Valorant Ranking System Explained - How MMR Works, Rankings, and More (2023)

The ranking system is arguably the most important part of any competitive online game. "Climbing" is what brings most of us back, at least after the initial learning process - the honeymoon phase of learning the basics and mechanics. For most, this phase comes and goes in beta. Memories of the daily quick play sessions in the Overwatch beta come to mind, as well as the full transition to competitive mode after the start of Season 1. Now, with bad online activity happening around the world and LAN on the horizon, Valorant is starting to dig deeper into esports soil, and as a result, we're seeing Riot Games take competitive play more seriously than ever.

Competitive online gaming as an extension of esports

This trailer hints at a renewed emphasis on rivalry, which makes perfect sense after so muchsick tournaments around the worldHappened in recent memory. backTenZ has returned to Valorant esportsAnd after claiming the NA Masters Stage 1 Championship with the Sentinels, they enjoyed a shocking comeback at the hands of Built By Gamers in Challengers 1 of Stage 2. This gives them only one chance to qualify for the next LAN exclusive event - VCT Stage 2 Challengers 2 - in Reykjavik, Iceland. A shocking development, but honestly awesome. They are mortal like the rest of us.

It's hard to avoid blogging only about Sentinels, as they've taken up such a large part of my Valorant consciousness lately. Instead, I'm transitioning to a general phenomenon that I think most of us will experience in some games. The more I see the pros playing games - whether it's Valorant, Overwatch, Smash,street fighter,Dragon Ball FighterZ,molten blood, chess, even football, disc golf, football, you name it - and I want to play that game myself.

Competitive/ranked mode upgrades are partly designed to capitalize on players' vicarious desire to play after watching often. If you just check aFlowAscending video on YouTubeAnd wanting to try (and fail, if my experience is anything to go by) any of the crazy wall-climbing moves he makes this time around, or just to catch the grand finals of the VCT event, I think a lot of you can relate to the close All browser tab feel (must maximize frames per second!) and launch game after video or stream ends. It's fun to watch, but it feels more real to play.

Even if you don't just watch the pros show off their stuff on YouTube or Twitch, climbing the ranks is an extension of the esports landscape. We play the same modes of the same games, and (at least we try to) use many of the tactics we see our favorite players use. Even if Competitive Valorant is just something you and a few friends unwind after get off work with little thought about winning or losing, there's no question that sick competition pumps adrenaline and dopamine.

Rankings are a way for us to show our love for games when we're not watching them, a way for us to personally engage with our favorite games. So it's crucial that competitive climbing is as frustrating and frustrating as possible. In the immortal words of Reggie Fils-Aimé,"If it's not fun, why bother?"

Hackers are the only ones who play Competitive Valorant on easy mode...anyway, until they get banned. For the rest of us, we have to play a tight game, where one mistake can mean instant death, and we have to rely on the other four players. For someone who often queues alone, the struggle is all the more real.

As such, I think the specific changes in Act 3 that limit the difference in competitive rank are pretty good. Being trampled by a player on the enemy team that outnumbers the other nine on the server feels a lot less these days...minus the occasional Smurf.

but one thing aboutChanges in the third act, there are still changes that I don't like.... More on that later.

We've come a long way since Beta

Valorant's ranking system has undergone many changes. These days, we have Rank Ratings, or RRs, which let you know how close you are to rising or falling in rankings. Previously, there were only small post-game indications, in the form of green or red arrows going up or down respectively, usually depending on the number of rounds in the game. Before the third act, you'll find someone six rows away from you. In other words, a Silver 3 player could be thrown into a Platinum 3 majority lobby. And, in anticipation of what I'll have to say in this post that might get some criticism, yes - if that Silver 3 player really deserved better, he'd win games and never miss a shot shoot.

But that's simply not the reality of competitive online gaming. I'm no longer a kid playing every Very Easy game if possible so I can pretend my character is the best person ever. I've never lost a race in Lego Racers, I've never lost a race in Mario Tennis: Power Tour. Being a toddler gave me a "sense of pride and accomplishment," to quote EA's marketing team, but never the pain of failure that made victory worthwhile. Don't worry;I play games from softwareNow. Either way, you have only yourself to blame in single player. That's not the case when your Sova's single-line stun dart shoots at a wall an inch to your left.

MMR and ranking

Now, let's talk about how the current system works. You may have seen the "Ask Valorant – Rank Rating Edition" link pop up in the game's main menu recently.click on this link or this, being directed to an answer that apparently "will put you on the path to a wrinkled brain". Now, I'm taking a poetry minor in college; I'm no stranger to weird tropes that don't fit everyone. but what? "Wrinkled Brain Road"? ? ? ? ? I can't get over it. The more I read, the more I like..."Um?"

It seems a bit arrogant to write something like this, especially when the system isn't quite "rocket surgery", as an old professor of mine used to say. His function is in this link. In short, Valorant's Match Making Rating (MMR) is not the same as rating, but it does affect RR gains and losses.

The slightly longer version, along with my review of Valorant's rank rating and MMR system, is here. MMR is not directly related to someone's rank, but rather a "ladder of all players" - wins move you up, losses move you down, only the MMR of each person is invisible to them. It is very similar to Elo in Chess and is named after Professor Arpad Elo, who I am inMy skills based matchmaking article.These systems work best in single player, but this MMR system is basically a must for Valorant. Your Valorant MMR affects (and is affected by) your unranked games, which is why the game knows where to rank you even before you queue for your first competitive game (for that account).

When you complete a Ranked match, you will be placed on the lower end of the MMR "rank estimate". It is said - although under the current law, this is certainly not my experience - that you will start earning more RR per win and less loss per loss. My experience is more like always losing more than winning, maybe because my MMR in unranked games is higher after not playing Comp for a long time.

Now... the ranking system is all about winning and losing, as we saw in the third act video. To quote game designer David Cole, "We want to bring more competitive integrity back into the queue, allowing you to focus on what matters most: winning." So there's only winning and losing - in this system, if MMR Ranking higher than you will result in more penalized defeats and fewer rewarded wins - being counted as rank gains or drops.

but…

victory is not everything

The "speech" of YouTube comments is already ringing in my ears. "Well, actually the system is fair because someone is on Radiant in the current system." Pooh. Look, yes, it's true; there are people at the top right now. They overcome the system and reach the top of the ladder. Congratulations.

But the reality is that solo queue is a nightmare right now, especially at the lower tiers. There's a reason they call it "Elo Hell," you know. This state is similar to Sisyphus pushing his boulder infinitely up a hill or an endless hamster wheel. As you play game after game, you're doomed to fall into Elo Hell, earn a few wins, and then lose all of your accumulated virtual points. Often results in stagnant ratings and less enjoyment of the game. This waning of interest and fun is a natural part of any game. If you're not having fun after a while, no one will blame you for switching games or quitting competitive play entirely.

However, a good ranking system can stop players from falling, it can make climbing fun, it can reward players who do well, and they can play their best even when they lose. Instead of dealing with players who might be 6 levels higher than you, Act III and beyond in Valorant allows for a more linear Elo Hell progression, reducing the number of times a dominant player ruins everyone else's experience.

Especially in a game like Valorant, where players can "be good" without winning the game, it always comes to mind. It's true that some players are good enough and win enough often enough to get rid of Elo Hell, even if they're themselves. But that's not most of us. current system workbeautiful,Especially for a group of players queuing together, but it could be better. Losing far more points from defeat than gaining from victory is a must to get a salty, bitter, losing player to quickly press alt+F4 and stay out of the game for a week or more through the road. Not that I know of. I promise. interest. I don't at all! This month.

It's in Riot's interest to offset player downfall due to Elo Hell convictions. I know I'm an FPS killer, but it's just a fact: anyone who uninstalls because rank "climbing" takes more work is, for the company, a potential weapon skin customer.

The quote about winning that I transcribed from David Cole is the most important, and it keeps ringing in my head. Of course, winning "more important"; is the easiest and most likely indicator of which team is better. But I ask, how can we achieve victory? by letting goThoughts on Victory, instead of getting our characters in good positions, using utilities correctly, maximizing our team's economy, and most importantly, shooting accurately. Ironically, that self-conscious inner scream about winning or losing and how it will affect your ranking is often a surefire way to lose. Leaving aside the results, just playing and only focusing on what you personally need to do to improve is the path to the higher echelons.

The change to de-emphasize individual performance and put all ranked changes on the victory altar (as fixed by MMR) negatively impacted my already negative opinion of Valorant's ranked system. It just puts more mental pressure on the game, and in my head, the game is no longer just a game, but a potential win or loss, and the corresponding RR win or loss. Thinking about this crap is a great way to miss a shot.

Greater mental stress means a higher percentage of players feel like their souls are doomed to work forever in Elo Hell, rather than feeling like a competitor is trying to be the best version of themselves. I just think that putting more emphasis on winning and losing in the game's ranking system can come from not being used to the tension of competition, the tension of tournaments, knowing that a quiet mind focused on the right move is the path to success. Winning, not winning at all costs.

Confidential anecdotes and some potential antidotes

At one point, long before the third act changes went into effect, the team I was on dropped to 4v5 due to a Raze drop. We went on and lost the game 9-1. Then we came back and won 13-10, mostly playing on the Bind offense -- no small feat if I do say so myself. I ended up being my team's primary target after one painful slog into voice chat begging my teammates to surrender. They got me together, we got back together and I'm glad we got such an impossible W. I would expect such performance to be valuable to the algorithm. I haveoneThe green bar, which is the smallest rank boost possible at that time. I slump in my chair, win and lose, my inner fireworks replaced by rain clouds.

The number of rounds is one metric that can be used, but not all. It's better than just winning or losing, in my opinion, but a really good ranking system would be able to detect impressive feats like 12 rounds of offensive recovery without losing a player.

I think there should be a stronger algorithm that takes into account not just wins, not just rounds, not just someone's K/D, not just those and assists. We're already seeing signs of the value gained from abilities in post-round combat reports. This might just be a tool to get into game RR changes. The reality is that the game played can be either way. It just doesn't seem fair to me that an OT win gives me and my teammates a negligible RR while taking a ton of money from the enemy... apparently, the opposite thing Really messed up my gear.

Instead, I think the ranking system should be more robust, more granular, and more focused on individual performance. When you do too little for your team's wins, it should be possible to not earn much (if any) RR. I think it should be possible to get RR when you play outside of yourself and still lose a close game, especially if you lose a player.

The MMR system in Valorant is perfectly fine. If the changes I predict are released, I'm sure the MMR ladder will need to be tweaked as well, but it will remain largely the same. But that extra work shouldn't stop Riot from creating a more satisfying, less daunting leaderboard ladder that's easier to climb and harder to fall off. The "It All Begins Here" trailer linked in the intro would be more accurate and less provocative. In my opinion, one's ranking and MMR ranking should be based more on bout-to-bout skill than overall win-loss record. But of course, we live in a world obsessed with winning and losing. And the current system certainly makes sense, even if it doesn't quite lead us down the... ah, "brain wrinkled road."

I just think Riot should do something to counteract that sense of eternal stagnation we call Elo Hell. This would be a good business decision, even if they don't want to do all the work to create a ranking algorithm that takes into account complex and nuanced gameplay, player disconnects, utility value, economics, placement, time, burst Head percentages, quality and quantity of communications, etc., and adjustments so that even well- or poorly-played victories do not correspond to losses or gains in RR, respectively. It's certainly easier for them to make small tweaks or keep the rating system as it is.

Whatever they do with Valorant's ranked ladder in the future, I hope this article sheds light on how the system currently works and sparks some ideas in one direction or the other. At the very least, I hope Riot eventually makes numerical adjustments to the current system like they said in their Ask Valorant post. Maybe you're a Radiant player and think I should just be "git gud". But I know at least some of you will agree that the ranking system doesn't have to be directly related to stealth combo ranking.