A couple of years ago, Riot Games decided to remove the ability for high-ranked League of Legends players to queue together for the sake of fairness and matchmaking speed. This year, however, they might be reversing the decision and bringing duo queue back.
During an AMA on the League subreddit, design director August “Iksar” Dean Ayala confirmed that the developers were considering opening up duo queue for players in Masters rank, along with players in in Diamond and below. There was, however, some hold up on the decision due to differentiating stances from varying regions around the world.
Iksar said that Riot was “consulting with different regions who tend to have different opinions” on the topic, and that they were open to implementing different ranked queue rules for each individual region if needed.
There have been multiple arguments around the state of duo queue at higher elos, with valid points coming from pro players, solo queue warriors, and other analysts. Some players think that duo queue in higher ranks makes the game a lot harder for solo players who cannot rely on communication and synergy with a teammate.
Others believe that high-level duo queuing makes the climb more entertaining, and also better for pro players who wish to practice alongside a teammate. In 2021, Riot acknowledged that duo play in high ranked lobbies were once allowed partly because of the pro scene, but ultimately, they decided to remove the system for general improvements to the overall ranked scene.
“When we started allowing duos in Challenger in 2018, pros were a huge part of that decision,” Jonathan “RiotIAmWalrus” Moormann said in a 2021 interview with Dot Esports. “But we don’t want duoing to become mandatory for players who wish to succeed in solo/duo queue’s highest ranks, so we felt we had to remove it for the betterment of the entire ranked ecosystem.”
Ultimately, the ranked experience varies depending on what type of situation you are in, and will need plenty of experimentation and player feedback to work.
