MMR (Matchmaking Rating) is the hidden number that determines who you play against and how many points you gain or lose after each match. When you hit a loss streak, your MMR drops, and the game starts matching you with weaker opponents while giving you less LP per win. Recovery means playing consistently well to bring that number back up so your rank reflects your actual skill level again.
Why Loss Streaks Hurt More Than You Think
Here’s the thing most people don’t realize: losing five games in a row does way more damage than winning five games fixes. The system sees a pattern and assumes you got placed too high. So it tanks your MMR hard to “correct” itself. And now you’re stuck in this weird spot where you win games but gain like 12 LP while losses cost you 20.
The frustration makes sense. You feel trapped because the math literally works against you until you prove the system wrong with a solid win rate over many games.
Stop Playing After Three Losses
This sounds obvious but nobody actually does it. Your mental state after three losses is garbage, and you’ll make decisions you wouldn’t make with a clear head. You’ll chase kills, flame your teammates, pick champions you shouldn’t, and force plays that aren’t there.
The science backs this up too. Tilt affects decision making in ways you can’t consciously detect. You think you’re fine, but your reaction time slows down and your risk assessment goes out the window. Taking a break isn’t weakness. It’s the single most effective thing you can do to stop the bleeding.
Focus on One or Two Champions Only
When your MMR craters, you need consistency above everything else. Playing ten different champions means you’re splitting your mental energy ten ways. You’re thinking about ability combos instead of map awareness. You’re missing CS because you don’t know your champion’s attack animation perfectly.
One trick ponies have higher win rates for a reason. They don’t think about mechanics anymore because muscle memory handles it. All their brainpower goes toward macro decisions and tracking the enemy jungler.
Pick your best champion and spam it until your LoL MMR stabilizes. Variety can wait until you’re out of the hole.
The 40/40/20 Rule Keeps You Sane
Roughly 40% of your games are unwinnable no matter what you do. Your bot lane goes 0/10 before 15 minutes. Someone AFKs. The enemy team has a smurf. These games happen and you can’t control them.
Another 40% you’ll win regardless because the same things happen on the enemy team. They have the AFK, the inter, the first time player.
The remaining 20% is where your actual skill matters. These are close games that could go either way, and your performance decides the outcome. Recovery happens when you win most of these swing games consistently.
Understanding this keeps you from going insane because you stop blaming yourself for losses that were never in your control to begin with.
Play During Off Peak Hours
Server population changes throughout the day, and game quality shifts with it. Late night queues tend to have more players who are tilted, drunk, or just not taking things seriously. Early morning often has people grinding before work or school who actually want to win.
This isn’t universal and depends on your server, but tracking when you get your best games makes a real difference. Some people climb way faster just by changing their play schedule.
Demotion Shield Gets You Time
Most ranked systems give you protection when you first hit a new tier or division. You won’t drop immediately after promoting even if you lose several games. But this shield has limits and expires if you lose too many in a row or your MMR falls way below your current rank.
The mistake people make is treating the shield like free losses. It’s not. Every loss during the shield period still damages your MMR, which means you’ll face the same climb again later just to get back to where you started.
Analyse Your Deaths, Not Your Kills
Everyone watches their highlights. Nobody wants to rewatch themselves getting solo killed or caught out of position. But deaths tell you exactly what went wrong and what habits you need to break.
Watch your last five deaths from your most recent loss. Ask yourself what information you ignored before each one:
- Was the enemy jungler missing from the map?
- Did you have vision of the area you walked into?
- Were your abilities on cooldown when you took the fight?
- Did your teammates have the ability to help you?
Most deaths share common patterns, and identifying yours cuts them down faster than any other practice method.
Duo Queue Has Tradeoffs
Playing with a friend means guaranteed communication in at least one lane and someone who won’t AFK or run it down. But the matchmaking system knows you’re duo and adjusts accordingly. You’ll face slightly stronger opponents or get weaker solo players on your team to balance things out.
Duo works best when you and your partner have actual synergy in roles that interact together. Jungle and mid, support and ADC, jungle and top. Two solo laners on opposite sides of the map who never help each other aren’t really duo queueing in any meaningful way.
The Grind Takes Time
There’s no shortcut to MMR recovery. You can’t trick the system or find some loophole that makes it forgive your losses. The only path forward involves playing more games with a positive win rate until the numbers slowly shift in your favor.
Expect it to take dozens of games minimum. The system moves slowly on purpose because it wants to make sure your improvement is real and not just a lucky streak. Patience matters more than any specific strategy, and accepting this reality keeps you from burning out before you finish the climb.
Your rank will catch up eventually. Just keep playing and stay off autopilot.
