Valorant intends to make huge competitive changes in Act III, which is set to release on October 13th.
Riot Games’ original intent was to make competitive about queuing with your friends, although, players want the ranked mode to be all about competitive improvement.
The Valorant team has changed their design philosophy which reflects the upcoming changes in Act III’s competitive mode.
Valorant Act 3 Ranked Changes
One of the big changes coming to Ranked is how pre-made parties are formed.
Act II Ranked allows players that are spread across six connected ranks to party together. The new changes will now limited parties to three connected ranks.
No more can a Silver 1 player form a pre-made ranked lobby with a Platinum 1 player. For example, the highest a Silver 1 can pair within a pre-made lobby is a Gold 1 player.
This is not the only competitive change as Immortal players are seeing their ladder progression change.
Ranking in Valorant measures wins and losses alongside performance. A player may lose a game but gain elo because of their really good performance on the losing team.
The Immortal rank no longer has that luxury. To progress through Immortal and beyond, players need to win their games to gain elo.
Riot Games intends on seeing how this affects Immortal and beyond. If it is a success, then Riot may apply it to all ranks below Immortal in Act III episode 2.
Also, players queuing for Ranked in Act III will find they can select their preferred server location to get a better ping.
Lagging in a competitive match is one of the worst feelings ever, so this change should reflect the spirit of competition ranked players have.
There is no guarantee that you will get your preferred server because of matchmaking features. It will likely only not select a preferred server during off-peak hours and for higher elo players.
Riot has big plans for Episode 2 as they have region-based leaderboards in the works, as well as Immortal plus getting restricted to solo or duo lobbies.
The look that Valorant wants for its competitive mode is all about being the best individual and team player.
The new systems help to reflect the power and prestige of being Immortal plus and getting your name on the regional leaderboards.
With the growth of the Valorant esports scene, the regional leaderboard is going to prove useful for players looking to get into competitive teams.
Riot also acknowledges the demand for competitive queues for players in a wide variety of skill levels. Riot is looking at addressing the market, but it is not on their priority list for episode 2.
Episode 2 is set to release in early 2021.
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