XDefiant’s Ranked mode unavailable at season one launch, but it’s still being pushed live earlier than planned

XDefiant players looking to try out its new Ranked mode and rank up have to wait just a bit longer, but not as long as originally planned.

Yesterday, Ubisoft revealed that each season of ranked play will begin with a one-week “warm-up” period for players to get used to the game’s new factions, weapons, and maps. But this season will be foregoing that entirely. Future seasons will have a week-long period for “warming up,” but season one’s is much shorter.

So, while Ranked mode isn’t available on day one of the first season, which began this morning, it will be online tomorrow. Ranked mode in XDefiant will launch tomorrow, July 3, likely around 8am CT, if previous XDefiant updates are anything to go by.

For now, players can still try out the Ranked experience that was available in season zero. This includes four-vs-four gameplay on a number of maps and four different modes (Occupy, Domination, Zone Control, and Escort).

When the mode goes live, there will be seven ranked divisions for players to grind through, and the top rank of Top 500 will earn exclusive rewards at the end of the season. Each season has its own themed rewards, too.

XDefiant season one adds the LVOA-C assault rifle, Sawed-Off Shotgun secondary weapon, and GSK faction, inspired by Rainbow Six. The new faction looks powerful, including area denial items like electric barbed wire, a riot shield that flashes players in front of them, and a throwable device that destroys incoming projectiles. Players now have one day to unlock the faction and the new items before hopping into ranked.

With season one, a new patch is now live with changes such as nerfs to the Spiderbot gadget, some buffs for the Libertad faction, and more. Check out the full list of patch notes to see everything that’s changed.