EvrMoar

So yes, technically your overall winrate can mean one match is super small to matter in the grand scheme of things.

But because MMR is a ladder it really only cares about your recent consistent performances. I know I used that players overall winrate as an example, but I don't think the 130ish games they had was a TON of games(it was a decent amount don't get me wrong). Really what you need to do, to climb, is to have over a 50% win rate consistently. Because when you win, you move up the ladder and push other players down, you need to be doing that more then 50% of the time(in your recent matches) to climb the ladder. So if you were to shift your most recent games to a higher win rate, even if you have a ton of games at a lower win rate this season you are technically climbing the ladder - this is really hard to explain.

We do have some "Confidence" systems which shrinks your potential MMR match making pool after we have a higher understanding of where you belong -...

This is true! Well it's true at lower ranks.

You have a performance, and a win/loss MMR, that makes up your total MMR. At lower ranks your Performance MMR is more important, and when you start to climb your win/loss MMR becomes more important. So, realistically, if you perform really well but lose you could increase your performance MMR even if your win/loss MMR decreased.

I think the hard part is if we showed MMR we would have the same complaints we had about the last system(which was more MMR based but just rounded off gains/losses to arrows).

If we did MMR you would have games where you went 30+ kills and you would get +3 MMR, then have a game where you bottom frag and get +30 MMR. Because the MMR system cares both about performance(depending on rank), and win/loss, but it's compared to the MMR of your opponents as well. So we would see the exact same complaints, just focused on different aspects of the system. "Why did I top frag and get +3 points" or the complaint we got most last system "Why did I get demoted for having 1 bad game, but don't promote from 3 good games?"

I think, overall, the current system feels much smoother and more enjoyable then a straight MMR system. I do think we have some things to smooth out, and can make it feel even better. That being said I prefer players being able to say "I need 5 wins to rank up" be...

I think we could do a better job in the perception of RR gains/losses, and smoothing out ranked rating gains/losses and how that feels.

I see these posts a lot so we have to be realistic, there is a perception issue either way. Maybe we need to be better about displaying your win rate in game, why you have the gains/losses you have, and also making it feel better by maybe not being so harsh so quickly when trying to push you down.

Thanks for responding honestly! It can be really hard to want to be a higher rank, but having a rough time getting there. Higher ranks are always rough because not only are you trying to get better, you are trying to get better then everyone around you. You have to get better, faster, then the community essentially.

Good luck out there!

Hey there! I'm the designer of ranked, and I just wanted to weigh in a little bit.

FIrst off, thanks for playing Valorant! I love seeing posts where people are learning, or asking for advice, because we all have to start somewhere.

My advice, for Agents, is play what you enjoy! Try a few agents in practice, or spike rush, and see if you like their playstyle more. Someone commented on this thread, but agent abilities are used to create a more favorable situation for you. Then if you find an agent you like, going to youtube for a quick guide can always help!

I'd also recommend using the phantom, over the Vandal, when you start out. Vandal is the way to go if you are landing headshots, but phantom is much more friendly with spraying and because it has a silencer you can spray through smoke and your bullet tracers don't appear to the enemy!

Lastly Aim Labs is an awesome way to get better at aiming. Make sure you are going into the settings and setting up...

Remember that everyone is on their own ranked journey!

Some players at higher ranks are on their way down, you are on your way up, and some people have reached the rank they belong at and are grinding to improve. Our match maker tries to make fair matches, first and foremost, then bases the RR gains/losses off where it thinks you belong. That's why you get more per a win and less per a loss, when paired against higher ranked/skill opponents. But it also works in reverse, if you start to underperform the system will keep testing you and trying to figure out where you belong, and eventually push you down.

It sounds like your climbing! Good job on reaching diamond and hope the rest of your ranked grind goes well!

I've commented before, our system is never made with the intention to force you to grind. The problem is that it's impossible to know your ranked without you playing a few games. I think asking players to play around 30 ranked games to know their true rank(which is about how many it takes for us to converge you, sometimes faster) is okay.

Also we don't make ranked to be a grind, our goal is to find your true skill. Technically it takes 1000+ games to actually get a true rank picture in any Elo system. You could argue you would also need to do that in Valorant, but we are a little generous in how fast we try to push you up if you are outside your skill/win rate.

Also you can check my post history, I explain the system pretty in depth in a ton of my comments!

Hey, the designer who made it here! Sorry you're frustrated, but I can have an honest conversation about what's going on here.

Yes, you can get a few points from doing better but it's not going to be enough to try and push you in a rank you don't belong in. Your gains are based on your MMR, your MMR is how we find you fair matches and where you think you belong. At the end of the day you will reach the Rank you are currently playing at skill/winrate wise, and you have to improve to climb higher. At some point we have to hold you accountable for the rank you belong at.

These matches do matter, because they increase your MMR. If you are consistently doing well you will increase your MMR. Ranked is a ladder, there is no hidden system that is trying to hold you back. If you beat opponents you climb up the ladder and push them down. You need to beat opponents more consistently then you are being beaten to climb the ladder. If you win more then you lose you will most like...

It's hard to say, it really depends on the player.

For example TenZ got an account to Radiant MMR in 20 matches from placements. I've also seen a boosted player go from immortal to plat in 20-30 games.

I can confidently say that if for some reason your skill is drastically somewhere different, it corrects quickly. But the problem is how drastically you shift, how you are performing, match out comes, MMR of opponents, etc. So I don't have a solid answer.

One thing to remember is that MMR is simply a ladder. Sure there is some complex math in how you are climbing, or going down, that ladder. But everyone is on it, no one is tied, and players are always shifting. If you belong somewhere else other players will either be pushed down, or push you down, as you move up and down the ladder.

I would say, at most, after a fresh account(or episode) placements you should probably be at your skill in 20-50 games. That being said, high ranks may take longer becaus...

No hidden MMR reset.

I've seen this come up and I see a few big streamers, or pro players, pushing the idea that we need a hidden MMR reset. I think players are putting too much emphasis on players having a good/bad match on them being in a rank they don't belong(or having boosted/smurf players in their game).

I don't think we will ever full reset MMR(altho never say never). It would be pure match making chaos. Every match would be a mix of players of all skills, and you would flip a coin hoping your team had the higher ranked player(or the immortal/radiant player). It would then take all players tons of games to explode the MMR system outward and fix ranks. This isn't as bad when a game launches, because there are so many players learning the game and new players that the skill difference between players is smaller. After a game has been out, the skill from a top player to a new/average player can be pretty drastic.

We will be doing soft resets every Episod...

TECHNICALLY if you are climbing yes you will get 5 less points. On the flip side you also lose 5 less points. So in reality it won't effect you in a big way.

That's why I really wanted it messaged, just so players know we are planning this. Honestly I wouldn't worry about it, it is targeted at some RR inflation issues we are seeing in the 100's of games area. This change isn't intended to make you grind more, and in fact due to convergence you should still converge with your actual MMR(if you haven't yet) in the same amount of games.

I'm getting older(just hit my 30's), and have gamed my whole life(on average 4-8hours a day). I have never had eye issues, or fatigue, but I think it varies from person to person. I do sometimes get headaches, or if I notice how bright the monitors are I'll turn on f.lux to ease that.

I also sometimes use the 20/20/20 rule; Look at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds every 20 minutes. But I honestly don't use it a ton unless I have a headache.

Yes, each episode will have some sort of soft reset and if you haven't played ranked yet you are held to those rules.

It put an emphasis on focusing on ranks, and performance of teammates and opponents, and not winning.

People would try to manipulate queue during agent select, to be the lowest rank, to try and game the system. These same players would sometimes troll agent select, or target low ranking players, to try and force dodges. It just created lots of toxicity for little tactical benefit during agent select. The match maker put them in the match together, the players aren't that far apart in skill(at least currently perceived by the match maker).

Then in game people would play differently based on the ranks of enemies. If the highest ranking player played B site, players would avoid that site for example. This on top of players getting upset if a high ranking player was bottom fragging, targeting them and creating toxicity issues, was a good reason to remove it in game as well.

Our goal is to make it so the focus is on winning, not manipulating queue or worrying ab...

I have a monitor arm, but I play with it about a 1 1/2-2 feet from my eyes.

https://www.rtings.com/monitor/reviews/best/by-usage/gaming

I love this site and use it for all things monitors.

I actually upgraded/downgraded from a 32 1440p 240hz as my main, because lots of players at the highest level don't play bigger then 24 inch. When you have a big monitor the screen just kinda gets away from your perphrials. I've been loving it, but it is weird playing on a much small monitor then I'm use to.

That being said, that's only extremely high level players that try to find any advantage. If you are using th...

A little confusing, but this just means that demotion protection is at 70 instead of 80.

Previously if you were to lose 30 points, the system would stop you at 80. Now the system stops you at 70RR. So realistically, because you can't lose more then 30(unless you AFK), you will always demote to exactly whatever your ranked rating loss amount was.

You gotta remember that if someone is going to smurf it's pretty easy to tank placements, or play placements and most likely be around bronze to silver anyways(or tank to iron). So realistically the only thing that was stopping players from grouping up was making an alt account, and tanking it, to play with their friends.

With this change we have a better idea of players actual MMR(because they are more likely to stay on their main), we can make more fair matches, and there are lots and lots of players grouping up at lower ranks to let us make fair matches.

We have some other ideas to help with 5 stacking and other things like smurfing, and we are aware this change is a little spicy. If we are seeing unfair match making issues, we can always change the group restrictions. We just got massive feedback that players really wanted to play with their friends and we felt like we could make that experience better for lower ranks.

The competitive team plays Skribbleo.io together from time to time, definitely showing this to the team.

Hey no worries!

After re-reading what I said it came off a little too harsh. I wasn't trying to bash what you were saying, or anything. I truly believe an article, or that idea, could easily circulate or someone could have found data to say it's true!

I just wanted you to know what we saw in Valorant. Thank you for playing and discussing these things tho! I love these chats, and it's a reason why I chimed in. Hope you enjoy the new Act!