Riot Games announces League of Legends Ranked changes for 2026

Riot Games has announced a broad overhaul to League of Legends Ranked for 2026 aimed at the pain points players complain about most: autofill, dodging, long queues and rank mismatches. The developer says the changes will go live when the new season starts in January. The headline feature is a system called Aegis of Valor. Riot says Aegis of Valor will activate whenever an autofilled player earns at least a C mastery grade and will either double that player’s LP gain or protect them from LP loss. The intent is to give players a clearer reward for taking unwanted roles rather than leaving the lobby.

Matchmaking itself will try to group autofilled players against other autofilled players in the same role, or at minimum keep the number of autofilled players balanced between teams. If neither condition can be met, Riot will give the team with more autofilled players higher MMR teammates to offset the disadvantage. Those mechanics are described in Riot’s dev update. Riot is also tightening penalties and tracking for dodge and boosting. Autofill status will carry over into subsequent lobbies and, at Master rank and above, an autofill dodge can count as a full loss. Duo queue will be allowed at all ranks, including Challenger, after Riot applies stricter controls designed to curb boosting.

Faster champ select and rank alignment

Pre-game timers will be shortened, cutting champion select by about 30 seconds, and Riot will stop players from banning champions that allies are currently hovering. On the ranking side, the developer will add a climb indicator that appears when a player’s visible rank is lagging behind their MMR and will work to better align MMR between Flex and Solo/Duo queues to improve overall matchmaking quality.

These Ranked changes arrive after a year of contentious decisions from Riot around progression and rewards; Console PC Gaming previously covered Riot’s reaction to the Hextech Chest changes that sparked debate earlier in 2025 and linked the controversy to a wider conversation about player value and cosmetics in League. Riot Games responds to Hextech Chest changes in League of Legends. The full list of design goals and technical notes is on Riot’s post but the practical takeaways for players are straightforward: fewer waits in champ select, clearer protections or rewards when stuck in autofill, stiffer consequences for dodging at high ranks, and the ability to queue with a friend at any rank.

Players should expect the changes to land with the start of the 2026 season in January and should watch the official dev post for follow-up details and timing.

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League of Legends is a fast-paced, competitive online game that blends the speed and intensity of an RTS with RPG elements. Two teams of powerful champions, each with a unique design and playstyle, battle head-to-head across multiple battlefields and game modes. With an ever-expanding roster of champions, frequent updates and a thriving tournament scene, League of Legends offers endless replayability for players of every skill level.