Valorant rank guide: Act Rank, matchmaking, MMR & more
RIOT GAMESAs a highly competitive game, Valorant‘s ranking system is integral to its gameplay. So, here’s all you need to know about Riot’s tactical shooter latest rank distribution, MMR compatibility system, and more.
Like with any other competitive FPS, the road to the highest rank in Valorant is hard, and the system can be a bit confusing as there are in-between steps called Act Ranks.
To clear the air and help you chart a clear ascending path in Riot’s game, here’s all you need to know about the Valorant ranking system, including the rank rating linked to MMR, matchmaking compatibility, and other crucial details.
All Valorant ranks
These are all the Valorant ranks in ascending order:
| RANK TIER | DIVISIONS |
|---|---|
| Iron | Iron 1 / Iron 2 / Iron 3 |
| Bronze | Bronze 1 / Bronze 2 / Bronze 3 |
| Silver | Silver 1 / Silver 2 / Silver 3 |
| Gold | Gold 1 / Gold 2 / Gold 3 |
| Platinum | Platinum 1 / Platinum 2 / Platinum 3 |
| Diamond | Diamond 1 / Diamond 2 / Diamond 3 |
| Ascendant | Ascendant 1 / Ascendant 2 / Ascendant 3 |
| Immortal | Immortal 1 / Immortal 2 / Immortal 3 |
| Radiant | – |
Act Rank
Apart from the primary rank in Valorant mentioned above, the game also features a secondary rank called the ‘Act Rank’ that can help you keep a check on your performance across the various Acts in the game.
The Act Rank is determined by your highest-ranked wins across a specific Act in Valorant and is extremely useful in tracking your progress over a longer period of time.
You can check your Act Rank thanks to a hollow triangular badge on your player card that will get filled with tiny triangles as you progress in each Act.
RIOT GAMESAdditionally, the Act Rank will determine the reward that you get as soon as the Act ends, and it will also be led by your highest win. This means that even though you spend most of the time in Silver if you get a win in Platinum 1, you’ll get the Platinum reward.
Valorant rank distribution
Here’s the latest rank distribution from esportstale.com for August 2024:
- Iron -> 8.8%
- Bronze -> 21.6%
- Silver -> 25%
- Gold -> 20.3%
- Platinum -> 12.8%
- Diamond -> 7.9%
- Ascendant -> 3%
- Immortal -> 0.5%
- Radiant -> 0.026%
Rank matchmaking and restrictions
Any player that wants to climb the ranks in Valorant must reach level 20 in Competitive Mode to unlock the ranked feature.
Other restrictions in the feature include that there can’t be groups of 4 to avoid trouble with solo players, those who reach Immortal 1 and above can only solo, duo, or 5-stack, and groups of 2 or 3 must stay within the rank disparity requirements to keep the matches balanced.
The disparity requirements say that groups of 2 or 3 will be tied to the lowest-ranking player on the team, meaning that the highest-ranking player can only be up to 1 or 2 ranks higher than the lowest.
| LOWEST TEAMMATE | HIGHEST TEAMMATE |
|---|---|
| Iron / Bronze | Silver |
| Silver | Gold |
| Gold | Platinum |
| Platinum / Diamond / Ascendant / Immortal / Radiant | Only 1 one full tier higher |
RIOT GAMESFull party rules
Groups of 5 don’t have to follow the chart above. However, 5-stack parties that have players from Iron to Ascendant will receive Rank Rating (RR) penalties, as their ranks are too different and harm the match balance.
Here are some rules and conditions for full groups:
- If every teammate is Ascendant 3 or below, the team will get a 25% RR reduction if any players are ranked outside of what the chart indicates.
- If one or more teammates are Immortal 1 to Immortal 3, the team will receive a 25% RR reduction penalty.
- If one or more teammates are Radiant, the team will receive a 75% RR reduction. More so, having any teammate below Radiant will automatically reduce your potential RR by 90%.
MMR explained
The MMR concept can be hard to understand, but it consists of a hidden matchmaking rating that affects how much RR you gain or lose after every match.
- If your MMR is higher than your current rank, you’ll gain more RR on wins than you lose on losses.
- If your MMR is the same as your current rank, you’ll gain and lose closer amounts of RR in both scenarios.
- If your MMR is lower than your current rank, you’ll gain less RR on wins and lose more on losses.
The only way players can increase their MMR is by outperforming their opponents and, of course, by winning matches.
RIOT GAMESWhat’s an Act in Valorant?
An Act is a competitive period within an Episode, and an Episode is the size of an event that has 3 Acts. Due to every Act having around four or five patches, they tend to run for about two months.
Every time a new Episode begins, all players have to play 5 placement matches to get their starting rank. Ascendant 1 is the highest one they can reach. To receive a rank in Act 2 or Act 3, 1 placement match will be enough.
Current and upcoming Act
Valorant’s Episode 9 is called COLLISION and its Act 1 kicked off on June 25, 2024 – along with Patch 9.0 – and it’s still running.
The upcoming Episode 9, Act 2 is set to begin on August 27, 2024.
That’s all you need to understand Valorant’s ranking systems. If you want to get ready for the upcoming Act, check our character tier list, all the current maps, and how to get Dot crosshairs.