Ranked mode in VALORANT is now live

For VALORANT players who want to take their skills to the next level, you’re in luck—ranked mode is now live.

With Patch 0.49 proving to be stable, Riot has activated ranked mode in VALORANT.

Players can jump into the competition, completing 20 Unrated matches to unlock Competitive mode. There will be eight total ranks that follow a similar system to League of Legends, including Iron, Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Diamond, Immortal, and VALORANT. Each rank will be divided into three tiers, aside from VALORANT.

While victories will be a huge factor in how much you rank up, the competitive system will also take player performance into account. If you stomp the enemy team and carry your squad to that coveted win, you’ll rank up faster. Players who perform poorly, on the other hand, will lose more rank.

To curb AFKs or players throwing matches, Riot also incentivizes how well your team performs. If your squad gets stomped handily, you’ll lose more rank. But teams who give it their all for the entire match and still get bested won’t drop down the ladder as much.

Players can squad up as five or hit the competitive grind on their own. But it’s required for you to be within two ranks, or six tiers, of your teammates to queue up.