Having launched the closed beta of Valorant not too long ago, Riot Games recently unveiled the Valorant ranking system and competitive games too. Now that it is live anyone with access to the closed beta can begin to play games in the new Competitive mode, and start to rank up.
Of course to do that you first need to know how Valorant’s ranking system actually works.
Valorant: How Does Ranked Work?
Before you can actually gain ranks, you first need to unlock Valorant’s Competitive mode. That can be done by completing 20 Unrated games. It does not really matter whether you win or lose these games, as long as you play them to completion.
After the Competitive mode is unlocked, you can start to play your five placement matches. These matches will determine your initial rank in Valorant, and it is important that you perform well. Based on your performance, you’ll be awarded an initial rank – and you can then work towards ranking up. At that time Valorant boosting may help if you want to pick up the pace.
How Do I Rank Up?
According to Riot, the most important factor to rank up is winning games. However personal performance does factor into the equation as well. From what the developer noted, Valorant’s ranking system places an emphasis on personal performance during the placement matches. In other words regardless of whether you win or lose in those five games, you stand a better chance of getting a higher rank initially if your personal performance is excellent. Of course that also means that if your personal performance is bad during these games, you may not get a good rank even if you win them.
After you complete the placement matches, you need to actually win games in Competitive mode if you want your ranking to improve. Personal performance will still have a role to play, but it isn’t as significant.
To sum it up, the key to ranking up in Valorant once you’ve finished your placement matches is actually winning. It may help if you queue with a party so that you can work together more easily. That is especially true for players who achieve the Valorant rank (i.e. the highest rank). For them the only factor that matters is winning, and how decisively games are won.
Valorant Ranks
The actual ranks in Valorant are displayed in badges that are somewhat reminiscent of League of Legends. In total Valorant has eight ranks, and each rank is divided into 3 tiers. For example, Iron 1, Iron 2, and Iron 3. Currently, the ranks are:
- Iron
- Bronze
- Silver
- Gold
- Platinum
- Diamond
- Immortal
- Valorant
To advance from one rank to the next, you first need to go through each of its tiers before you can move up.
How Many Friends Can I Play With During Competitive Mode?
Riot has stated quite clearly that they want players to feel supported when playing in teams because they see it as a key part of competitive play in Valorant. Because of that it should come as no surprise that you can queue for Competitive mode in a full team of 5. The only caveat is that everyone in your party must be within 2 ranks (6 tiers) of your own rank. If they are not, you won’t be able to play in Competitive mode. For example, if you are a Gold 2 Ranked player, the minimum rank in your party should be Bronze 2, while the maximum rank should be Diamond 2.
It should be noted that the matchmaking system does take into account your party size when you queue in Competitive mode. In other words, if you queue with a full team of 5, you’ll be more likely to be matched against a full team of 5 too.
What Happens If I Don’t Play Ranked for a While?
If you don’t play ranked for a while you may notice that your rank has ‘disappeared’. Don’t panic though – because it is actually still present. To put it simply, any players who do not play a game in Competitive mode for 14 days straight will automatically have their rank hidden. However the rank will reappear immediately after you play a game.
During the time that your rank is hidden, you won’t be ‘demoted’, nor will your rank decay artificially. As soon as you play a competitive game, your rank will be back to what it was prior to going inactive.
Final Words
By this point you should know exactly how the ranking system in Valorant works – including how to get started, and what you need to do if you want to gain ranks. Seeing as that’s the case – why not give it a try? Remember to try your best in the placement games, so that you start off with as high a rank as possible.
