VALORANT players crown one rank bracket as Elo hell

VALORANT’s ranked experience isn’t a smooth ride, to say the least, but some parts of the climb are unforgettably painful. While players might find themselves gasping for air in any Elo, one rank, in particular, has garnered a bad reputation for being the most difficult tier to rise out of. 

In a Reddit post dated Oct. 18, a player named u/IonLow sparked a discussion on the hardest rank to climb out of in VALORANT, and while we saw many different opinions, the most agreed-upon rank for the title was clearly Silver. 

“It’s just a whole goddamn cycle. Silver 3 97/100 –> Silver 1 20/100 and repeat,” the most popular comment under the post read. While the cycle of almost ranking up to dropping two tiers right after exists in all ranks, including Ascendant, I agree it’s more apparent and frustrating in low Elo. 

“Silver took forever as someone who doesn’t have time for a lot of games every day and prefers playing sentinel/smokes. So many Reynas and Razes ruining games by being either way too good or just straight-up throwing.” another player wrote, highlighting the rampant throwing and smurfing issue VALORANT’s Silver and other low Elo lobbies nurture.

Personally, I’ve found Gold to be the most difficult rank to overcome, and so did several other players on the thread. In fact, some players also mentioned Diamond, Ascendant, and even Immortal as their Elo hell. It’s usually the low Elo that seems to pose problems, but it really depends on your skill ceiling—and a little bit of luck, of course. 

I climbed out of Gold in Episode Five, Act Two, reached Diamond in Episode Five, Act Three, and I’ve been there ever since. Right now, in Episode Seven, Act Two, I am struggling to retain the status of a Diamond player, thanks to the uncontrolled number of throwers in my games. 

So how do we climb out of our Elo hell in VALORANT? It isn’t simple, but it isn’t impossible either. The competitive tac shooter genre requires players to nurture and enhance their mechanics and game sense to constantly level up. 

You’d have to learn to carry past the obstacles you face and stop rage-queuing games. Anger isn’t going to get us out of our Elo hell; practice and patience will.