One of the most enticing areas of League of Legends, much like in many other competitive games, is its ranked queue feature, allowing players to test their skills against others for spots on regional ladders. Each year, a new iteration of these ranked seasons is introduced to the game, requiring players to begin the grind once more—while also traversing the game’s new features.
Yet this year, Riot Games opted to amend the structure of the game’s ranked seasons to make it on par with those in other games, including its popular other title VALORANT. Instead of one year-long grind, season 2023 will be split into two halves, rewarding players with two separate ranks and rewards.
This also means that instead of players having their ranks reset once a year, they will experience two ranked resets at the start of both halves of the season. With this change, Riot has announced that internal changes to the ranked structure, such as the change of promos from five to three games, will be implemented to facilitate the grind that has now been split in two.
Rank reset in League of Legends, explained
The first ranked reset of the year will occur when the first half of the ranked season begins on Jan. 11, with the exact time varying depending on the region. This reset will take into account both the players’ rank at the end of season 2022, as well as their preseason grind, and place players against opponents of similar skill-level in their placements to determine where their ranked season will begin.
Another ranked reset will take place alongside the start of the second half of the season, which is expected to be instituted into the game at some point this summer. Though there will be no preseason to take into account prior to the year’s second ranked grind, Riot Auberaun noted in the season 2023 overview video that this reset will not be “as heavy” as the one taking place in January. He also explained that those who don’t play many games in the first ranked half will not be impacted too heavily with this second reset.
It is likely that this new ranked structure will continue well into the future of League, forever replacing the year-long seasons that players have become accustomed to over the past decade. More information about the second ranked split, including the start date and the ranked rewards, is expected to be revealed as the season progresses.
