Vanguard dev confirms punishments are coming for Ranked Play quitters

Jacob Hale
Vanguard CDL skin operator planting bomb in Search and Destroy, with Vanguard logo in corner

A Call of Duty: Vanguard dev has confirmed some much-requested changes coming to ranked play, with players who quit out of matches and leave their team at a disadvantage now liable for punishment.

Ranked play quitters have long been the bane of any competitive experience. A few rounds or objectives go the way of the enemy, and there’s that one teammate who simply leaves the game rather than try to turn things around.

If you queue up as a solo or duo player it’s even worse, too. Once one teammate leaves and the situation looks even bleaker, another player leaves, leaving you in a 2v4 or even a 1v4. It’s an unwinnable situation and ultimately feels like a huge waste of time, as well as SR.

That might not be the case much longer, however. “Disconnect penalties are coming,” confirmed lead game designer Lawrence Metten. “We’re also discussing supplemental SR adjustments for players that we know are intentionally leaving matches.”

He added in a following tweet that the feature should have been in ranked play from as soon as it launched, but once again reaffirmed that it was coming “ASAP.”

He also suggested that more changes could be coming to how players gain or lose SR while playing ranked matches.

“We had some great discussions around SR this week and are looking into some adjustments,” he confirmed. “It is an Elo-based system, so how much you earn or lose is relative to the skill of other players in the match and how the system predicts you should be performing.”

While it’s still early days for ranked play in CoD: Vanguard, the devs are clearly constantly looking out for improvements to be made.

With most complaints being based around SR changes after a win/loss and teammates unceremoniously leaving mid-match, it’s clear Treyarch — who developed this iteration of ranked for Vanguard — are aware of what needs to be done.

About The Author

Jacob is Dexerto’s UK Editor and Call of Duty esports specialist. With a BA (Hons) in English Literature and Creative Writing, he previously worked as an Editor at Ginx TV. Jacob was nominated for Journalist of the Year at the 2023 Esports Awards. Contact: jacob.hale@dexerto.com.