Flex queue gets a lot of bad press. The skill gaps can be immense, with solo queue challengers playing against solo queue gold players. It's also known as a queue where players don't try very hard, and full of boosted animals. These last few weeks I took the plunge and ventured onto the flex queue ladder alone, bringing my Flex queue rank from low Plat to Diamond 5. What have I found? The results are actually kinda cool.
Ranked Flex vs Solo Queue
What's Actually Different
Updated Patch 26.16Solo/Duo is you, or you and one friend.
Flex is you and your group.
That's the whole difference. Everything else comes from that one rule.
Who you can bring
Yes, really. Four is the one group size Flex won't take.
Everything else, side by side
| What | Solo/Duo | Flex |
|---|---|---|
| Group sizes | 1 or 2 | 1, 2, 3 or 5 |
| Can your group mix ranks? | Only a little, and less the higher you climb | However you like |
| Map and draft | Summoner's Rift, 10 bans | Summoner's Rift, 10 bans |
| To unlock it | Level 30, 20 champions, 10 normals | Level 30, 20 champions, 10 normals |
| Placement games | 5, and Diamond III is the ceiling | 5, and Diamond III is the ceiling |
| Your rank | Its own, separate from Flex | Its own, separate from Solo/Duo |
| Grandmaster spots on NA | 700 | 100 |
| Challenger spots on NA | 300 | 50 |
| End of season rewards | Its own set | Its own set. Victorious counts wins from both |
Grandmaster and Challenger spot counts are for NA. Every region gets its own.
What's changed since 2017
The climb below happened on an older ladder. Here's the short list of what moved.
| Thing | Back then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Divisions in a tier | Five, down to Diamond 5 | Four, and the floor is Diamond IV |
| Promotion series | Best of three, then best of five | Gone. Hit 100 LP and you're through |
| Ranked 3s | Alive on Twisted Treeline | Retired in November 2019 |
| Seasons per year | One | Three, each with a soft reset |
Flex now copies your Solo rank
This is the big one. In 2026 Riot started pulling Flex ranks in line with Solo/Duo ranks, so the Gold-in-Flex, Master-in-Solo player stops landing in Gold lobbies. It only works one way. Flex will never drag your Solo rank up.
Getting autofilled pays now
Finish an autofilled game with a C or better and Aegis of Valor gives you double LP, or saves you from the loss. It's off for full five-stacks in Flex.
Introduction
Flex queue gets a lot of bad press. The skill gaps can be immense, with solo queue challengers playing against solo queue gold players. It's also known as a queue where players don't try very hard, and full of boosted animals.
These last few weeks I took the plunge and ventured onto the flex queue ladder alone, bringing my Flex queue rank from low Plat to Diamond 5. What have I found? The results are actually kinda cool.
Skill gaps still massive, but not as big as you would think...
Your rank is a measure on how hard you try on average. Even on the solo queue ladder, you've got days where you do well and days when you do poorly. Imagine the same for flex queue, but on a grander scale. You get some high division players that can range from playing at their peak, to playing their main as support (lookin' at you support Rumble).
Even if a one-trick-pony is playing their main champion, they may not be playing it in their main role. This means that even a Gold player could potentially beat a Master Tier player.
Either way, I'd rather have a try-hard gold than a drunk int-ing challenger on my team any day of the week.
Some players ONLY play flex
Similar to ranked 3s, some players don't really play solo queue at all. This means that their solo queue rating doesn't really measure up to their true skill. Meanwhile, some players may be on smurfs to play flex queue with their friends.
The best indicator of how good a player is really is to check out their KDAs and win rates, not their solo queue rank.
Swapping roles is crucial
Many players may queue up a second position they really don't want, simply because they need role diversity in order to join match-making. This means that it's important to speak up if you really main a role, because they might have been filled to their current role and really don't want it.
Smaller pool, so really don't be toxic
Queue times are definitely much longer for flex queue than solo queue right now, which means you will likely start seeing a lot of the same player (groups) pop up in your games, especially if you play near the same time every day.
If you don't want to end up a ranked pariah, take a hint from the challenger pool and don't build a reputation for being toxic. If you do, you might end up losing a lot of free games just because people don't like you.
Conclusions
Flex queue is certainly much more of a casual game mode compared to solo queue, and there's clearly a lot less effort from a lot of people. If you see a high division player on the enemy team, don't panic, you may still win simply because they're not trying very hard.
Meanwhile, just like all games, there are still great games to be had at the highest divisions of play. Don't forego flex just because it seems too casual, as you can get the opportunity to play with some much higher division players than you normally would.
What are your thoughts on flex queue? Comment below!
Read next
The tiers themselves confuse people just as often as the queues do. Diamond, Master, Grandmaster and Challenger explained covers what actually separates the top four, including the ones you can get demoted out of overnight.
Speaking of which: ranked decay works differently in each queue, and it's the rule that catches returning players hardest.
Once you're sorted on where to play, the solo queue tier list is what to lock in.
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