Valorant Ranking System Explained – Ranks and Leaderboard 2024

Valorant has one of the largest player bases among First-person shooters At the moment and it keeps getting bigger. In Valorant rankings by no means easy you’ll have to grind hard and hustle your way through to the ladder and if you’re new to the game then you’ll have a very hard time in ranking up.

valorant Ranks explained

Apart from the tough ranking system, Valorant is also very different from your typical tactical shooters because in other tactical shooters, you heavily rely on your aim and movement but in Valorant, you also need to master your agent and its abilities. Valorant is also very slow-paced compared to its competitors because in Valorant the maps are massive, and movement speed is gradual. How ranks work in Valorant is kind of transparent because in recent years valorant introduced RR (Rank rating) points on display. Now you can know when you are going to rank up. Now enough for chit-chat chat let’s dive into this blog, I’ll explain how the ranking system in Valorant works.

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Valorant offers nine ranks with three different divisions for each rank and this division system makes the skill set determination way easier because there is a rank for each player’s skill set. Of course, the initial placement matches are very important because the more matches you win the better rank you’ll get. Here are all Nine ranks in chronological order:

  • Iron
  • Bronze
  • Silver
  • Gold 
  • Platinum 
  • Diamond
  • Ascendant
  • Immortal
  • Radiant

But first, you have to unlock the rank mode which is quite easy but lengthy. The rank mode can only be unlocked by leveling up to level 20. After getting your account to level 20 the competitive mode will be unlocked. After unlocking the rank mode you will get through to the placement matches and you will be placed in the rank ladder according to your skill set.

What are MMR and RR?:

As I stated earlier valorant uses multiple systems and algorithms to place you in your perfect skill set rank. These are the twos that play a heavy role in the ranking systems

RR:

Rank Rating is essentially your ranking rating that determines your performance from match to match and gives you RR points according to it. But this does take effect by queuing methods for example if you queue with higher ranked players than your current one then no matter how good you were in the match you will not get the same points as you were supposed to. I’ll explain this briefly a bit later about which queue affects your RR points the most and what you should do about it but let’s move on to MMR.

MMR:

Unlike ranking rating points which display on your match page where you can see when you lose them and when you gain them and what your current RR points are that’s not the case with MMR  because MMR doesn’t show anywhere on valorant and you can’t find your current MMR whatsoever. MMR is complex and more comprehensive than Rank ratings because MMR calculates your overall performance in the match of your 1v1s, your ability usage, and all that jazz. MMR is like a number system for players so the MMR you have is unique to your skill level and no other players have the same MMR the thing with MMR is that it never resets unlike ranks which reset with each act update MMR never resets so you have to build it up yourself from start.

Here are some points of how MMR works and how it affects your ratings

  • If you are placed in a higher MMR than your losses you will not cost a lot In RR.
  • If you are placed in a lower MMR then your winning will not give you a higher RR.
  • If you are queuing with two to three upper-ranked players then it’ll reduce your RR gain by a substantial percentage.

Rank Rating and match-making rating go hand in hand so if you have a good MMR then you’ll lose merely low Ratings and winning will give you many more rating points than usual. MMR can also explain why you get matched up against higher-skill-level players because your MMR is kinda higher than your current rank but the other factors also play some roles in matching pvp matches. 

Leader Board:

Leaderboard in valorant is a tremendous way to show your skill set in your specific rank and region. Valorant rank leaderboard is a region-based list of 500 players based on their (RR). if you want to show up in your region’s leader board you have to play at least 50 ranked matches in the current act and also play at least 1 match per week. The leaderboard gets updated with each passing day so you could potentially lose your rank in the leaderboard way quickly. Another thing to note about the leaderboard is that this list doesn’t represent the best players in the region because most of the pros don’t play matchmaking that often and this list only consists of 500 top players by Ranking ratings. It’s a good way to get some recognition but because leaderboards get updated every single day there’s nothing to go crazy about and lose your sanity over this.

Difference between rank and act rank:

Rank:

If you are new to the game and stumble upon the rank section you can see your current rank as well as your act rank but what do these two mean and are they different from each other? you might ask So Your current rank depends on your current Ranking rating how much you gain will directly reflect in your rank. Losing matches will cost you RR points and winning matches will give you RR points simply as that. Hence, you rank up quickly if you win matches frequently or lose by a close margin.

Act rank:

On the other hand Act rank starts after your initial placement after getting placed in your rank you will see after every match win the triangle of the act will start to get filled with the appropriate rank color and polygon. After every match win, you’ll get a point which will be displayed on the acting rank and after it gets filled you’ll get the rank according to the most wins in the highest rank. It essentially shows every rank win and your highest rank win will be on the top.

Which rank means what?

Because there are nine different ranks with three different divisions which might confuse you here’s the list of ranks from best to worst:

Iron And Bronze:

These ranks are the first and easiest ones because a lot of new players get placed after initial emplacement matches but this division is also a minesweeper because you’ll never which bronze player has a real bronze skill set or which one is a much higher-rank player. This rank makes up around 30% of the player base 

Silver and Gold:

Silver and gold lobbies are filled with some good players And because the gold rank has the most players in any rank you might encounter smurfs and trolls in this rank but all in all, it is a somewhat respectable rank for newbies or amateur players. Gold and silver rank players make up around 42.5 percent of all player base.

Platinum and Diamond:

These are higher ranks filled with mature players who possess good aim and play with strategies while being team-stacked. So if you are in these ranks then you are good at the game and you will end up in a higher rank if you play with consistency.  22.5% of all players are in these ranks 

Ascendant and immortal:

These are the highest ranks in Valorant and lobbies are filled with hardcore players who grind the game a lot and you’ll find a lot of esports pros in these ranks as well. The only rank that is left is radiant which you can now guess is the best rank achievable so there’s little skill difference between immortal players and radiant players but nothing major to write about.

This rank makes up merely 5 Percent of all player base.

How to Rank Up in Valorant?

It is easier to know when you are going to rank thanks to the RR system which is pretty clear and concise about it. Ranking up in valorant is not easy. These are some of my tips that can help you rank up from iron to platinum or even higher.

Warm-up:

If you are in a lower rank something like iron, bronze, or even silver then warming up before matches can help you with mechanics and aim tremendously. Warming up before the game is also standard in higher ranks. Everybody has a different aim training/ warmup routine but if you don’t have then follow this routine

  • Kill 200 bots in firing range.
  • Play 2 to 3 Death matches.
  • Play 1 or 2 spike rushes.

After warming up you’ll immediately feel a lot different and relaxed in-game and in tense situations because your reflexes, your aim, and your movement will all be in sync.

Master agents:

As I stated earlier in the blog, valorant is heavily dependent on the agent’s abilities. So pick 1 agent from each class and learn its abilities if you don’t know which one to pick then follow this list as these are the most beginner-friendly agents:

  • Duelists: Reyna
  • Sentinels: Sage
  • Controllers: Omen

I left the initiator class because the abilities are confusing for newcomers 

Don’t solo queue play with friends:

Playing solo queue can work in low ranks but in higher ranks 5 5-man stack is dominant and if you are solo queuing there is a high chance that your random teammates will not communicate with you. So if you want to rank, get better teammates, play with them, and don’t solo queue.

Learn Maps:

Learning maps is the next thing that you need to work on if you want to get better or rank up because Valorant has big maps and a lot of angles for potential enemies and learning them will help you to pre-aim the angles for potential enemies so you’ll have a way better chance to land your first shots on head because of crosshair placement. learn maps by playing custom matches with bots. 

Here are a few guides about the maps to get better

Try to stay positive:

Don’t lose hope if you aren’t improving because learning takes time and effort and sometimes regardless of what you’re doing you’ll not get results quickly and conveniently that’s okay too because slow success is the best success Valorant can be difficult in many ways you’ll get frustration will lose hope if you have a goal in your mind and just tried to stay positive than you’ll get good eventually.

How To climb out of a hard stuck rank:

Hard stuck in a specific rank is a common thing in Valorant because at some point you and your enemies have the same type of aim and mechanical skill at par Thus you can’t overpower them to win matches and this can lead to a losing streak or getting hard stuck.

Valorant can get frustrating sometimes because competitive shooters have this effect on you. Games can get unbearable and nerve-racking and this can lead to frustration and tantrums or even rage so taking a break might be a really good idea.

Other than taking a break you can also find different teammates who have higher ranks so your chances of winning matches can get doubled or you can also do a warmup or aim training before each game so your aim and mechanics are on top in the match.

Or if you are tired of it then wait for a new act and your rank will vanish and you’ll have a really good chance of making it into a better rank by winning and playing in placement matches.

FAQS

Does Valorant have rank decay?

NO, valorant doesn’t have rank decay but your rank will reset each act.

How do I unlock ranked mode?

You have to level up your account to level 20 after that ranked mode will be unlocked.

How many placement matches do I have to play before I get my Rank?

You have to play 5 Placement matches after that you’ll get your rank.

What is the most common Valorant rank?

Silver and Gold are the most common ranks in valorant making up around 43 percent of the player base.

What is ACT rank?

It essentially shows every rank win and your highest rank win will be on the top