Ranked players can expect stricter rules on dodging and clearer systems that support fairer climbs.
Riot Games, the developer of League of Legends, has unveiled a wide-ranging set of updates to the Ranked system coming in 2026, tackling long-standing issues around role imbalance, dodging, queue times and how skill is measured across the ladder. The studio detailed every change in a new developer blog, which says that devs are "taking on some of the areas of Ranked that have been [the players'] biggest pain points, including matchmaking, autofill, queue times, and skill distribution.”
The post acknowledges the core problem straight away. “A reality of League is that some roles are just more popular than others. Autofill exists to keep your queues going,”the blog said, noting mid lane as the most overloaded role. They also highlight how disheartening it feels when players lose LP after being placed into a role they did not choose.
Autofill parity and rewards coming in 2026
Devs are rebuilding how autofill matchmaking works. “Our new approach to autofill will first attempt to match an autofilled player against another autofilled player in the same position, like jungler vs jungler.” If that fails, the system will “aim to have the same number of autofilled players on each team.” If neither is possible, the team with more autofilled players will be given slightly higher MMR teammates. The blog add that this worst case “is not a very common occurrence today.”
The blog also gives a nod to support and jungle mains, who are most likely to be autofilled. “First off... thanks! You're helping keep League queues going and keeping the game healthy,” the blog mentions. These players will automatically receive the same autofill participation rewards “at roughly the same cadence” as fully autofilled players, even if the pre-game lobby does not show it.
Riot cracks down on dodging
There was also a significant section of the blog related to dodging, which they describe as “the awful experience of experiencing chain dodges, and the lobbies that result from them.” They point out how these repeated cancellations waste time, encourage targeted bans and undermine team trust before a match even loads.
The first major change is that “dodging will no longer reset your autofill status.” Anyone who dodges will continue to carry that autofill tag into their next queue. At higher ranks, the stakes get steeper. “At Master and higher, a dodge will count as a full loss,” the blog says. This comes with the usual dodge timer and the carried-over autofill. The developers explain that high-level lobbies are where dodging hurts match quality the most.
Faster time to game and champ select adjustments
Devs also shared how they wanted to reduce how long it takes to reach an actual match. One major change is the removal of ally hover bans. “We believe that being able to play the champion you want is more important than your ability to lock anyone out of the game when it's in direct conflict with what your teammate wants,” the post states. Hovered picks are not guaranteed to appear on the enemy team, making these early bans needlessly disruptive.
Champ select is also being tightened up. Devs have confirmed they are “cutting down on animations and timers in Champ Select by roughly 30 seconds.” These adjustments have been tested in NA and OCE and are set to go worldwide in patch 16.1. Broader improvements for lobby hostaging are planned for early next year, with Riot saying they are “working on a suite of changes to help address this.”
Rank recalibration and new climb indicator
According to the devs, player knowledge has grown significantly since Ranked first launched. “Where a Bronze player of the past might not know much about the game at all, today's Bronze player is often familiar with wave management, champion matchups, and objective timing.” This leads to new players colliding with more experienced opponents far too early.
To fix this, the team is recalibrating the lower tiers to “more accurately reflect the skills of the players within them.” They stress the update is intended to “realign the tiers with actual skill, not inflating ranks.”
A new Climb Indicator will also help explain situations where visible rank lags behind MMR. the common frustration of seeing a Silver player in a Platinum lobby. “Very often this player just started their climb a bit later than everyone else and actually does belong in that lobby,” the post says. The indicator will mark when someone’s rank has not caught up yet.
Flex and Solo MMR changes, plus duo queue returning
Two final updates round out the 2026 changes, with devs adjusting how Flex and Solo MMR relate to one another. They describe the frustrating scenario of “playing Flex with your friends in a Gold lobby and being absolutely stomped by someone who's Gold in Flex and Master in Solo/Duo.” To solve this, devs are “bringing Flex ranks more in-line with Solo/Duo ranks,” while confirming that Flex will never push Solo MMR upward.
The last change brings back duo queue at every rank, including Challenger, for most regions. Riot previously disabled duoing at the top of the ladder because of boosting concerns, but now believe the risk is lower. “With recent boosting detection and matchmaking improvements, we're confident it can return without fear of exploitation,” they say.
The studio says it will continue monitoring matchmaking data and community sentiment as the new ranked systems roll out next year.
