League of Legends will not get a ranked ARAM queue. Paul Bellezza, executive producer for the game, confirmed that Riot has discussed the idea internally but decided against it.
The reason comes down to randomness. ARAM’s core identity relies on random champion assignment, and Bellezza believes that letting RNG determine your rank would feel arbitrary to most players.
“ARAM’s essence is built on fair randomness,” Bellezza explained to the outlet Inven. Random champion rolls already create variance in match outcomes. Adding Arena-style augments—like those seen in recent ARAM Mayhem events—would inject even more RNG into the mix. A competitive ladder built on these systems would struggle to feel legitimate.
For those unfamiliar, ARAM stands for All Random All Mid. It’s a five-v-five mode played on the single-lane Howling Abyss map where players receive random champions and fight constantly. The mode already uses hidden MMR for matchmaking, but there’s no visible rank or LP system.
Riot applies ARAM-specific balance changes to individual champions—damage modifiers that help weaker picks compete. These invisible adjustments work fine for casual play but would become controversial in a ranked environment where transparency matters.
Bellezza pointed to another concern: queue population. Adding ranked ARAM would split the player base between ranked and casual queues. This fragmentation historically leads to longer queue times and eventual mode removal. Riot retired Dominion in 2016 and Twisted Treeline in 2019 for similar reasons.
The studio isn’t ignoring demand for more competitive ARAM experiences. Bellezza mentioned “Brawl” as a past experiment—a middle ground mode that offered higher stakes than casual play without the full pressure of ranked Summoner’s Rift.
Riot runs ARAM Clash events periodically, giving players tournament-style competition without a permanent ranked ladder. These time-limited formats let the studio test competitive variants without committing to a new permanent queue.
What Riot is exploring instead
The team is “continually exploring” what could fill the gap between casual ARAM and ranked Summoner’s Rift. Bellezza’s comments suggest future experiments will focus on mid-stakes modes rather than formalizing ARAM into a ranked system.
The decision protects ARAM’s low-pressure identity. As one of League‘s most-played queues, keeping it casual remains a design priority for Riot. Adding ranks would likely increase toxicity and meta enforcement—exactly what the mode was designed to avoid.
