How the Valorant Ranks and Ranking System Works

Valorant is a competitive FPS game with a robust ranking system that will be familiar to those who have played other Riot Games titles, like League of Legends. Before you start climbing the ranked ladder, it’s crucial to understand how Valorant ranks players and how to improve your Rank over time. Let’s dive into the Valorant Ranks and Ranking System so you know how to ascend to the top.

How to unlock Valorant Competitive mode

Valorant’s Competitive mode is only available for players who have reached Account Level 20. Riot Games put this restriction in place during Episode 4 Act 1 to ensure players entering Competitive mode have ample experience with the game and to help prevent smurf accounts from ruining the competitive experience.

Valorant players can up their Account Level to 20 by playing regular non-competitive game modes. To earn extra XP and reach Account Level 20 quickly, make sure you complete the daily and weekly challenges.

What are the Valorant Ranks?

Valorant players must complete 5 placement matches as Unranked agents to earn their first Rank. Additionally, 5 Placement matches must be completed at the start of each Episode, and 1 placement match is required for Acts 2 & 3.

Completing 5 placement matches will earn players their first Rank based on their individual and team performance. There are 25 total Ranks in Valorant, not including Unranked, that span from Iron to Radiant. Below are all of the Valorant Ranks and their associated icon:

Valorant Act Ranks

The Rank you achieve in Competitive is correlated to your Act Rank, which is your Rank during each Act. There are 3 Acts per Episode, each operating as a mini-Competitive season.

Act Rank is determined by your highest Competitive win during an Act. Your Act Rank does not affect matchmaking; it exists for players to showcase their achievements during each Act. Players can also earn cosmetic rewards after each Episode based on their highest Act Rank.

The Act Rank Pyramid shows players their best wins during each Act. Each win in a specific Rank earns a new badge in the Pyramid, and the highest Rank badges replace the lowest Rank badges once the Pyramid is full.

The Act Rank Border surrounds the Act Rank Pyramid, changing over time as more wins are accrued. The Act Rank Border gets upgraded at 9, 25, 50, 75, and 100 wins.

At the end of each Act, players receive an Act Rank Badge that displays their highest Ranked win. The Act Rank Badge can be displayed on the Player Card to showcase your pinnacle achievement.

What is RR in Valorant?

Rank Rating, or RR, is how players track their progress between Ranks. Valorant players ranked from Iron to Ascendent must earn 100 RR to climb to the next Rank, and the RR requirements to climb vary by region once players reach Immortal 1.

Rank Rating can also be lost, which will eventually trigger a demotion. Once a player’s RR reaches 0, another Competitive loss will drop them to the next Rank and a minimum of 70 RR.

What determines RR gained or lost?

No matter which Ranks you compete at, winning games is the best way to earn the most RR per match, but winning games is not the only factor determining the amount of RR gained or lost.

Players ranked Iron to Ascendent earn RR based on the match result, individual performance, round differential, and MMR. See below for a detailed explanation of Valorant’s MMR system.

It’s vital to never give up on or forfeit a match of Valorant, since round differential is one of the determining factors for the amount of RR gained or lost. Even if you don’t win the match, a 10-13 final round score will lose far less RR than a round score of 3-13. Check out Valorant settings used by the pros to give yourself an edge in Competitive play.

Players ranked Immortal to Radiant only gain or lose RR based on the final result and round differential. Riot Games expects Valorant’s top players to be focused on winning matches, even if it means sacrificing individual performance.

Valorant MMR explained

MMR, or Match Making Rating, is a hidden value Valorant uses to help determine a player’s skill level. MMR in Valorant is a ladder, with no two players occupying the same rung. According to Riot Games, here’s how MMR affects the amount of RR earned:

• If your MMR is higher than your rank, you’ll gain more RR on wins than you lose on losses.
• If your MMR is even with your rank, you’ll gain and lose closer amounts of RR for wins and losses.
• If your MMR is lower than your rank, you’ll gain less RR on wins and lose more on losses.
• Increase your MMR by outperforming your opponents and winning more consistently!

MMR is separate from Rank and is dependent on how you perform in encounters during the match. It’s possible to lose a game of Valorant and still increase your MMR if you had a solid individual performance during the match. Keep gaining MMR and maximizing performance with the best keybinds for Valorant.

Playing Valorant Competitive in a group

Valorant allows players to queue up for Competitive in groups of 2, 3, and 5. Groups of 4 are not allowed because, according to Riot Games, “it tends to leave the remaining solo queue player on the team with a less-than-desirable experience.”

Competitive groups of 2 and 3 players can queue together, but only with the following restrictions:

There are no restrictions for Competitive groups of 5 players, but 5-player groups that do not abide by the rules in the table above will suffer RR penalties. According to riotgames.com, here are the RR penalties for groups of 5:

• If everyone in your 5-stack group is Ascendant 3 or below, the team will receive a 25% RR reduction if any players are ranked outside of normal party restriction ranges.
• If one or more members of your 5-stack group are Immortal 1 to Immortal 3, the team will receive a 25% RR reduction penalty.
• If one or more of your 5-stack group are Radiant, the team will receive a 75% RR reduction. Having any players in your group that are below Radiant automatically reduces your potential RR by 90%.