VALORANT Patch 10.1 adds crucial rank protection feature inspired by Marvel Rivals, LoL

If you, on the verge of a rank demotion, have often found yourself contemplating whether to queue for another VALORANT match or just stop for the day, the latest patch finally lets you bid farewell to those bouts of dilemma. 

For those wishing VALORANT to have a rank protection feature like League of Legends, Marvel Rivals, and Fortnite, Riot Games has finally brought a well-thought version to its popular tac shooter via Patch 10.1. Thanks to the new Rank Shields, you now get not one but two chances before facing demotion to a lower rank. Unlike in the past, where we deranged upon losing a match at zero RR, you can now lose up to two matches without consequence.

Needless to say, Rank Shields were a much-needed feature, considering how stressful Competitive matches can become when it’s a matter of deranking and advancing toward a new rank.

Of course, these shields aren’t always available at your disposal to maintain balance and competition. For starters, you can only avail them when you’re in tier one of a rank that isn’t Radiant. For example, you get two shields if you get demoted or promoted to Silver One. But you can’t get them or use any remaining charges when you promote or demote to Silver Two or Three. 

Simply put, Rank Shields can only protect you from a drop from tier one of a VALORANT rank to tier three of a lower rank. Also, if you exhaust one or both the shields, you can only recharge them by demoting and promoting back to that rank’s tier one or by advancing to tier one of a higher rank. 

Besides protecting you from dropping a rank, the concept of Rank Shields may also help discourage throwers who intentionally sabotage their VALORANT games. They’ll now need to lose additional matches to demote to a lower rank, which is certainly not a pleasant experience. 

Thanks, Riot!