win.gg
Win.gg League of Legends What rank is required for the Riot Games balance team?

What rank is required for the Riot Games balance team?

Nicholas James
Nicholas James Published 24/04/2022

Many fans view the Riot Games balance team as a mysterious force, but the League of Legends developer pulled back the curtain on exactly what it means to balance the popular MOBA.

The Gameplay Analysis Team is the group that tests the various changes brought to League of Legends ahead of those changes being pushed to the Public Beta Environment. For everything from new items to new game mechanics, the Gameplay Analysis Team’s job is to try and make sure that the implementation of new additions doesn’t destabilize the careful balance of such a massive MOBA. In a recent developer blog, Riot Games busted some myths about the reality of working on this aspect of LoL.

What rank do you need to join the Riot Games gameplay team

Fan rumors has theorized that there must be a rank minimum to have input on high-level decisions made inside of such a massive game, but according to Riot Games this isn’t true. Riot made clear that while many of the Gameplay Analysis Team members are highly ranked, there’s no strict cut off for what rank potential members need to have achieved.

https://twitter.com/LeagueOfLegends/status/1517556337051373575?s=20&t=_0yR91eUaptSW0AnJgr-RA

Many of the changes that the gameplay team needs to focus on do require high-skill players, so having a strong roster of highly-ranked players allows the team to more easily see how changes aimed at elite-level play will pan out. Many changes made to League of Legends are specifically intended to affect the game’s vast professional landscape, so this sort of testing is a necessity.

Some of the other myths that Riot dispelled in its post were the ideas that the team only focuses on playtesting, or that their job is to focus on the live game.

The Riot Games gameplay team is also tasked with trying to design and iterate on new mechanics or concepts being added to the game. An example given is Crown of the Shattered Queen, with the design goals of providing an anti-assassin item that didn’t take away mages’ core weakness of being squishy. Members of the team are charged with checking on how such an item feels during play and how it will affect the game should it go live.

Nicholas James Nicholas James
About Nicholas James

Nicholas James is a gaming writer with a passion for all things geekdom, as well as live theater. Nicholas is best known for covering League of Legends and other top MOBA titles, but his expertise covers numerous games across multiple genres. When not watching the LCS or playing the latest new release, Nicholas can be found doing some tabletop gaming and painting his favorite miniatures. Nicholas has also published with Hotspawn, TheGamer, Dexerto, Esports.gg and other industry outlets.

View full profile
Read Also
League of Legends Classic will be back in 2026, here’s what we know Esports Betting
League of Legends Classic will be back in 2026, here’s what we know Wasif Ahmed Riot has announced that League Classic will come out in Season 3 of 2026, as a game mode. League Classic is “old League of Legends”, the ability to play the game on a specific patch from over a decade ago. How much information do we have? What is League Classic, when will League Classic release, and what patch will it be for? Ever wanted to rediscover the old version of ...
Karmine Corp vs Team Liquid: Best betting odds and picks for MSI 2026 League of Legends
Karmine Corp vs Team Liquid: Best betting odds and picks for MSI 2026 Hannan Mundia While both Karmine Corp and Team Liquid lost one series each, both teams will have another chance to continue in the 2026 MSI play-in stage to potentially qualify for the bracket stage. Both participating teams got swept by T1 in this MSI stage, bringing them to the third round. Team Liquid’s performance against Deep Cross Gaming was impressive, but does that really mean that it has what it takes to ...
T1 exposes Karmine Corp with 3-0 win at League of Legends MSI 2026 Esports Betting
T1 exposes Karmine Corp with 3-0 win at League of Legends MSI 2026 Wasif Ahmed T1 just beat Karmine Corp 3-0 in the play-in stage of the 2026 Mid-Season Invitational. More importantly, T1 turned KC’s strengths into weaknesses. The bot lane and teamfight prowess that shone in the LEC were no match this time. The match started with Karmine Corp picking a disrespectful draft, blind picking three immobile squishies. Right off the bat, a botched invade put their jungle and bot lane at a disadvantage. ...
KeSPA Cup returns in July 2026 exclusively on Disney+ League of Legends
KeSPA Cup returns in July 2026 exclusively on Disney+ Hannan Mundia The KeSPA Cup is slated to return sooner than most expected, though its date and exclusive Disney+ partnership raises some questions. The KeSPA Cup is an annual tournament organized directly by the Korea e-Sports Association. While it doesn’t get nearly as much attention as Riot-organized leagues and events, LCK powerhouses still participate in it. 2025’s KeSPA Cup is still fairly fresh since it took place in December. This year’s tournament ...
Best betting odds and picks for T1 vs Karmine Corp at MSI 2026 Esports Betting
Best betting odds and picks for T1 vs Karmine Corp at MSI 2026 Hannan Mundia This year’s MSI is still ongoing, and the next match in the play-in stage is slated to pit T1 against the LEC’s Karmine Corp. Both participating teams absolutely destroyed their respective opponents in this stage’s first round. With two 3-0 scores, both Karmine Corp and T1 have established themselves as powerhouses. However, the level of opposition was clearly different, and that fact may show its face in this match. Tournament: ...
T1 vs Team Liquid: Best betting odds and picks for MSI 2026 Esports Betting
T1 vs Team Liquid: Best betting odds and picks for MSI 2026 Hannan Mundia The League of Legends Mid-Season Invitational (MSI) 2026 will kick off with T1 facing off against Team Liquid, but will the match really be as one-sided as the betting odds make it out to be? While some didn’t think that the reigning world champions, T1 would make it to this year’s MSI, the team proved many wrong once again. It barely made it to the play-in stage, where Team Liquid ...
Karmine Corp vs Deep Cross Gaming: Best betting odds and picks for MSI 2026 Esports Betting
Karmine Corp vs Deep Cross Gaming: Best betting odds and picks for MSI 2026 Wasif Ahmed Karmine Corp goes up against Deep Cross Gaming on the first day of MSI 2026. Obviously, KC is the favorite by a long shot. Does DCG actually stand a chance, though? Can they repeat the achievements of CTBC Flying Oyster who took down KC at First Stand 2025? Tournament: Mid-Season Invitational 2026 Stage: Play-in Game: League of Legends Format: Best-of-five Betting tips: As the second seed from a lower region, ...