Valorant dev warns of big changes coming to your in-game rank

Fariha Bhatti Published 15/06/2021

Buckle up, agents! Valorant ranks are going to get some significant changes in the upcoming patch updates.

Valorant ranking hasn’t got any fresh updates in the past few acts, but competitive designer EvrMoar has warned the players about major changes incoming. These updates won’t completely overhaul ranked ratings, but will significantly impact the new Act rank.

The complaints regarding smurfs in Valorant have reached fever pitch. Many Valorant players create new accounts to renew MMR, play with low ranked friends, and sometimes just out of malicious reasons. Whatever the case, these new accounts have littered lower-rank queues with high-skilled players who make it hard for some players to rank up. Developers have been listening, and EvrMoar promises that plans to fix ranks are underway.

The developer explained that upcoming changes would be harsh, but they won’t completely reset your rank. Dismantling the current system from the ground up will be “pure chaos” and won’t achieve the expected results. Conversely, a soft reset won’t require players to start from scratch, so they’re looking to better the rank system instead.

Resetting MMR is one option to refresh the ranks, but the developer explains that it won’t be effective in the long run. The old core system will put the players back into the same skill group, which doesn’t solve the problem.

“Not only would people end up in the same place, for the first Act. You would be hoping that you got the former Radiant/Immortal player on your team and not the Iron/Bronze players. Every match would be a coinflip until the high ranks grinded MMR over everyone,” EvrMoar said.

New ranked math for Valorant MMR should improve player experience

To prevent players from reperforming the MMR process, which includes playing unranked and ranked games, the developers are working on the system’s math. By soft resetting and pushing some people down, the system will ensure that players don’t get boosted to incorrect ranks or remain stuck lower than they should be.

“Ranked is a ladder as long as the math checks out. You just have to perform better than others to climb. On top of a soft reset, the ladder system will move you up and down accordingly.” He explained.

The developers will provide a better insight on June 21 livestream. This ranked update should roll in with Episode 3, which is expected to begin on June 22. The new Act will be a big one as it’ll include a brand new agent, fixes for Yoru and other flasher agents, and the ranked updates mentioned above.

Fariha Bhatti

About Fariha Bhatti

Fariha Bhatti is a long-time gaming writer who loves competitive FPS games and slots with particularly fun themes. She got her start playing classic games developed by SNK, from legendary fighting game series The King of Fighters to challenging platform franchise Metal Slug. She now spends most of her time playing Valorant and Counter-Strike 2 while working her way through new slot releases to find her next favorite. Fariha has been published at PCGamesN, TalkEsport and ONE Esports.

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