There has been a lot of new stuff for League of Legends with the 2023 ranked season. The biggest one was the introduction of splits. The mid-way point of the season is here, so we look ahead to what's new for LoL Ranked Season 13 Split 2, including its exact start time.
It's crazy if you think about it: The year is already past its halfway point! Celebrating New Year feels like it's been yesterday, and even the League of Legends Season seems like it has just begun. Maybe you have a different perception of time, but I feel like it's all just flying past.
The second split of Season 13 lies ahead, so it's really about time we take a look at what will change in the latter half of the LoL season. We'll tell you everything from the start dates to what changes Riot will implement that you have to keep an eye on. Let's go, shall we?
LoL: What Is A Ranked Split?
Just in case you're called Patrick Star (i.e., living under a rock), here's a quick recap of the newly introduced system of splits in a League of Legends ranked season.
If you follow LoL esports, you probably know your favorite League is operating in a split system. These are usually called “Summer Split”, “Spring Split”, or even “Winter Split” if you're an LEC fan. A “split” refers to a phase within a ranked season that lasts several months. During a split, players compete in ranked matches to improve their ranking and earn rewards.
At the end of each split, players receive rewards based on their performance. Splits provide a sense of progression and allow for updates and changes to the game.
LoL Season 13 Split 2: All Upcoming Changes
Even though it will technically be the same season as before, there is a lot that will change with the upcoming split, and it will mainly be for the better – at least in our eyes. The ranked reset is a good chance for Riot developers to implement changes to things that would've otherwise been an issue all season-long.
New LoL Rank in 2023
The biggest change to the League of Legends ranked mode will be the addition of a tenth rank. Said rank will be called “Emerald” and be situated between the current Platinum and Diamond ranks. This decision was made to even out the bottom-heavy rank distribution in League of Legends.
According to Riot Revenancer, Systems Lead for the Motivations initiative, the rank distribution should center around Gold, with Bronze and Silver representing the below-average/average players, while Gold and Platinum should be populated by above-average players.
As of now, though, those four ranks are far from even in size, with Silver being overpopulated. To even out the distribution, the Emerald rank will be introduced with the upcoming LoL split. If it can fulfill its purpose, League players should now be distributed into their intended ranks, based on their skill level.
Less Placement Games in LoL Split 2
Everybody knows them, no one loves them – at the start of each ranked season, you need to play ten games to determine your initial rank of the season. As the second split will technically still be part of the same season, Riot decided to lower the amount of placement games you need to play from 10 to 5.
According to the developers, this change was made with it being a mid-season reset in mind. But as of now, they plan to keep it at five placement games for the upcoming season as well.
No More Promotion Games in League of Legends
This may be the most welcome change of all: Riot will be removing the promotion series in League of Legends as a requirement to rank-up. This means whenever you are at the brink of hitting your desired rank for the season, you won't need to play a three-game-series and win two of them anymore.
I'm sure every single one of us has been frustrated by this series before. Desperately trying to rank-up and being held back by griefing teammates, not having fate in your own hands, used to be extremely stressful.
That's all folks! Everything you need to know before the start of the upcoming ranked split in League of Legends. As said before, most of these changes should be for the better, and now you know what to expect. We wish you best of luck in climbing the ranks, the sky is the limit!
LoL Season 13 Split 2: Release And Start Time
Split 1 ended on July 18, 2023 in every region. League of Legends Season 13 Split 2 will kick off one to three days later depending on your region. The exact start time will be 13:00 CEST.