Valorant developers announce new Ranked Mode coming to closed beta

Olivia Richman Published 15/04/2020

Riot Games has announced that Valorant will have a new Ranked Mode in the near future.

Just a few days after the closed beta was released, developers are already looking into making some big changes. One of those changes is the addition of a Ranked Mode after closed beta participants have continuously complained about the matchmaking system. One player took to Twitter to ask Riot if they were going to make any such changes in the near future.

“Please announce ranked in beta. Unrated solo queue is too hard for me,” Riot tweeted, along with a photo of the very lopsided end results of a match.

The OP is at the top with an average combat score of 561 and an econ rating of 146. The next highest player wasn’t even close, with a 296 combat score and an econ rating of 90. Without a Ranked Mode, players that are a bit new to FPS games could end up playing against highly competitive Counter-Strike: Global Offensive pros. This has made it very difficult for some people to enjoy their matches. On the other hand, highly talented players aren’t able to really push themselves or improve their skills while playing against lower level competitors.

Valorant’s game director, Joe Ziegler, answered the frustrated player by revealing that a “rated” testing is coming in the next few weeks.

Our first “rated” testing is coming in a couple weeks, stay tuned.
— Ziegler (@RiotZiegler) April 10, 2020

“Our matchmaker will always try to find you a fair match,” Ziegler said. “Right now it is calibrating and we’re iterating as we see game data, but with more time and more matches played you should see more fair matches.”

Players offer feedback, report bugs in Valorant closed beta

There have been other bugs reported throughout the closed beta, most of them small and already being worked on by Riot. One of those issues is Sage reportedly being able to “boost into weird places” and other issues with her abilities.

“Thanks to all who’ve reported bugs, you’ve been helping to make the game better!” Ziegler said.

One of the biggest complaints so far is the seeming lack of balance among the roster of agents. Many feel that Raze is too powerful thanks to her damage-dealing kit. Even some well-known streamers have weighed in, voicing their concerns about her abilities. Some players have even asked for her to be taken out of the game entirely. Riot has yet to reveal what their plan is for Raze before launch, but they did tell Jaryd “summit1g” Lazar that they were looking at how every agent “fits into the game.”

“For everyone playing, thanks for giving us a lot of great feedback and looking into some balance tuning and fixes in upcoming updates while we continue to drive towards launch. For those who are still waiting, we’re working on getting more of you in. Thanks for sticking with us,” Ziegler said.

Olivia Richman

About Olivia Richman

Olivia has worked in media ever since graduating from college, with her coverage ranging from traditional newspaper reporting to digital coverage of all things gaming, online betting, and nerd culture. She has traveled around the world pursuing that coverage, from the far coasts of the United States to the busy downtown core of Tokyo, Japan. Olivia’s favorite games include Overwatch and Super Smash Smash Bros, and she has been published at Esports Illustrated, Inven Global, EsportsInsider, Upcomer, and elsewhere.

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