High-level ranked queues in VALORANT have been a hot topic for months. Top players have publicly said how frustrating they find ranked and one of the constant topics of discussion on Twitter and the various subreddits is how it can be fixed.
And in today’s “Ask VALORANT” blog, the five-stack question was addressed. Riot provided a concrete time for when more information will be shared: the beginning of Episode Three.
Jon Walker, the competitive designer at Riot, said he doesn’t believe splitting the queues is the best path forward. Walker said Riot fears that one of the queues would become the “real” one and that would devalue a significant portion of players’ accomplishments. Walker also assured readers that competitive integrity is at the forefront of whatever they decide to do with the ranked queue.
As for what Riot is doing to create a “high-stakes competitive experience for teams,” Walker said more information will be available at the beginning of Episode Three.
In other tactical shooters, the more “competitive” queues are contracted out to third parties. FACEIT’s FPL is particularly popular among CS:GO and Rainbow Six Siege hopefuls. It offers cash prizes for high ladder placement and is fairly rigorous about who’s allowed to play in its lobbies.
It’s unlikely that Riot will go down the third-party route. It seems like Riot wants to keep things in-house for the most part, but something similar to these competitive experiences could be in the works.
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