performance bonus in Valorant

How to get a Valorant performance bonus and escape low ranks

By Fariha Bhatti

|

Sep 5, 2022

Reading time: 2 min

Looking to get that extra Rank Rating in Valorant? The performance bonus in Valorant is real, but top fragging may not be enough.

The quickest way to rank up is by gaining more ELO on each map. To climb a single level, players need 100 RR, which accumulates after each win. You may need either 5 or 10 games to get out of a sub-rank in Valorant. It all depends on how you play. Getting 25 or more RR in each game means a quick rank-up, whereas winning under 17 means you have a long way to go. 

It’s possible to get more than 25 ELO in a single game, and it has nothing to do with top fragging, EvrMoar has revealed in a new episode of Ranked Fact Friday. You can be a bottom and still qualify for a performance bonus in Valorant.

Valorant ranks in order

How to get performance bonus in Valorant

A performance bonus is an extra ELO boost that Valorant gives players for unusually good games. For example, if a player typically gets 18 RR for winning, a performance bonus could up the RR gain to 25. However, top-fragging isn’t the only key to unlocking additional RR.

A performance bonus is given because it analyses your individual score in a game instead of comparing it with a player’s past performances. Top-fragging every game may not be enough. Instead, the matchmaking algorithm looks for an unusual hike in a player’s score to reward exceptional output in a game. For example, a skilled Reyna in Valorant who drops 30 bombs regularly will keep getting the usual amount of ELO while a player who normally scores 20 kills may get a performance bonus for getting 30. 

Conversely, if a player surpasses the usual 30 scores, the system would detect that and award a bonus. For this reason, bottom fraggers also have a shot at gaining more RR. Those who can barely cross 10 kills may get extra five winning points for notching 15 in a game. This means they did better than their personal best, becoming eligible for a performance bonus. 

Performance bonuses are ultimately more about proving that a player’s current MMR is wrong rather than out-playing a current group of opponents. Valorant tries to push players out of low ranks quicker by rewarding them with extra points when it detects that they’re playing better than the skill level of the assigned MMR. Players need to ultimately out-perform themselves in order to get a bonus. 

It’s worth noting that this math doesn’t apply to players above Immortal, as encounter MMR is less impactful in those ranks. 

Tags

Reviews

Stake

Recommended