Since well before the official launch of Valorant, many gamers have been eagerly awaiting the game’s competitive mode. Details of the Valorant ranked play system have already been revealed by Riot, but the mode has yet to launch. That will change next week, however, according to a recent statement from the game’s director.
‘Valorant Rated’ – The Valorant Ranked Play Mode
“Hey everyone, it’s been hectic, so I haven’t had a lot of time to post,” wrote Valorant’s game director in a recent statement on Monday; “To answer the biggest question: rated (competitive mode) will likely be out some time next week. We’re spending this week putting together that release and making sure it’s good.”
Details of Valorant’s ranked play mode and its ranks were first revealed by Riot around two months ago. This mode was briefly available during the closed beta, but has yet to be available in the official release. Valorant Rated, as the competitive mode is called, features eight ranks and a system which is designed to have a; “focus on higher-stakes competition”. Players start at Iron rank and can progress up all the way to Immortal and then VALORANT rank itself.
Interestingly, the Valorant Rated mode features some interesting mechanics designed to disincentivise unsportsmanlike behaviour. The most noteworthy of these is that performance isn’t the only thing which determines your ranking. It’s also determined by how “decisively” you win or lose matches. What this means is that players who throw games will actually be penalised for doing so. The hope is that this system helps to ensure that everybody plays their best, even against more skilled opponents. After all, it can be hard to gauge a player’s skill if they throw matches intentionally. It’s currently unknown how much Riot may have changed in the Valorant Rated mode following its beta launch. However, if the mode is indeed coming sometime next week, fans should find out soon enough.