Changes to Summoner’s Rift improved blue and red side balance

In a recent developer blog, Riot Games disclosed significant progress in resolving the persistent competitive imbalance favoring blue side teams in League of Legends. After extensive analysis and player feedback, developers confirmed that ranked matches now feature substantially improved map symmetry between the two starting positions.

Multiple structural elements historically contributed to blue side dominance, primarily stemming from jungle camp positioning, optimal clearing routes, and major objective placement. Prior to the Season 10 preseason overhaul, the bottom lane jungle quadrant consistently offered superior advantages through more efficient leash assistance from nearby laners, enhanced experience gains, simplified farming patterns, and superior ganking pathways during early game phases.

Leading into Season 10’s competitive launch, Riot systematically addressed these disparities by recalibrating gold distribution and experience values across symmetrical jungle camps. The Krug camp, which previously provided disproportionate benefits to blue side junglers, received targeted value reductions, while Gromp’s rewards received compensatory increases. These calculated modifications enable jungle players to select starting routes from either outer camp without sacrificing efficiency, dramatically expanding strategic diversity in early game planning.

Professional junglers quickly adapted to these economic shifts, developing new clear patterns that leverage the rebalanced camp values. This strategic evolution has made jungle role more dynamic and less predictable, forcing players to constantly reevaluate their pathing decisions based on team composition and matchup dynamics.

2020 preseason changes made Summoner’s Rift a better balanced map

Beyond jungle-specific modifications, red side teams gained substantial benefits from improved Dragon pit accessibility. With Dragon objectives receiving increased strategic importance this competitive season, squads starting from the red side now capitalize on their geographical advantage to secure higher victory rates through superior objective control.

Advanced players quickly recognized that red side’s proximity to the Dragon pit creates natural priority during objective contests. Teams that master red side positioning can establish vision control more efficiently and respond faster to Dragon spawn timers, translating map symmetry into tangible competitive advantages during mid-game team fights and objective trades.

Across specific League of Legends server regions, the cumulative impact of these adjustments not only eliminated blue side’s historical edge but actually conferred a marginal advantage to red side teams in certain matchups. Riot’s provided analytics demonstrate red side maintaining advantages below 0.5% in North American and European West solo queue environments, achieving near-perfect competitive equilibrium on Summoner’s Rift.

This statistical near-parity represents a remarkable achievement in competitive game design, particularly considering the historical 2-4% blue side advantage that persisted for multiple competitive seasons prior to these targeted interventions.

Publicly sharing these detailed balance insights marks significant progress in Riot’s ongoing commitment to enhanced transparency, providing competitors with comprehensive understanding of the rationale behind fundamental gameplay adjustments.

The development team additionally confirmed continuation of their seasonal structure without major midseason overhauls, alongside planned enhancements to the in-game events system. Complete developer commentary remains accessible here for players seeking deeper technical analysis of these balance modifications.

No reproduction without permission：Games Guides Website » Changes to Summoner’s Rift improved blue and red side balance How Riot Games balanced Summoner's Rift with strategic jungle and objective changes in Season 10