Skill Rating (Ranks)
All players receive a Skill Rating based on their performance. The rating is determined by skill-based matchmaking (SBMM) and updates immediately after each match.
Game Modes
There is NO unranked mode. All standard matches use skill-based matchmaking.
- Standard Match: 6v6 with skill-based matchmaking (the main queue)
- Street Brawl: Casual short matches (separate mode)
- Bot Match: Practice against AI bots
Rank Tiers
There are 11 ranked tiers plus a provisional rank. Each tier has 6 sub-ranks (I through VI). Initiate I is the lowest rank and Eternus VI is the highest.
| Tier | Name | Distribution |
|---|---|---|
| — | Obscurus | Provisional |
| 1 | Initiate | ~6% |
| 2 | Seeker | ~11% |
| 3 | Alchemist | ~8% |
| 4 | Arcanist | ~9% |
| 5 | Ritualist | ~13% |
| 6 | Emissary | ~14% |
| 7 | Archon | ~10% |
| 8 | Oracle | ~12% |
| 9 | Phantom | ~7% |
| 10 | Ascendant | ~8% |
| 11 | Eternus | ~2% |
Obscurus is a provisional rank assigned until enough matches are played to calibrate.
Distribution source: tracklock.gg/ranks
The distribution is roughly bell-curved around Emissary/Ritualist, with a long tail at the top (Ascendant/Eternus).
How It Works
- Skill Rating updates immediately post-match (no weekly delay since Nov 2024 rework)
- Only you can see your own Skill Rating
- Monthly global curve readjustments may occur based on population, cheaters banned, etc.
Hero MMR
Each hero has its own matchmaking weight relative to your Core Skill Rating:
- Unplayed heroes start with lower relative weightings
- Hero MMR is offset from your core MMR
- When you queue, matchmaking uses that hero’s MMR
- Judgment is based on the 20 most recent games with that hero
- Playing an unfamiliar hero puts you in easier matches
Party Restrictions
- Queue as any party size
- Wide skill range in a party reduces MMR gain
- Ascendant 1+: Max party size of 3
- Eternus+: Max party size of 2 (reverted from 3 in Dec 2024)
- New/unknown players in a party minimize MMR updates for known players
Match Quality
- Bad quality matches (e.g., 5am low-population games) are weighed less heavily for rank updates
- Solo-only preference available via
mm_prefer_solo_only true
Leaderboards
Regional leaderboards (North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Oceania):
- Core MMR leaderboard: Top 1000 per region
- Hero MMR leaderboard: Top 1000 per hero, per region
- Qualification (general): 50 games played in the last 30 days
- Qualification (hero): 20 games on that hero in the past 30 days
- Each leaderboard entry shows top 3 heroes and overall skill rating
Matchmaking Details
- Single unified matchmaking pool (normal and ranked merged since Nov 2024)
- No limited hours — available 24/7
- Matchmaker prioritizes each team having at least 2 frontliners when possible
- Lane swap feature during rooftop phase at game start
- Party lane preference option to prioritize same-lane assignments
History
- Oct 10, 2024: Ranked mode added with limited weekly time windows, 7-game weekly calibration requirement
- Oct 18, 2024: Weekend hours added (5 hours earlier)
- Nov 21, 2024: Major matchmaking rework — unified pool, no hour limits, hero MMR, immediate badge updates, leaderboards added
- Dec 6, 2024: Eternus+ party size reverted to 2, matchmaker frontliner balancing added