Just started playing LoL Arena and have little to no idea how the ranks work? Here’s a rundown of the tier system in the 2v2v2v2 game mode.
Image Credits | Riot Games
With the start of the summer event, Riot Games launched its newest 2v2v2v2 game mode, also known as LoL Arena. Compared to the slower-paced 5v5 on Summoners’ Rift, Arena allows you to team up with one player and go up against other duos to determine who deserves to be the last one standing.
As the name suggests, the new game mode wants to give players quick and explosive battles to become the gladiators worthy of Arena. But before getting to the top of the ladder, you need to be able to understand how the ranking system works, which is a bit different from the traditional one you would see in solo queue. Without further ado, let’s jump into the ranks of LoL Arena.
Unlike the 10 ranks you would see in the traditional Summoners’ Rift map, ranging from Iron all the way to Challenger, there are only 5 ranks in LoL Arena:
While Bronze, Silver, and Gold are the same as the ones used in solo queue, LoL Arena has two unique ranks: Wood and Gladiator. The former is a bit like the Iron version for the ranked solo queue while Gladiator is the highest rank available.
It’s worth noting that Riot tweaked the queueing system. The maximum party size has been increased to 4 and players with a rating of 8,100 rating or higher can only queue with 1 other player. They also must be within 1,000 ranked points of one another to queue together.
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The way to improve your rank in the new 2v2v2v2 game mode is the same as the traditional solo queue ladder: whenever you win games, which means finishing in the top two of a lobby, you get to earn ranked points. And when you lose, points are curtailed from your profile.
So the goal to quickly rank up in LoL Arena is by getting a top-two finish. There are going to be games where you are not destined to win: learn how to reduce your losses as much as possible and maintain a positive win rate. It’s better to get multiple positive finishes rather than getting ups and downs by ranking first and last.
Since the LoL Arena ranking system is points-based, there are no divisions and promotion series between tiers. As long as you earn enough points beyond the threshold set for a given rank, you will automatically receive that rank.
If you’re just starting to play LoL Arena, be aware that there is loss mitigation for the first games you play. This will give you a bit of time and gameplay to get accustomed to the peculiarities of the game mode. Try to maximize your knowledge in those matches and start grinding after.
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Unfortunately, casual and tryhard players are going to be placed in the same lobbies since Riot decided to implement a ranked tier at this point. This means that if you’re playing for fun, you might find yourself against players trying to grind the game mode and aiming to win with the strongest champions and the best strategies.
Don’t worry, though. Riot recently brought the custom 2v2v2v2 lobbies, which will allow players to enjoy Arena with friends and partners. All you need to do is queue up with all 8 players in the lobby, and the game will start an unrated game.
For now, Riot devs haven’t said they plan on making LoL Arena a permanent game mode. In a recent dev vlog update, they mentioned their intention to first collect more feedback before making any clear decision.
Simultaneously, though, the devs also made it clear they see a bright future for the game mode, so there is a good chance it will be brought back in the future, which they already did in December. It will highly depend on how well the LoL players receive the game, and if there is a good enough player base to keep it.
Based on the information we have so far, there is no confirmation on whether Riot will bring rewards for players ranking higher in LoL Arena. In the solo queue ladder, players will usually be able to earn skins, and other special items and accessories, based on how well they perform during the season.
In the first version of LoL Arena with the Soul Fighter Event, players received a summoner icon of their Arena tier as well as ones for all tiers below it. Rewards were only granted to those who had played at least one match of the mode.
With the December version, it looks like there won’t be any rewards based on rankings. That said, players will get Arena-specific missions for the Winterblessed events: farm the XP points to get more rewards such as orbs and icons.
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