Valorant revamps ranks and Competitive Matchmaking

Valorant Game Director Joe Ziegler recently revealed that Competitive Matchmaking should arrive in-game this week. Now, Senior Producer Ian Fielding has taken to the Valorant website to reveal the updates that Riot has made to the rank iconography, as well as some changes to the queue system. So, this week looks promising. Valorant Competitive Matchmaking will launch with the game’s next patch, 1.02.

In his post, Fielding stresses that the ranked system in Valorant is always evolving. It has changed a lot since the closed beta thanks to feedback from players. Fielding urges players to keep providing feedback so Riot Games can continue improving the system.

Valorant ranks and tiers

One of the most contentious issues with the ranked system in the closed beta was the ranks themselves. Players didn’t like the iconography that represented each rank and tier. Many didn’t like the name for the top rank, either, which was called “Valorant”. Riot has since redesigned the icons using more vivid colors, and it has changed the top rank to “Radiant”. Radiant is the name given to an agent with powers in Valorant. The game features numerous voice lines that refer to this.

Playing with friends

Fielding goes on to remind players that Valorant is a team game. For many, that means playing with friends. To accommodate for the skill difference between friends, Riot has relaxed the restrictions on queuing with others during the Valorant Competitive Matchmaking placement matches. But there is a limit. An experienced player will not be able to carry new players through the placement games.

Matchmaking will also see improvements for the top two ranks (Immortal and Radiant) to minimize the advantage of playing in a team of five. The Valorant team plans to continue exploring options to reduce the advantage further. The team is also continuously optimizing matchmaking to ensure most games at all ranks are fair and balanced – regardless of team size.

During each Valorant Act, you will be able to track your progression through the ranks. Riot has many more features related to the ranked system in the pipeline as well, like the ability to surrender. But first, it wants to focus on launching Competitive Matchmaking around the globe. Hopefully, that will happen in the next few days.