There is a solo queue sign next to my name on the interface. I looked it with disbelief. Aren't most players queue solo? Well, I always forget that they are social and want to play with friends and honestly believing that this make them stronger. The same attitude created such a flamestorm from players that Riot reverted its dynamic queues. In the next season there will be solo/duo queues and flex queues. In the first only solo and duo players can queue. On the second, anything goes, including 5 solo players vs 5-man premade. This was the only queue in 2016 and was hated because "good luck against a premade".
You remember that I completed HC Margok in WoW Draenor first tier only when only 12% of the raider population did it. The League of Legends equivalent of that is Gold I. So my plan for the 2017 season: I will play both queues, they will have different leagues with different MMR. Not consecutively but one solo, one flex fashion (unless flex dies and have 30 mins wait time or something). My prediction: if my better ranking is Gold, it will be the flex. Of course if I can climb to diamond with only Warwick and Nunu, solo will be the better one.
The reasoning behind this is that "teamplay" and "communication" are vastly overrated, both because socials innately believe it and because leaders preach it. However I'm sure that it's only become limiting factor after everything else is maxed out, aka top play/work. Yes, if you are a top 10% in a field, you'll probably be limited by communication and networking skills. But below that, you are not. I strongly believe, after years of WoW and EVE experience that for average players, grouping up with friends is harmful as the group will be limited by the worst player who will be dragged around. In WoW he blew up the group, in LoL he'll be feeding and friends will feel obliged to help him. A premade jungler will babysit the losing lane instead of pushing the winning, especially if the winning player is pugged.
Interruption: I had one remarkable story about babysitting/abandoning. After the second dragon (approx 12 mins) we were behind 8 vs 16. 0/8 by an absolutely horrible ADC. Bot tower was down. Top was fine, mid was plagued by their bot coming to gank mid often. 4 of the kills were mine and had both dragons despite devastated botlane. We were clearly losing. Now the hero of the story isn't me, but supporting Morgana who had 2 kills and just one death despite horrible ADC. Around that time she started to follow me around. Yes, support abandoned ADC and were supporting the jungler instead, shooting (but not lasthitting) jungle monsters, throwing shield and helping with ganks, even leaving behind and dying in my stead when we walked in a trap. We won, despite the ADC kept feeding.
So I believe that the same (non-top 10%) players playing solo, focusing the game only will perform better than as a team, focusing on teamwork, therefore I'll have easier way climbing in the "team" ladder. Who would have guessed that I'll find a testable anti-social project in a MOBA?