Preseason is a special time in LoL when all the changes. That was introduced in patches are still being officially implemented. These changes need to be tested and balanced. So they will work properly once the normal season starts. While these changes are not official yet, you should treat all of them as a sort of “beta” testing. That is because they can be easily changed or removed before they become permanent. The starts to rise in popularity at the start of the season because LoL player count starts to rise as players want to see all the new changes in the game.

League of Legends: What is Preseason?

What is the deal with preseason? It seems so boring! Let me tell you, friend, The preseason breathes new life into the game like a spring breeze after summer. Riot has no obligation whatsoever to add new champions or new items, rebalance old ones, or add new game modes. 

Neither do they have to work on other stuff in the game? And they would not, if not for their goal to constantly improve the game and provide players with an unlimited amount of fun in it. That can only be achieved by frequent updates (announcements), additional content, and rebalances. 

And all of this is first introduced in the preseason. It gets its first official taste of the regular servers right before the start of the ranked season, as soon as it finishes testing on the PBE.

In League of Legends, the preseason is called the period of eight weeks. Right at the start of the new season. It exists solely for the purpose of experimenting with the new patches and the newly introduced features in the game. Riot observes how the new implementations work. And, if needed, rebalances and fixes them for the official start of the season.

In this period of time, it is normal for the company to make major changes related to champions or items in the game in order to balance them.

Preseason is a time when League of Legends players can mess about with crazy gameplay ideas or try new team compositions. There are ways to earn temporary levels, but you do not lose them when the new season begins. Preseason encourages a different way to play the game and is often a time for people to experiment and have fun.

Typically, ranked play is not available in the preseason. Instead, players are able to queue up using draft pick rules only (except in special game modes). In addition, ranked play may be temporarily disabled if significant changes are made that would affect the balance.

While in the preseason, the normal draft is always available. That does not change in the preseason, but the only difference is the LP. During preseason, you will not gain any LP that will count towards your rank in the upcoming season. Once the preseason ends, you will be able to gain LP for your wins and advance in tiers.

Once the regular season starts again (typically in November), all LP gained during the preseason will be reset across all ranked queues. While this means that players must start over from scratch at the beginning of each season-long ranked ladder race for rewards and prestige, it also allows for a clean slate on which balance issues can be resolved. At a steady pace throughout the year.

You may occasionally see experimental game modes during the preseason. That changes how some champions are being played in terms of their abilities or core stats. Or what items you can build as well, as changes to the same items. These are meant for fun and practice—not for ladder competition. They won’t affect other queues, like ARAM.

So, what happens during this time?

As mentioned above, one thing that really does happen during this time is changes related to champions or items. These are frequently major reworks, and occasionally brand new champions are introduced during this time.

You can test out these changes on PBE (Public Beta Environment) before they are implemented into casual games or ranked games. This way, you will have an advantage over other players. But in general, you can try to learn and get used to the new things in the preseason and be ready for the official start of the new one.

Why do I participate in the preseason?

There are no drawbacks to playing ranked games during the preseason, as it doesn’t affect your LP in any way. If you do not have a PBE account and want to test the new champion, now is the time for it.

Preseason is a time when new things are added to the game. This can be new champions, new items, revamped items, or even completely new mechanics. Although these things often change throughout the preseason and PBE, it is still interesting to try them out and see how they perform. But should you really play ranked during this time if you want to win your games?

You can test out the new things (champions, items, etc.) as soon as they are released on the main servers. You can sharpen your skills with your champion of choice before the competitive season starts. You can learn entirely new champions, which might offer an advantage in competitive matches later on.

One of the best reasons for this is if you play in the preseason. You will be able to test the new things implemented in the game. Sharpen your skills for the upcoming season and learn more in-depth mechanics related to your champion. You can also learn to play an entirely new champion. Try out new metas, or simply warm up in a competitive environment.

Another great reason is that if you do not have a PBE account, the new champions added to the game will be available during this preseason. You can pick them up and learn them before the competitive game sessions start. Of course, they are often balanced later on, but it will be good to get to know how to play them.

If you want to warm up for the season, Preseason is a great time for it, along with testing the new things implemented in the game. You will be able to learn more about your chosen champion, mechanics, and so on. You can even pick up an entirely new champion and get a feel for them.

Do preseason matches affect your MMR?

Yes, it does! Contrary to the belief of some players. The preseason does not affect your MMR as much as the regular season does. However, some may say that this is not certain and is not confirmed. You still have to be careful and not regret having your MMR.

As you know, MMR is an essential statistic in League of Legends, which determines your opponents, LP gains, etc.

Saying that losing or winning games will not affect your MMR in the preseason will be a lie. In fact, it will, just like in the regular matches with the win and loss ratio, cause your MMR to lower or go higher.

On the other hand, you can rest assured. Or at least, do not worry too much. Because, with the new season, the ranks are reset. With that, you also get soft MMR balancing too. Although it is not hard reset but soft, your MMR is changeable. For example, in last season and preseason, you ended up in Gold 2. With the start of the new season, you will most likely be put in the same division as your previous season’s MMR. That is done so your progress can be preserved. And you will not have to put much effort into raising your MMR once again. Of course, this is not so great for those of you who have a low MMR.

In conclusion, we can say that playing ranked in the preseason is something you should do. The best thing you can gain from it is experience. As you already know, the preseason is the stage where the new in-game things are introduced. You can use this to get used to them, learn new things, or simply have fun with friends while learning new in-game tactics and champion mechanics. Overall, from participating in the preseason, you can only gain and lose nothing. Thanks for reading this article!