The Importance of Active Play in VALORANT to Maintain Rankings
Reaching the top rankings in VALORANT conveys great prestige among players. However, it is crucial to continue playing in order to maintain that position, rather than simply reaching the desired rank and stopping altogether.
The competitive designer of VALORANT, EvrMoar, confirmed on December 9th that players’ Matchmaking Rating (MMR) decays the longer the game is left untouched.
Understanding MMR Decay in VALORANT
In EvrMoar’s weekly Ranked Fact Friday, he explained how MMR decay works and how Riot Games has implemented a method called “variance” to uphold competitive integrity. The more time a player stays away from competitive VALORANT, the more their MMR decays.
“Yes, we have decay, and it does two things,” explained Riot EvrMoar. “When you are gone from VALORANT for an extended period, we do lower your MMR… We also increase your ‘Variance’.”
MMR serves as Riot’s way of tracking players’ performance to determine their rank in the game. This ranking varies based on wins, losses, K/D ratio, and overall performance, and can either decrease or increase based on these factors. Over time, if a player is inactive, their MMR can decrease. However, to prevent high-ranked players from intentionally lowering their MMR to smurf, Riot introduces variance, which measures the game’s confidence in the player’s ranking.
“Variance represents our confidence in your MMR,” stated EvrMoar. “The higher your Variance, the further you may be matched up with players and the more MMR you can gain or lose. It indicates the range in which you play. High Variance means we are less certain about your true ranking.”
By implementing variance, Riot ensures that players remain within a range that corresponds to their actual skill level, preventing intentional manipulation of MMR. The most straightforward way to avoid variance and MMR decay is to consistently engage in competitive play, increasing the chances of ranking up.