One of the most enticing areas of League of Legends is its ranked queue feature, allowing players to test their skills against others. Each year, a new iteration of ranked is introduced to the game, requiring players to begin the grind once more—while also traversing the game’s new features.
The case is no different this time around, with the 2025 season refreshing how the ranked system works once again. Riot Games made sure to overhaul it a few times in recent years, yet it feels the 2025 changes make the most sense. Therefore, let’s break them down.
When does the ranking reset in League of Legends?
The ranking reset timer is undeniably the most burning question among all League players. From 2025 onward, there will be only one ranked reset in League. It’ll happen at the start of the year, without any additional resets after. This is scheduled for Jan. 6, to be more precise, when the first season of 2025 will begin. The year will be split into three seasons, so the three splits somewhat remain.
It was announced by the end of November by Riot, who claimed it wanted to make the climb enjoyable once again. Such decision is all but surprising, given the plethora of issues the previous ranked resets introduced.
When did rank reset happen in the past in League?
At the beginning of 2023, Riot divided the ranked season into two splits. While it came alongside more rewards, since there were more rankings to conquer throughout the year, it was also problematic. A division into two splits meant players were forced to grind more to maintain their desired ranking. Climbing to new heights was made even more challenging.
If that wasn’t enough, in 2024 Riot continued iterating on that strategy by splitting the season into not two, but three ranked splits. This caused fans to share feedback on how exhausting and dissatisfying the gameplay had become, with each split having its own reset. This made the game’s competitive aspect almost unplayable. Players had to spend days and nights to grind out their desired ranks only for them to be vanished in a few weeks time, which was demotivating.
Luckily, Riot heard them and introduced the previously mentioned changes to make “League climb enjoyable—not painful or daunting,” it wrote in its dev blog. Having only one reset throughout the year should be enough to allow players for proper life-League balance.
What are the other 2025 League of Legends ranked changes
While the return to one annual ranked reset was a major change for the community, it wasn’t the only change in League’s ranked ecosystem. The developer also tweaked how the Victorious skins are claimed, with players only needed to win 15 ranked games to earn them in each thematic season, which is way more comfortable for those who are too busy to grind certain ranks.
At the same time, the MMR reset is meant to be less-aggressive. Too many substantial MMR resets in the past led to the ranking experience feeling annoying, since players with different ranks could match up early in the season, creating chaotic lobbies and early climb volatility. “While this may make the climb to first Challenger a bit less exciting, we’re making this change based on your feedback,” the dev wrote.
On top of that, Riot explained its current approach to returning players’ experience and the abuse of alternative accounts. It reassured us it’s keeping an eye on both aspects and is ready to act if needed.
How to climb LoL ranked quickly: Our rank progression tips
So, you want to increase your place in the rankings, and you want to do it fast? Well, we all do. Luckily, there are a few ways of rapidly improving League’s rankings. However, there is no golden rule to that, but a few tricks can make the process faster.
Learn a few champions for each position
While everybody prefers to compete in their favorite role, with how the current matchmaking in League works, players will sometimes be thrown onto another one in matchmaking. Leaving the lobby or going AFK if you didn’t get your role is simply trolling, and will hurt your rank. Going in unprepared, on the other hand, might make you inferior to your opponent in lane.
Sure, you might trade with others, but players are often unwilling to do son, especially once they claim their desired position. With that in mind, always have a few champions you know in and out, especially in the lower rankings. Not feeding and giving your best is essential in League’s climb.
Dive into gameplay changes each Patch to exploit the meta
Riot introduces major changes to champions, items and systems every two weeks. They often hit the most overpowered characters with a nerf hammer, while also buffing those who aren’t doing so well. Players who have been climbing the League ladder for a few years now should know that the developer sometimes overdoes it on those tweaks, making specific champs too strong.
If you can take an advantage of that, you should be able to secure some easy points for your ranked climb.
Find a duo partner and come up with powerful combos
A lot of League games in the current meta are decided in the early game, with the game having multiple snowball mechanics. Securing kills in the laning phase often leads to first neutral objectives, which makes you strong in the mid game, and so on. Therefore, making a well-communicated, powerful duo with your friend is always an advantage.
Think of a combo that works well due to League’s mechanics. Top and jungle or mid and jungle are always strong if they can carry out a few successful ganks early. Or maybe you want to take the helm of your bottom lane and drive your teams to victory through there?
Wait a bit with playing ranked games after the season resets
With the one and only ranked reset happening in January from 2025 onward, you could also wait a few days after it happens before jumping straight into the competitive play. There are two reasons for that.
Each year, the meta changes abruptly, so getting used to it in modes like Swiftplay or standard Summoner’s Rift draft is a wise choice. A lot of people who head directly into the ranked queue don’t. Secondly, while the MMR reset is milder now, it still takes place. The worst thing that could happen for your initial climb is getting mixed up with players of different MMR, which makes the games unfair and complicated from the get-go.
How many ranks there are in League of Legends?
There are 10 different rankings, with the final three (Master, Grandmaster, and Challenger) having no Divisions at all. The remaining seven are divided into four of them, with Division One being the highest.
- Iron (Divisions one to four)
- Bronze (Divisions one to four)
- Silver (Divisions one to four)
- Gold (Divisions one to four)
- Platinum (Divisions one to four)
- Emerald (Divisions one to four)
- Diamond (Divisions one to four)
- Master
- Grandmaster
- Challenger
