League players are frustrated with latest change that forces them to ‘grind more’

Riot Games introduced ranked splits to League of Legends in 2023 and increased the number of these to three with the start of season 14. However, some players believe this increased number of splits is to make them “grind more.”

A discussion was sparked by one League player on Reddit on May 15, who asked about the logic behind three ranked splits in a single year. They underlined how frustrated they were, since after “working their ass off” to reach Diamond, the rank got reset, and they dropped to Emerald after a few unlucky placement games. Others in the comments quickly replied—it’s to make you play more League. 

“It’s to increase player engagement but yeah I hate it. […] With constant reset, I feel like it locks anyone with a life outside of League into just feeling like they’re randomly getting demoted every few months” one player wrote. 

It’s tough to disagree with the sentiment. If you don’t play a lot of League, what’s the point of trying to climb the ranked ladder when your progress will be shortly reset? Accessing the data about how many players compete in solo queue is impossible unless you’re from Riot Games. Therefore, it’s impossible to tell whether the player base has increased with these extra splits, but judging by certain reactions on social media, it feels the change has had the opposite effect.

“The purpose is to make you grind more I guess. My solution is to just not play this split,” another player added. On the upside, more ranked splits mean more rewards for your achievements. But, once again, if someone isn’t a “hardcore” League player, chances are they won’t even climb the rank required for decent rewards. 

On the other hand, Riot seems flexible about these changes since the system is updated regularly so far. As a result, it’s possible tweaks will come by the end of season 14 if enough feedback is provided.