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Valorant has been another major success for Riot Games. The first-person shooter sees a selection of various different agents. Those agents have their own abilities which can be used for information gathering, healing, defensive positioning, or damaging opponents.
Much like other games, Valorant has a Battle Pass and different seasons. Within the game, those seasons are known as Acts. Act III of Valorant is quickly approaching and the developers at Riot Games just released a video detailing the changes to the competitive nature once Act III arrives.
Changes to Valorant in Act III
Queue Rank Range
Being able to play ranked with friends is a big part of any competitive game's matchmaking system. In Valorant, players are able to queue up with other players in a six rank range. When Act III arrives, that range is now changing to three. Therefore, players will only be able to play the competitive matchmaking mode with a friend who is within three ranks of their current rank.
Preferred Server
Valorant will be adding the option to select a preferred server to play on. The chosen server is not always guaranteed, but this is a wonderful start in making sure players are able to queue up with a solid connection. The developers state that this will at least give everyone a higher chance of playing on their preferred game server, in order to avoid that dreaded high ping.
Moving into Episode 2
Valorant's Acts are all a part of a larger Episode. Currently in Episode 1 as Act III arrives, Riot is definitely looking forward to Episode 2 as 2021 is on the horizon.
Public Leaderboard
One of the projects already in the works is a public, region-based leaderboard. The developer diary video showcased a top 500 list that shows when the Act is set to end. As well, it showcases the amount of games won by a player and how they have recently moved about the rankings. It should be noted that this is a work in progress.
Immortal Plus Queue Restriction
Next on the agenda is a restriction to queue size for players in Valorant's Immortal rank or above. The restriction would allow players to queue up alone or as a duo with only one other party member. These higher ranks have a much smaller matchmaking pool. The intention is to speed up matchmaking while also making the games more fair.
While 2021 is still fair away, the fact that these changes are already being worked on is a good sign. Riot Games truly wants Valorant to thrive. The only way to do that is to keep the players happy, focus on these quality of life updates, and figure out what works.
