Here’s how the new rank shields work in Valorant

Valorant has added new rank shields that will protect players from deranking after losing games, though there is a catch.

Valorant’s competitive scene is quite robust these days, with many players logging in daily to climb the extensive ranks. While reaching the next rank gives players a feeling of accomplishment, it can be conversely demotivating when a player falls in rank just a few games after ranking up. Luckily, that possibility seems to have changed, at least a little.

Valorant patch 10.1 introduced a new rank shield system for the game’s competitive mode. While it’ll protect players from deranking at times, there’s a limit to how many times it can protect players from dropping. Here’s how Valorant’s new rank shield works.

Valorant patch 10.1 introduces rank shield system

The rank shields new in Valorant with patch 10.1 prevent players from deranking from one rank to another, though it doesn’t apply to every tier.

Players are granted two rank shields they can use if they’re in the first tier of a rank. A single rank shield is consumed when a player loses a game at 0 RR. Losing again consumes another shield, while losing a third game demotes the player down in rank. It’s important to note that rank shields are only usable in the first tier of every rank, which means Silver 1, Gold 1, and so on. This applies to every rank except for Radiant, where the rank shields don’t apply to those high-level players.

Promoting or demoting to tier 1 of any rank replenishes the player’s rank shields. This means players can’t just win a game at 0 RR and regain their shield. It forces players to actively think about when to queue up in a competitive game, as the stakes will remain high despite the benefit of this occasional deranking shields.

While the rank shield system will protect players from being demoted immediately after promoting up to certain ranks, fans are somewhat divided on the new feature. Many feel that deranking is an essential part of the competitive Valorant experience. Having a shield for players to avoid deranking may make things easier for players to stick around in ranks that they don’t truly belong in, muddying up the playing experience for the players who do belong at those competitive levels.

What else is coming to Valorant in patch 10.1?

Valorant patch 10.1 also brought some bug fixes, including changes related to new agent Tejo and the map Bind.

In addition to some PC-exclusive fixes related to the Premier mode and a console-exclusive fix for the game’s competitive system, patch 10.1 fixed some issues revolving around the game’s newest agent Tejo. The patch also fixed an issue in which invisible assets sometimes affected the use of agent utility in one of the teleporter rooms on Bind. This didn’t come up very often, but when it did, it could be quite frustrating for players affected by it. These fixes are packed together with the introduction of the game’s new ranking protection system, and should combine to provide players with a slightly less frustrating competitive Valorant experience.