Elo hell (also known as MMR hell) is a

video gaming Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This feedback m ...

term used in MOBAs and other

multiplayer online game A multiplayer video game is a video game in which more than one person can play in the same game environment at the same time, either locally on the same computing system (couch co-op), on different computing systems via a local area network, or ...

s with competitive modes. It refers to portions of the matchmaking ranking spectrum where individual matches are of poor quality, and are often determined by factors such as poor team coordination which are perceived to be outside the individual player's control. This ostensibly makes it difficult for skilled players to "climb" up the matchmaking ranking (and out of Elo hell), due to the difficulty of consistently winning games under these conditions. Its existence in various games has been debated, and some game developers have called it an illusion caused by

cognitive bias A cognitive bias is a systematic pattern of deviation from norm or rationality in judgment. Individuals create their own "subjective reality" from their perception of the input. An individual's construction of reality, not the objective input, m ...

History

The term was coined based on the

Elo rating system The Elo rating system is a method for calculating the relative skill levels of players in zero-sum games such as chess. It is named after its creator Arpad Elo, a Hungarian-American physics professor. The Elo system was invented as an improved ch ...

Arpad Elo Arpad Emmerich Elo ( Élő Árpád Imre; August 25, 1903 – November 5, 1992) was a Hungarian-American physics professor who created the Elo rating system for two-player games such as chess. Born in Egyházaskesző, Kingdom of Hungary, h ...

, which was initially used for

chess Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to disti ...

games but began to be used in video games as well. It was initially used by the ''

League of Legends ''League of Legends'' (''LoL''), commonly referred to as ''League'', is a 2009 multiplayer online battle arena video game developed and published by Riot Games. Inspired by ''Defense of the Ancients'', a Mod (video games), custom map for War ...

'' community, but spread in usage to other games that used the same ranking system. In these games, players are ranked based on their individual and team performance. However, the shortcomings in this system are that comparatively unskilled players, with inflated ratings, can be matched via automated

matchmaking Matchmaking is the process of matching two or more people together, usually for the purpose of marriage, in which case the matchmaker is also known as a marriage broker. The word is also used in the context of sporting events such as boxing, in ...

to legitimately high skilled players and drag them down when they contribute to the loss of a match. Likewise, due to the nature of team-based gameplay, comparatively skilled players can still suffer damage to their rating due to the poor performance of their teammates. At low Elo, a skilled player will likely find it easy to rise in rank, while at high Elo, the quality of players improves. However, there is a certain range where skilled players can remain stuck regardless of their personal skill, which is referred to as Elo hell. In ''League of Legends'', it is said to occur between the 1300 and 1500 range. Elo rankings have also been "abused" by players who create parties of their friends in order to "escape" Elo hell. This has been addressed by forcing players who are in groups to play against groups of similar size. Another way players have attempted to bypass Elo hell is by smurfing, or creating new accounts without a skill rating, which allows them to ascend in rank faster than they would with their original account. Elo hell has also been noted as existing outside of video games, such as in the matchmaking app

Tinder Tinder is easily combustible material used to start a fire. Tinder is a finely divided, open material which will begin to glow under a shower of sparks. Air is gently wafted over the glowing tinder until it bursts into flame. The flaming tinder i ...

, which also uses a variant of the Elo rating system.

Reception

Dom Sacco of Esports News UK claimed that Elo hell does exist in ''League of Legends'', and that escaping it is possible, but is a "mammoth time sink". The third competitive season of ''Overwatch'' introduced changes in skill rating ostensibly designed to prevent players from being stuck in Elo hell. However, in season five of ''Overwatch'', in-game "

toxic Toxicity is the degree to which a chemical substance or a particular mixture of substances can damage an organism. Toxicity can refer to the effect on a whole organism, such as an animal, bacterium, or plant, as well as the effect on a subst ...

" behavior and community backlash only increased due to tweaks in the game's Elo algorithms, causing the game's competitive mode to become "depressing".

References

{{Reflist Esports terminology Rating systems