Game Addiction Psychology: Examining the Tier System of League of Legends
Originally in Season 2, the Ranked system of League of Legends utilized a system called the elo system. This was a number based rating system that was originally developed for the use in Chess. After winning or losing a game, players would gain or lose a certain amount of points depending on the average rating of their team and the opposing team.
During this time, there were the tiers of Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, and Diamond, but they were correlated to being within an elo range. Players at any time could view their elo number rating on their profile.
Upon the start of Season 3, Riot discarded the elo system in favor of a more cosmetic system where tiers were divided each into five divisions, with promotion games needing to be played to progress between each one. The elo system was technically still there underneath, but the number was now called MMR, and no longer viewable by the players. Players could only see their current tiers and division. In order to rank up to the next division, players would have to go from 0 to 100 LP within a division and then play a promotion series, winning the next 2 of 3 games to progress to the next division, or 3 out of 5 games to go to the next tier.
Why the Change?
The switch in Season 3 serves no purpose besides making players more addicted to the game. While there are still clear distinctions between ratings, all the change did was create a less accurate representation of someone’s actual MMR. Promotions between divisions are not realistic as ranking is a continuous system and not a discrete one. While losing or winning during promotions, a person’s underlying MMR will change while they stay in the same division, making it so that players in the same division could have slightly different ranked representations. While usually not too vastly varying, the system makes unclear what was once a simple representation. During Season 11, promotions between divisions were removed, marking slight improvements to the system, but promotions between tiers remained.
It’s clear that the shift of ranking system was originally made in order to keep players more engaged to chasing the next ranks. Breaking up a continuous ranking system into a discrete system meant that players would be able to be given an artificial goal of the next rank to achieve. Logically, there is no reason that once an arbitrary point is reached, the games should suddenly become more important and require a promotional series.
The purpose of creating the system of promotions was to create high emotions of frustration and triumph in order to keep players captivated. While technically in the long run a promotion series isn’t any more meaningful than any other games played, during this time players can feel that they are under high pressure to perform. In a way, it can make otherwise standard games feel like they are being conducted in a tournament setting. The perception of importance is illusory however because even if one player is in a promotion series, the others might just be playing their standard matches to gain LP.
Furthermore, players can become attached to reaching a certain tier that they consider prestigious. It is common for many players to want to reach Gold tier simply because each season’s Victorious skin is rewarded to all players who have reached Gold. The desire for this reward alone often drives a lot of end of the season boosting.
It’s also not uncommon to encounter players who have the goal of just reaching Platinum, Diamond, or Master, and then not playing Ranked again afterwards. With badges and clear distinctions attached to ranks, as well as the introduction of summoner icons, Riot was able to turn arbitrary positions on a number scale into something that players could become immensely focused on.
Ranked Reflection
While the ranked systems of utilizing tiers and divisions does somewhat accurately represent someone’s rating after enough games, there isn’t really a reason that it needed to be implemented as a mask to an underlying numbers system which was much simpler. The system was simply created to create artificially meaningful moments.
Understanding the system is useful because it can help us demystify a tactic used by developers that keeps many caught in an unhealthy cycle of playing. It isn’t uncommon to see players that want to reach a certain rank before quitting entirely. I have actually seen a few posts on https://www.reddit.com/r/StopGaming/ where players want to reach Gold, Platinum, or Diamond before foregoing the game. However, more often than not, the triumph of reaching these ranks doesn’t last long, and often there isn’t even much enjoyment in reaching it.
I often tell players that reaching one of these prestigious ranks won’t be any different than the feeling they’ve obtained from any other previous rank-up. For example, if a player has gone from Bronze to Silver or Silver to Gold before, they will likely feel the same when they go from Gold to Platinum or Platinum to Diamond. Thus, I explain to them that there isn’t anything special to be gained out of it, and it will just become another step to them in the end.
Another thing we have to be aware of is the dangers of sunk cost fallacy. Many feel that because they have put so much previous efforts into playing, that they need to reach a certain rank before they stop. However, if the plan is to stop upon reaching a certain rank, then it doesn’t really make much sense to go after it in the first place, as that player won’t even be around anymore to show their icon. It simply makes sense to stop playing in that moment than to keep going in something no longer enjoyable.
Illusory Trinkets
While I would still see competitive gaming as a problematic activity even with the previous elo rating system, I do feel it’s important to analyze the push towards these cosmetic rewards and badges. Increasingly, developers are shifting towards including more and more meta awards, with bright trinkets to lure players in. In addition to the ranking system, things like Mastery Rewards, Missions, and Eternals are things that do not technically add to the gameplay, but that give players more achievements to chase.
It’s easier to leave competitive gaming behind when people can see the nature of the systems. Often in the moment, when players are playing to the developer’s wishes, they can be caught in anger with themselves or others, constantly typing and arguing through their push to the next rank. Once people can look holistically at the system, they can see that they and others are merely being conditioned by the developer to remain attached to illusory rewards. Once emotional distancing is done, it is much easier to quit gaming altogether.
Remember that our identity is not defined by badges in a game or the whims of game developers. It is up to us to solely choose.
