Riot Games reportedly intends to adopt the League of Legends ranking system for its upcoming tactical shooter, Valorant Ranked System. It might not be a carbon copy of the 10-year-old progression system, but it will likely have many of the same aspects.
This information is based on playtesting for the game in its early stages. IGN Nordic’s editor-in-chief Nick Nijland had the opportunity to play VALORANT in the Riot studios and released a video about the game’s potential ranked system.
But Riot product manager Zulu said that “while the video does a great job of breaking down some of the features and functionality of systems we have planned, it’s unfortunately not all accurate.”
Since then, Riot could have easily had a change in plans. But for now, players should expect a ranking system in VALORANT that’s somewhere along the lines of what’s in League.
Here’s how ranked might work in Valorant Ranked System.
How works Valorant Ranked System
Seasons
If League is anything to go by, VALORANT’s ranking system could have year-long seasons divided into three splits, each lasting three months. Players may earn League Points for winning games, giving them rewards at the end of each split.
There could also be a preseason at the closing stages of the year, which would involve a major update to the game, in one form or another. The preseason would likely last a couple of months from December to January.
Tiers and divisions
VALORANT has eight ranks, according to a report by Dot Esports. There’s Mercenary, Soldier, Veteran, Hero, Legend, Mythic, Immortal, and the highest rank, VALORANT.
Each rank has three tiers that players progress through, similar to League. But the top tier—VALORANT—which is the equivalent to Challenger, has just one tier.
League Points
League Points, or maybe even VALORANT Points, are earned or lost when players win or lose a match. The amount of LP earned depends on a hidden Matchmaking Rating (MMR), which is determined by several factors, including Elo. The higher the MMR, the more LP a player earns.
Promotion and demotion
When a player reaches 100 LP, the maximum amount of LP in a division, they’re automatically entered into a promotion series in League. If they win two out of three games in the promotion series, they’ll be upgraded into the next division.
When players are at the top of their division, instead of a best-of-three promotion series, they’ll enter into a best-of-five. If they win, they’ll be promoted to the next tier. This process will be rinsed and repeated to the top of the ranking system.
When a player drops down to 0 LP and loses a game, on the other hand, they’ll be demoted to the previous tier or division. Their LP will begin at 75 in that tier or division, however.
Solo/duo and flex queue
VALORANT’s ranking system will likely have the choice of solo/duo queue and flex queue. In solo/duo queue, players can play alone or with a friend. This will have separate tiers and divisions to flex queue.
Flex queue allows players to queue up with parties of any size, except four, to create more of an even playing field. This option will likely have different rewards and is often seen as a lesser version of solo queue.
