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Riot promises ranked changes in League of Legends Season 2024

Fewer smurfs and an Arcane Legend

Riot gave a sneak peek of what to expect from League of Legends Season 2024, and among the changes are some improvements to the multiplayer game's ranked matches. Skarner and his reworked kit should launch sometime in the year’s first half, and Shyvana is getting a VGU that should go live in 2025. That’s League-speak for “visual and gameplay update,” or a reworked appearance and kit, in other words.

One of the biggest changes is for ranked matches. Riot said the team is adjusting how League of Legends evaluates skills, which should rework who you end up in lobbies with. 

The goal is reducing the number of smurfs – skilled players who create new accounts to give themselves an unfair advantage at lower tiers – and players with skill levels that differ wildly from your own. Riot didn’t go into much detail about what these changes are or how they work, though.

Elsewhere, the team properly announced Smolder and showed him off, which you can check out in more detail in our LoL Smolder overview. Ambessa Medarda from Arcane will join the roster of playable Legends later in 2024, and Lee Sin’s visual overhaul should be ready in May 2024.

Speaking of visuals, Riot said several older legendary skins that have no borders, including Dragon Trainer Tristana and Corporate Mundo, will get them, and Rammus and Olaf are getting new skins.

Finally, Riot said the studio plans to celebrate League of Legends’ 15th anniversary in some fashion, though it’ll be in League itself. Don’t expect any new games this time. There is, however, a new mode that Riot called "a chill way to play with friends," along with some other returning modes planned throughout the year.

You can see some of this and additional details in the League of Legends Season 2024 cinematic trailer when it goes live on Jan. 10, 2024.