No stars again? Here’s why VALORANT is denying you your Performance Bonus

VALORANT’s ranked system isn’t the easiest to decipher, and the fact that it primarily evaluates players based on a hidden value isn’t reassuring either. And as if the complexities of MMR weren’t enough of a headache, we also have a Performance Bonus, which sounds like a reward for excellent performance, but that isn’t quite it. 

In Riot Games’ words, a Performance Bonus is “extra RR” that’s awarded upon a player’s exceptional performance in a ranked game. Only players ranked Iron through Ascendant are eligible for this reward. First added in Patch 2.02 (Episode Two), its goal was to “incentivize playing well, but get you to stop comparing yourself to your teammates” and give highly skilled players a chance to rank up fast while tackling smurfs at the same time. 

Unfortunately, earning a Performance Bonus has slowly become an obsession, with players breaking their heads over not getting a star for top fragging or being the MVP in a match. But thanks to the absence of a thorough official explanation from Riot, players fail to understand how Performance Bonus or stars actually work.

In a Reddit post dated Sept. 12, a VALORANT player named JJPlayzRBXandMC shared their concerns over not getting a Performance Bonus for their excellent stats in a ranked game, and it’s the perfect example of how confusing ranked is. 

“I was playing a comp game, and we managed to win, but for match MVP, winning the game, and getting 30 kills, I only got 16rr without any performance bonus, how?” they asked, confused. Apparently, one of their teammates even disconnected mid-game, and they still managed to win.

It’s clear that the player’s performance played a huge role in driving the win, and by that logic, they should definitely receive a pat on the back. Unfortunately, this isn’t how VALORANT’s Performance Bonus works. 

As several comments under the Reddit post explained, the player, Iron Three, may have outperformed a Bronze One player, but despite being a rank lower, their MMR is higher than that of the Bronze player. And the hidden rating strikes again.

To make things clearer, a Performance Bonus is awarded to you only if you fulfill both these factors in a ranked game:

1. You performed better than you usually do in your games. 
2. You outperformed those teammates and opponents with higher MMR.

This means if you outperform a Diamond player while being a Platinum player yourself, you may not get a Performance Bonus if the Diamond player has a lower MMR than you. The idea that top fragging or being the MVP of a match entitles you to a bonus is a misconception.

It doesn’t matter if you top frag or are placed somewhere in the middle of the leaderboard. You can get a Performance Bonus even if you aren’t the match or team MVP, provided those factors are applicable.

In an old Reddit discussion thread, a Riot developer, EvrMoar, explained in detail how the Performance Bonus works in VALORANT. According to them, the bonus is “entirely based on your encounter MMR update and not anything else. It’s you vs. yourself.”

“When the match is made, based on your MMR and Variance(the skill range you have been performing at in your MMR), we can say, ‘based on the opponent’s MMR, your encounter MMR should only go up X amount this match.’ You get a performance bonus if that update is higher than what our data shows you should be performing at,” they explained.

I don’t know about you, but that definitely clears the air for me.