Valorant is an online FPS game, which, like most other games in the genre, features a ranked system. With Episode 6 Act I around the corner, Riot Games plans to implement changes to the current ranked system. Here is everything you need to know about Valorant’s ranked system and the upcoming Episode 6 changes!
What is Valorant’s Ranked System?
Valorant’s Ranked System is a way for Competitive matchmaking to create fair teams and matchups based on player’s skill levels, (or that’s the idea, at least). The Ranked System is used in conjunction with MMR. Match Making Ranking, or MMR, is a separately assigned skill-based number that analyzes the player’s stats and round differential, independent of their Rank, with the goal of not only properly placing a player at the right Rank, but also matching them with similarly skilled players if their Rank is somehow incorrect due to lucky matches or boosting, smurfing, or throwing.
Below is a list of all of the Valorant Ranks in Episode 6 Act I (from lowest to highest):
- Iron
- Bronze
- Silver
- Gold
- Platinum
- Diamond
- Ascendant
- Immortal
- Radiant
NOTE: All of these ranks, except Radiant, feature three tiers for a player to progress through before ranking up.
How the Ranked System Will Change in Episode 6 of Valorant
The community has complained that the Ranked System isn’t very rewarding and Riot Games has listened. Previously, the system would award/subtract Ranked Rating (RR) points based on the amount of rounds won/lost in a match. This led to low rewards for close wins and huge losses for stomps, without much regard for the player’s individual performance or the straight-up match outcome.
For Episode 6, Riot Games is doing away with the round differential aspect to the Ranked System. Going forward, a player’s performance, along with the match result, will be used to determine RR gains and losses. Winning will still be the fastest way to rank up, but gains should be more steady!
How Will the MMR System Change in Episode 6 of Valorant?
The MatchMaking Ranking system is also due for a change in Episode 6. Again, Riot Games has decided to deemphasize the round differential aspect in relation to the MMR system. Going forward, MMR will be rewarded based on individual performance and on a comparison of the player’s assigned MMR and Rank. Player’s who Rank lower than their MMR suggests will see more gains from good performances and those who Rank higher will not be punished as much for poor ones. The hope for these Valorant ranked changes is to better align MMR and Ranks so that they match and may even be another measure to help combat the game’s smurfing issues.
