Riot Games’ League of Legends is one of the most renowned and legendary Multiplayer Online Battle Game (MOBA) in the world with a vast world to explore and millions of daily players. Just like any other battle game, there is a ranking system where the higher your rank is, the better rewards you can get. However, understanding the ranking system in LoL can be a bit confusing if you are a new player.
This guide will talk about how the ranking system works, what rewards you can get, and what changes have been brought to the ranking system this year. If you want to skip the grind and just dive into the end game experience, you can always buy League of Legends account to boost your progress.
Ranking System Overview
At the start of every ranked season, you will have to play 10 placement games. Depending on your performance in these games, you will be given a starting rank. If you have any historic record(s) from any of the past seasons, that will be taken into account as well. There are a total of 10 ranks you can be classified into: Iron, Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Emerald, Diamond, Master, Grandmaster, and Challenger. Here Iron is the lowest and Challenger is the highest
These ranks are again divided into four tiers called Divisions, where IV is the lowest and I is the highest (like Iron IV, Iron III, Iron II, Iron I, Bronze IV, Bronze III, etc.). After every match, you will gain League Points (LP) if you win and lose LP if you lose. When your LP adds up to 100, you will be automatically promoted to the next division.
When you reach Diamond IV, you will need to look out for Ranked Decay. It is a game mechanic where if you stay inactive on the ranked leaderboard for 28 days, you will start losing LP until your rank drops to Emerald I and your LP becomes 2375. After reaching Master rank or above, your rank will start to decay only after 14 days. However, if you play even one game in between this decay period, your decay timer will automatically reset, even if it is on the 13th day (or the 27th day for Diamond).
Ranking System 2025 Updates
In 2025, Riot Games added a major update on how the game’s ranking system works. If you were an existing player and are returning to the ranked games after a really long time, say 3-4 months, you will face a faster rate of rank decay. Also, from now on, there will only be one ranked reset at the start of the year, unlike previous years where a ranked season was divided into three segments every year. It’s not all bad though. Riot Games has worked really hard to make it more difficult for you to reach the higher ranks. In that way, the player density at the top of the leaderboard will be fairly low, challenging you to play harder to gain ranks. However, if it is getting really hard for you to climb up the ranks, you can always buy League of Legends items to make your life a bit easier.
Rewards
Although ranked games can be a bit of a pain to master, you do get some good rewards to make up for it. The main highlight of the ranked games is the Seasonal Victorious Skin, which you can get after you win just 15 ranked games per season, either in solo, duo, or flex mode. At the end of every season, you get Ranked Borders based on your ending rank. You also earn rewards at the end of every season, like icons, emotes, and cosmetics, which are based on the highest rank you have achieved in that season. And finally, you get some Prestige Points, which you can use to get prestige skins, icons, wards, emotes, and the Hextech Crafting loot.
Conclusion
In conclusion, ranking up in League of Legends in 2025 requires consistency, strategy, and awareness of system updates. Master the mechanics, stay active, and enjoy the rewards that come with progression.
Lynn Martelli is an editor at Readability. She received her MFA in Creative Writing from Antioch University and has worked as an editor for over 10 years. Lynn has edited a wide variety of books, including fiction, non-fiction, memoirs, and more. In her free time, Lynn enjoys reading, writing, and spending time with her family and friends.
