The recent League of Legends Apex Rank updates — Master, Grandmaster, and Challenger tiers — have triggered widespread discussion across the ranked ladder, with players questioning everything from LP gains to overall progression feel.
While the system aims to improve long-term competitive integrity, many are finding the journey more frustrating than rewarding.
| HOW THE LATEST PATCH AFFECTS YOU League of Legends Patch 26.07 might completely break the Bot Lane meta |
League of Legends Lead Gameplay Designer Matt “Riot Phroxzon” Leung-Harrison took to X (formerly Twitter) on March 24, 2026, to explain the recent Apex Rank changes and address player concerns. His detailed thread dives into LP gains, ladder grindiness, and the ongoing debate around potential resets.
Players say progression in Apex Rank feels worse, not better
One of the biggest concerns is how much harder it feels to make meaningful progress within high ranks. The LP gap between Master, Grandmaster, and Challenger has widened significantly in several regions, making the climb feel less rewarding.
Instead of clear milestones, players are stuck in long stretches of incremental gains, with little sense of achievement along the way.
This also makes it harder to compare progress with previous seasons, where benchmarks like 1000 LP or 2000 LP carried clearer meaning.
At the same time, many are calling for some form of Apex Rank reset — though what that actually means varies widely across the community.
LP gains controversy: Why some players get +30 and others don’t
Another major pain point is the perceived unfairness in LP gains. Some top players are currently gaining +30 LP per win while others are stuck at around +20, creating a sense that catching up is impossible.
According to Riot Phroxzon, this discrepancy is temporary. Players who previously suffered from low gains (+10/-30 due to soft caps) are now being “repaid” with higher gains.
Over time, the system is expected to stabilize, with over 95% of players — including those at the very top — settling at around ±20 LP per match.
This also reinforces a core design philosophy: climbing now strictly requires maintaining a win rate above 50%. If a player is consistently at 50%, the system considers them correctly placed.
Importantly, starting a fresh account no longer provides an advantage in reaching Apex Rank. In fact, existing high-ranked accounts are favored — a deliberate move to discourage smurfing.
Why the LP gap is so massive at the top
Another controversial aspect is the sheer size of LP differences between tiers. In some regions, the gap between Master and Rank 1 Challenger can rival — or even exceed — the climb from Iron to Master.
This isn’t accidental. Riot points to a growing skill gap at the highest levels of play, driven by increasingly competitive environments, bootcamps, and players pushing toward professional play.
The difference between a low Master player and a top Challenger is massive, with top players consistently outperforming even other elite competitors.
However, even Riot admits the current system may lack satisfying “checkpoints,” and is exploring ideas like adding more tiers to break up the climb and improve progression feel.
The grind problem: Too many games to climb
What’s more, the feeling that ranked has become too grind-heavy remains a major concern, said League of Legends players.
Under current tuning, even a highly skilled player with a 75% win rate could need around 300 games to climb from 0 to 3000 LP. Fresh accounts take even longer, while legacy accounts are significantly advantaged.
Riot argues this is intentional. Without these constraints, players could rapidly push multiple accounts to the top, increasing smurfing and damaging match quality. There’s also concern that if high-ranked players begin losing LP, they may abandon their accounts entirely and smurf instead.
To counteract “camping” at high ranks, systems like daily play requirements and LP caps are in place, ensuring continued activity at the top of the ladder.
Still, Riot Phroxzon acknowledges the need to balance competitive integrity with accessibility, especially since many LoL players are juggling school, work, or other commitments.
Matchmaking isn’t perfect — and never will be
Players have also raised concerns about matchmaking quality, particularly at the top of the ladder.
However, Riot sets clear expectations: perfectly balanced games across all factors — rank, role, duo parity, and queue time — are simply not possible given the limited number of high-tier players.
With only a few hundred Challenger and Grandmaster players in many regions, compromises are unavoidable. This can include autofill, role mismatches, or even pulling in Master-tier players to fill games.
That said, Riot claims over 90% of matches are still statistically fair, with roughly equal chances of winning, thanks to improvements in matchmaking algorithms.
The Apex Rank reset debate explained
Calls for an Apex Rank reset have become increasingly common, but the implications vary depending on the type of reset being considered.
Hard reset
A full reset would wipe matchmaking history entirely, leading to chaotic early-season games. High-ranked players could be matched with significantly lower-skilled teammates, creating inconsistent and often frustrating experiences.
Riot warns this could take months to stabilize and would likely degrade match quality significantly.
Soft reset
A softer reset would preserve some ranking structure, allowing top players to retain advantages such as higher LP gains early in the climb.
The mildest version would keep players roughly in place but require them to maintain performance to hold their rank.
For now, no reset is confirmed. Riot Phroxzon shared that they would only consider such changes if they clearly improve the overall player experience — and only in affected regions.
So while nothing is finalized, several potential adjustments are being explored:
- Better progression feel through additional tiers or checkpoints
- Reducing grind through higher LP gains or shorter tier gaps
- Incentives for players to stay on main accounts instead of smurfing
- Adjustments to how much legacy accounts are favored
- Possible expansion of Challenger and Grandmaster slots in high-population regions
At the same time, some of these changes come with trade-offs — particularly when it comes to increasing smurfing or making the ladder feel even grindier.
