Riot breaks down how VALORANT’s ranked seeding works

For VALORANT fans wondering how their rank was determined, Riot Games has an answer.

VALORANT game director Joe Ziegler discussed ranked seeding today in an effort to put any confusion on the matter to rest.

“Your required unrated games have an effect on who we place you against to determine rating,” Ziegler said. “We then are able to quickly converge on the performance of your first few games in rated to determine your rank.”

It appears that a player’s performance in unrated matches is a determining factor for what rank they’re placed in. For the matchmaking system to know who to place you against in your first Competitive games, it takes unrated matches into account. After this initial placement, your performance, along with the result of your first few rated matches, will affect your seeding.

The community was initially confused about how their rank was determined. Players found themselves unable to queue up with their friends after playing a couple of rated matches together.

VALORANT’s ranked mode doesn’t allow players to queue up together if they’re more than two ranks, or six tiers, away from each other. But fans were frustrated about how quickly that rank was determined.

With Riot’s tactical first-person shooter being in closed beta, the devs will likely fix any issues before its official launch this summer.