Valorant is getting some tweaks on how it handles competitive ranks. The 5v5 character-based FPS previously used a pure MMR system where you can move up and down ranks based on how many good (or bad) matches you’ve played.
This system, seen in many other games, can cause players to feel anxious about losing their rank, also called ‘peaking’.
“We want you to have an accurate representation of your current skill in matches,” developers Riot Games said. “We also want to build a ranked system that promotes growth and engagement over ‘peaking’ at a top rank, getting anxious about losing it, and stuffing it in the fridge.”
Starting next season (or Acts, as it’s called in this game), you will now have Act Ranks. This system takes your best 9 ranked wins from this act and how many wins total.
So when an act ends, you’re not stuck with a lower MMR display than your peak was, but the game remembers the two achievements that will stay with you even if you tanked your MMR by the end of the act.
Each Act Rank will be preserved as a badge and can be viewed in the Career Tab. Friends can also inspect your Act Rank badge.
The badge records your highest-ranked win (displayed on top), your 9th best win (which acts as your proven skill- you can consistently be at this level at least) and changing border to reflect how many ranked win threshold (9, 25, 50, 75, and 100.). The colours represent a match win when you are in what rank (Gold, Immortal, etc.), with lower-rank match wins being removed as you gain more wins in higher ranks. So more motivation to climb that rank ladder.
There will be no Act Rank badges bestowed for Act I. Rank badges starting from Act II will be displayed on your player card in ranked matches in Act III.
For those that played competitive ranked matches in Act I, all your competitive data is recorded. Your placement matches in Act II will be abridged, from 5 matches to just 3, using your previous MMR as a reference.
Your starting rank from there will be a conservative placement- Riot are confident that you should be competitive at that rank and higher. Placement games only affect your starting rank, and will not count toward progress towards Act Rank. If you have three of your best games in the placements, it won’t count in the badge.
It’s an interesting take to encourage players to keep playing in ranked and mitigate the bad feedback loop when someone’s in a bad run of games. Taking an L in a long-streak not only can be demotivating, but also potentially making people be toxic to other players online.
Riot is open ears on any feedback and thoughts from the community. While it sounds good on paper, we shall see if the changes do work, or have any other side-effects.
Valorant is out now on PC, it’s free-to-play.