 LP in your current rank you will have protections activated. You won’t lose any more LP for your next losses but the game will still keep track of what you would lose. If you gain LP during the time you have protections activated you will lose your protections and no longer be in danger of dropping down a rank. However, if you lose enough times at 0 LP you will fall down to a lower rank.

The amount of LP you have at the lower rank will be relative to what you would have lost when you were at 0 LP at your previous rank. This means if you were going up against players above your rank and lose enough to fall down a rank you will have more LP than you would if you were losing against lower rank players a 0 LP.

If you manage to hit Master rank, the way the ranking system works changes a bit. You no longer are capped at 100 LP and if you gain beyond that amount of LP you will be placed into Grandmaster and Challenger ranks. There are only a set number of places in Grandmaster and Challenger ranks so you will need to have more LP than other players in the Master rank if you want to claim one of these spots.

What Are The Ranks In League of Legends

The ranks in League of Legends are similar to the ranks in Valorant but in reverse order. In Valorant the ranks will count from one to five with one being the lowest and five being the highest. In League of Legends, the ranks count down from five to one which makes someone in rank four lower rank than someone in rank two. The ranks in League of Legends also follow the same naming scheme for the most part. The ranks in order are Iron, Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, and Diamond. This is where the League of Legends ranking system differs from Valorant’s ranks. While Valorant has Ascendant, Immortal, and Radiant, League of Legends has Master, Grandmaster, and Challenger.

Most players in League of Legends will find themselves in the Silver and Gold ranks but don’t feel bad if you wind up in a lower rank. Climbing ranks in League of Legends is quite easy at the lower ranks and even if you place and then fall down some ranks it doesn’t take much to climb back up. If you need any more help with League of Legends make sure to check out our other guides.

League of Legends is available now on PC and Mac.