How does SR Forgiveness work in MW2 Ranked Play? – Explained

Modern Warfare 2‘s Ranked Play game mode offers a competitive alternative in an otherwise casual shooter. It’s great for players who want to get serious about their gameplay and challenge themselves against other like-minded people. However, there are some new mechanics in Ranked Play that are confusing players. One of these is SR Forgiveness, and this is how it works in MW2 Ranked Play.

Note: For more information about the game, check out our Modern Warfare 2 guides and features hub.

MW2 Ranked Play – Breaking down SR Forgiveness

SR Forgiveness is a new mechanic introduced into Ranked Play that looks to fix one of the biggest problems with competitive game modes. In most competitive game modes, when a player leaves the match on your team you lose SR despite being left with an unfair matchup. This is frustrating, as you are being penalized for something that isn’t your fault.

The SR Forgiveness mechanic addresses this by changing how these penalties are handed out. SR Forgiveness in MW2 Ranked Play means that you will not receive any penalty if a teammate leaves the game. You won’t lose SR even if you lose the match, meaning that you can play out the remainder of the game without stressing about your rank.

Screenshot by PC Invasion

The exception to this is if the person who leaves is one of your party members. If a party member who you are teamed up with leaves, you will still receive an SR penalty. This has been put in to prevent friends from saving each other from losing SR by leaving games once a loss is inevitable.

SR Forgiveness is also triggered in MW2 Ranked Play when you first reach a new rank. Referred to in-game as Demotion Protection, this offers you a safety net of a few games to adjust to your new rank. This prevents players from reaching a new rank and immediately dropping back down due to a bad game or two.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is available on PC via Battle.net and Steam.