Riot Games Faces Criticism Over VALORANT Ranked System
Riot Games recently launched the closed beta ranked testing for their highly anticipated game, VALORANT. However, just a week into the testing, the community is already expressing dissatisfaction with the system and how it matches players across different ranks.
Notable streamers and talent, including TSM streamer Ali “Myth” Kabbani, have highlighted issues they encountered while playing in the closed beta’s ranked system. According to Myth, playing competitive solo queue feels like sabotaging your own rank.
One of the main concerns raised by players is the ability for solo players and duos to match against groups of four or five. This discrepancy in communication and coordination between teams becomes more problematic in higher ranks and creates an unfair playing field.
Similar issues have been observed in other popular first-person shooters like CS:GO. Counter-Strike veteran Spencer “Hiko” Martin stated that these problems have plagued all five-versus-five competitive shooters, and no effective solution has been found.
A Solution From Their Own Backyard
Fortunately, there is a seemingly simple solution that Riot Games could borrow from their own game, League of Legends, and apply it to VALORANT’s ranked system.
When playing VALORANT’s competitive mode alone, players have multiple concerns besides their gameplay. One major concern is whether the opposing team consists of a pre-made group of four or five players. This creates an imbalanced playing field where one team lacks the communication and teamwork that comes naturally to a group of friends who regularly play together. Solo players are put at a significant disadvantage, making it difficult for them to accurately gauge their individual skills. They are more likely to rely on their teammates in a four or five-man stack.
Another issue is the possibility of having teammates who are queued as a group of three or four. As a solo player, this means that your teammates might communicate amongst themselves outside of the game, leaving you out of the loop and unaware of important information about the team’s strategy.
In response to similar issues in League of Legends, Riot Games introduced separate queues based on player preferences. These separate queues allowed players to choose whether they wanted to play alone, with a friend, or with a five-man stack. Each queue had its own rank, ensuring fair matchmaking and a more enjoyable experience.
Playing Together or Alone
Implementing a similar system in VALORANT would benefit the game’s matchmaking. Having separate queues for solo and duo players would prevent them from being matched into uneven games. While players will still need to use voice comms with their teammates, everyone will face the same challenges. Superior coordination will not be a deciding factor, and each team will have to adapt and learn from each other’s strengths and weaknesses as the game progresses.
On the other hand, ranked team queues would ensure that five-man squads face off against each other, maintaining an even playing field. Matches would still be decided by mechanical skill, but the level of teamwork within each squad would also be tested.
In terms of ranking, Riot Games should consider assigning separate ranks for each queue. Currently, VALORANT ranks are performance-based, meaning that individual performance can still positively impact rank even in a loss. This system can still apply to the solo and duo queue, as individual skill is likely to play a more significant role than team play.
However, in ranked team play, ranks and MMR might need to focus more on team performance. This would address concerns from players who feel restricted from playing with friends due to the potential loss of MMR from a few bad games.
With VALORANT still in its closed beta stage, players can expect further changes and improvements to the game’s systems in the coming months. Riot Games has a wealth of experience and successful solutions in their own games that they can draw from to enhance the ranked experience in VALORANT.
Riot Games, VALORANT, ranked testing, closed beta, competitive mode, solo players, duo players, unfair playing field, separate queues, matchmaking, team performance, mechanical skill, MMR