A problem that has persistently frustrated the very best Valorant players continues to rear its head, as players in the upper ranks find it almost impossible to find a match within a reasonable time. Riot Games devs have responded, confirming they’re working on improvements.
Valorant’s ranked system is the primary mode for most players, and for the majority of the playerbase, it functions well, with a well-designed MMR system pitting players of similar skill levels against each other.
However, if you’re talented enough to find yourself in the very upper ranks of Immortal or Radiant, the experience can become completely different.
The higher you climb, the smaller the available pool of players to match with and against. For Radiant players, it’s not uncommon to have to wait for hours to get a match.
Riot’s response to queue times
Recently retired pro player Tyson ‘TenZ’ Ngo is one such player who experiences ridiculous waiting times to get a match. During a 24 hour stream on January 14, he was unable to find a match after 4 hours of waiting, while on his main account.
As a workaround, top players will often use ‘smurf’ accounts to play more regular matches.
Responding to TenZ, Riot’s Senior Competitive Designer Jon ‘EvrMoar’ Walker acknowledged the problems with the system. “We are currently talking about how to fix this, and looking into your queue to figure out solutions.”
We are currently talking about how to fix this, and looking into your que to figure out solutions. Unfortunately it may not be as fast of a fix as we'd like, but know that we are looking into it. I personally feel bad that one of our best players can't engage with the new system.
— EvrMoar (@EvrMoar) January 14, 2021
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The dev continued, “I personally feel bad that one of our best players can’t engage with the new system.”
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Cloud9 player Joseph ‘Keeoh’ Winkler has since shared his suggestions for how the ranked system could be improved across the board, but especially for the upper ranks.
He too highlights the issues faced by TenZ, stating: “High MMR people (like TenZ) are getting 2hr+ queue times, meaning they can’t climb the leaderboard.”
– Delete the last 4 days
The problems:– High MMR people (like TenZ) are getting 2hr+ queue times, meaning they can't climb the leaderboard– High diamond/low immortal players can currently be IN RADIANT and still not queue against radiants from the previous act.
— Keeoh (@Keeoh) January 17, 2021
How Riot plans to address the issues remains to be seen. They have just rolled out a series of significant changes to competitive play for Episode 2, Act I and we can expect more iteration on this system in Act II.
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The devs have also responded to some of the other criticisms about the new system, including fears over a ‘hidden MMR’. They reassured players that: “We will be monitoring the data around how long it takes the average player to return to their previously acquired rank and definitely listening to feedback from players.”
