What ranks can play Competitive together in VALORANT?

Keeping Account Boosters at bay.

Ranks are one of the main differentiators between players in VALORANT, at least in Competitive mode. While many players will argue that they play much better than their current Rank suggests, Riot Games begs to differ and has placed specific restrictions on which Ranks can play with which competitively to keep the balance of power in check.

In this guide, we have you covered if you’re wondering which ranks you can party within Competitive mode.

What Ranks can play together in Ranked?

Rank queue restrictions start in parties that consist of more than one player. Riot Games limits the Rank gap restrictions to keep more capable players from boosting their lower-ranked friends in Competitive.

Below is a simple table that shows which Ranks can play with which in Competitive.

Parties of 2-3 players

Iron and Bronze players can queue together regardless of their current Rank Tier. This means that Iron 1 to Bronze 3 players can play together in Ranked.

Ranks Gold, Platinum, Diamond, Ascendant, and Immortal can only play with players up to a full Rank Tier above or below their current rank. Refer to the table above to get a better idea.

The Ranked queue disparity rules above apply to parties that consist of 2-3 players since you cannot queue with four players, and 5-stack queues follow a completely different set of rules.

Immortal 1 players and above are also worth noting that they are limited to solo, duo, or 5-stack. Trios are not available for Ranks Immortal 1 and above.

5-Stack Queue

Ranked Queue ruling for 5-stack queues differs from parties with 2-3 players. In 5-stack queues, a party of 5 players can play together regardless of their current Rank.

Read: How To Get Better at Valorant

Now you might be thinking: “Won’t higher-ranked players suffer more from losses when playing with friends at a lower rank? After all, they’re likely going to carry their lower-ranked teammates in-game.” The answer is no.

To make RR losses less impactful for all party members, Riot Games implements RR reduction for mixed-rank 5-stack parties that have at least an Ascendant 3 in the group. Check the list below for RR reductions for 5-stacks to get a better idea:

• 25% RR reduction for 5-stack parties Ascendant 3 or below.
• 25% RR reduction for 5-stack parties with one or more members that are Immortal 1 to Immortal 3.
• 75% RR reduction if at least one party member is Radiant.

What is the difference between Rank and Act Rank?

Your Rank is the current Competitive skill rating in VALORANT. It determines the level of competition you’ll be up against in Competitive queues, while Act Rank is your commutative skill rating for an entire Act and shows the highest Ranks you manage to win at within an Act.

Rank is by far the more important Competitive rating, as this determines which Ranks you can play with in Competitive mode and the level of competition your can expect to face in your Competitive matches.

Act Rank is useful for checking someone else’s progress throughout an Act and shows how well a player plays against higher Rank players.

Can Gold 1 Play With Bronze 3?

No, Gold 1 players cannot queue together in Competitive mode with Bronze 3 players since the gap between Gold 1 and Bronze 3 is more than a full tier.

Bronze 3 players can queue with other players from Iron and Bronze but can only queue with players up to Silver in Rank.

It’s A Party!

Playing VALORANT with your friends is arguably more fun than playing solo, especially in a high-stakes Competitive match. However, there are specific queue restrictions that you need to remember before you try and play Competitive mode with your friends in-game.

Hopefully, you and your friends will be within the allowed Rank disparity so you can play Ranked together. Refer to the guide above to learn which ranks can play Competitive mode together in VALORANT.