League‘s popular alternative mode, now featuring 16 players in eight teams duking it out, has its own system of progression that adds a bit of value to each match. Ranks in Arena are bound to Fame, with each milestone giving you rewards and a new “division.”
Of course, before you go piling into the gladiatorial battle (that’s an Arena joke you’ll understand in a minute), you need to know what you’re fighting to achieve—which mainly means shiny ranked badges. So, here’s how ranking works in LoL Arena.
All ranks in League’s Arena mode
While League’s core ranked system has an expansive ranked system, ranging from Iron and Bronze to Master and the highest title there is to achieve, Challenger, Arena is a tad different. There are five Arena ranks total, which are split into nine “Fame levels.”
The nine League of Legends Arena tiers are:
- Wood (Fame Level One) — 100 to 1,399 Fame
- Wood (Fame Level Two) — 1,400 to 2,899 Fame
- Bronze (Fame Level Three) — 2,900 to 4,899 Fame
- Bronze (Fame Level Four) — 4,900 to 7,399 Fame
- Silver (Fame Level Five) — 7,400 to 10,399 Fame
- Silver (Fame Level Six) — 10,400 to 14,399 Fame
- Gold (Fame Level Seven) — 14,400 to 19,399 Fame
- Gold (Fame Level Eight) — 19,400 to 28,399 Fame
- Gladiator (Fame Level Nine) — 28,400 Fame and above
Progressing through the ranks requires the acquisition of Fame, which can be earned through simply playing the mode. This new version of the Arena ranking system was added with Arena’s Season 15 iteration, and since this is probably the most changing mode in the game, chances are this isn’t the definitive system.
League Arena rank progression and rewards
As of Season 15, League of Legends Arena has a unique progression system based on Fame. The more Fame you get, the higher your Arena rank, which now also grant rewards based on which tier you’ve unlocked. Fame can be acquired in the following ways:
- By playing any given champion for the first time, placing in the top three with them, or getting first place with them. Each of these milestones grants 50, 150, and 200 bonus Fame and only once per champion.
- By surviving more rounds in matches. The Fame bonus is greater when playing with friends. Fame cannot be earned if the entire lobby is made up of pre-made players.
- By trying your luck with the new Bravery mechanic. This gives you a random champion with bonus buffs such as an extra stat anvil and increases your Fame earned in the match.
Getting enough Fame to progress to the next ranked tier also grants you rewards. Based on which Fame level you’ve unlocked, the rewards might differ. Here are the rewards for each Fame level:
- Level one — Augment: Overflow
- Level two — Augment: Hat Trick
- Level three — Tier one Match-up card upgrade
- Level four — Augment: Slow and Steady
- Level five — Reroll
- Level six — Tier two Match-up card upgrade
- Level seven — Augment: And my axe!
- Level eight — Prismatic Augment: Transmute Chaos
- Level nine — Tier three Match-up card upgrade
As you can see, the more you play Arena, the better your arsenal of Augments. These can give you an extra edge over other players and perhaps even be the key to victory. Arena did not feature any rewards for ranks previously, so the incentives for playing and giving it your all are now all there and can potentially be quite the gamechangers.
Best strategies to climb LoL Arena ranks
Since the ranks are directly tied to the amount of Fame you’ve earned, it’s crucial that you maximize Fame gain per match to climb through the Arena ranks. The absolute best strategy here would be to play as many different champions as possible and exhausting all the Fame bonuses they have.
The first time you pick them alone is enough to net you 50 extra Fame, which alone can net you thousands of Fame. Placing in the top three gives you 150 extra Fame, and getting the number one spot grants 200, or 350 if you do both at the same time.
Picking Bravery, i.e. a random champion, is also fantastic and can carry you through the Fame levels easily and quickly, and increase the pool of champions you play, which in turn leads to the bonuses mentioned above. You cannot lose Fame like you could lose Ranked Points before, so just put the pressure on and you’ll rank up eventually.
Can I play with friends in League Arena?
Players in Arena can queue in groups of two to eight players for matchmaking, or with up to four full teams. This lets you all duke it out like real gladiators while also having some randoms to join the fun. Parties of nine to 15 players are not allowed, though you can still queue with a full party of 16 players, which places you in a private lobby that grants no Fame. But, then again, it still lets you play with just your friends, so it’s a nice option in general.
How Arena ranking compares to other LoL modes
The Arena ranking system features no real divisions or promotional games and progression is based purely on Fame, rather than LP or other MMR and elo mechanic. Players can’t go down in rank in Arena anymore as Fame cannot be lost, even if you don’t place in the top three, while LP is lost each time you lose a ranked match. It also doesn’t have seasonal rewards like the other League divisions, thus making the incentives much less pronounced.
Arena players can also queue up with others of any rank, while restrictions exist in actual League ranked that prevent rank disparity between pre-made players.
Are League Arena ranks permanent?
Not quite. Each iteration of Arena has thus far reset the ranks for all players, setting everyone back to the very beginning. However, as Arena has become a rotating game mode now and isn’t as elusive as before, perhaps Riot will let us keep our hard-earned ranks. I wouldn’t bet on it, though, since the developers are likely to switch things up a bit by the time Arena comes back again, which would likely require a full rank reset just like before.
