With Valorant designed to be a highly-competitive esports title, Riot has put a lot of effort into making sure players will be able to compare their individual abilities to other players. Besides regular matchmaking, the game also has a separate ranked ladder where players can find out how well they compare to other people playing the game. Today, we’re taking a quick look at Valorant Ranks and how to climb them.
How Does the Valorant Ranking System Work?
Players trying to climb the ranks will start as unranked players. After playing a series of placement matches, they system will assign them to a specific rank. Here are the names of all Valorant ranks, starting from the lowest one:
- Mercenary (Lowest possible rank)
- Soldier
- Veteran
- Hero
- Legend
- Mythic
- Immortal
- Valorant (Highest possible rank)
UPDATE: New names on all ranks (Dataminded by a user on reddit)
This is pretty sure to be real since it would make a lot of sense for Riot to use the same ranks as on League of legends to not confuse people.
- Iron (lowest)
- Bronze
- Silver
- Gold
- Platinum
- Diamond
- Immortal (Highest possible rank)
Most players will probably end up placing in Soldier or Veteran (Bronze & Silver), much like how other games have majority of their players in the second or third ranked tier within their respective ranking systems. Only a small percentage of players are expected to make it to Immortal and Valorant.
Divisions – The Ranks within a Rank
Under each of rank, players will further be divided into smaller divisions. Unlike with League of Legends, where each tier has five divisions, Valorant ranks will only have three. While there are no clear info about how players will move up (or down) a rank, Riot could likely implement something similar to LoL, where players in a division must earn 100 League Points (LP) through wins before qualifying for the next rank.
League of Legends also have “promotion series” matches where players with 100 LP must win at least three out of five matches in order to jump to the next division. It’s also possible that Valorant will follow the same ranking system as CS:GO, where meeting the MMR requirements will automatically “promote” a player to the next division.
Solo/Team Queue?
Valorant ranks can be difficult to climb alone, but not so much if you have teammates that you can trust. In League of Legends, you can choose to queue with friends in flex queue where you will also face grouped players. Still, there’s always the option to go solo/duo, where problems related to unbalanced premade teams don’t exist.
Will Valorant have the same matchmaking queue? At this point, we’re not really sure. Riot hasn’t revealed much about how ranked queue will work, but people are assuming that it will have a system very similar to what’s currently in League of Legends.
Valorant’s Ranked Seasons
There’s no doubt that Valorant will have its own competitive seasons. At the end of the season, players will stop moving along the ranks. If LoL’s seasons are anything to go by, Valorant will also give cosmetic rewards to players. These rewards will vary depending on where they end up at the end of the season. There’s no confirmation from the devs yet, but there is a chance that a ranked season in Valorant will also last for an entire year.
Between every season, Valorant will have an off-season period where ranked matchmaking will be temporarily disabled. This is a perfect time for some players to work on their skills to prepare for the next season’s climb. Alternatively, it could be considered a time when some players can take a break from the stress of competitive play.
Ranked in Closed Beta?
Because Valorant is still in its closed beta stage. However, people are already curious about when they can try playing in a ranked queue. For other competitive first-person shooters, ranked matchmaking usually comes much later than the launch date.
Fortunately, that doesn’t seem to be the case for Valorant. According to Ziegler, Valorant’s game director, the game will roll out its initial version of “rated matchmaking” 2 weeks from now, during the closed beta phase. This is not surprising because Riot already has a tried-and-true ranking system in LoL. They can essentially “copy-paste” LoL’s ranking system then change it a bit for Valorant.
Valorant Ranks – More than Bragging Rights
A lot of people view competitive modes in most games as a way to know where they stand among the sea of other players. Valorant is no exception but there’s more to competitive mode than just winning games and getting shiny badges.
- A sense of progression – One of the most important aspects of ranked play is that you get to have a record of your personal progress. By moving up or down the ranks, you can tell if you have developed your skills during the time you are playing the game.
- Better gameplay experience – Most people think that ranked mode is where “tryhards” are. However, this also means that most players will be bringing their A-game when the round starts. This also means that you will have fewer instances where the team is held back by players trying suboptimal strategies.
- Better matchmaking – Unlike in regular play where matchmaking has a broader scope, ranked queue limitations in Valorant will make it more likely that you will end up matched with players close to your personal level of skill (with the exception of smurf accounts, of course).
Of course, that doesn’t mean that ranked is strictly the better way to play Valorant. There’s nothing wrong with just sticking to regular matchmaking queue especially if you’re mainly playing for fun.
Climbing Through Valorant Ranks Effectively
Climbing up the ranks will be very difficult for a competitive game like Valorant. That being said, there are a few things that can help you climb more effectively.
Improving Your Skills
- Practice before queuing – playing a few games in the unranked queue is a good way to warm up your fingers and sharpen your senses before heading into a more high-stakes ranked game. In fact, some players make it a point to avoid ranked games until they are satisfied with their performance.
- Learn the meta – Some agents and weapons will naturally end up being better at specific roles. Taking the time to read about the top meta picks and learning how to use them will go a long way to being an effective player in ranked play. Here’s our take on the best Valorant agents for each role.
- Study spray patterns – Even if you are dedicated to using mainly sniper rifles, studying each gun’s spray patterns will help you secure kills. Fortunately, the game has a dedicated practice map where you can try any weapon for as long as you like.
Improving Your Game Sense
- Memorize the maps – While there aren’t a lot of maps for Valorant in its closed beta phase, it pays to memorize what’s already there. Familiarize yourself with callouts, popular routes, and common “hotspots” where you can hold angles (or watch out for ambushers).
- Master the economy – Learning how to properly manage your income between rounds will go a long way in making sure that you start as many rounds with enough cash to purchase good loadouts.
- Make variety a habit – Some players make the mistake of relying too much on a single strategy that works. Make it a point to vary your strategy every round to avoid getting shut down in case your main approach to things get countered hard.
Other Things That Can Help the Climb
- Optimize your settings – Playing with a low FPS or awkward mouse sensitivity can greatly affect how fast and how accurate you can aim. Optimize your settings to make sure your skills won’t be hampered by input lags or other client-side issues. Check out our guide for maxing your FPS by clicking here.
- Form a team – Having a teammate that you can rely on makes it easier to perform coordinated tactics. Queuing with friends also means that you can expect less toxicity from a group in case someone makes a mistake during a round.
- Avoid playing while tilted – There will be times when you will lose ranked games back-to-back. It could be tempting to play “one more game” to break the streak. However, you’re better off taking a break instead of playing with a tilted mindset.
Valorant Ranks and the Competitive Ladder – Conclusion
That wraps up our talk about Valorant’s ranking system. We hope this has helped you gain some insight into the game’s competitive aspect. How are you preparing for the game when it goes live? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section.
