Have you wondered what the Valorant rank distribution looks like? Learn about the current Valorant rank distribution and how it works.
Valorant tries its best to create a competitive gaming environment where everyone is more or less matched with other gamers that have similar skill levels. This then creates the Valorant rank distribution that determines the overall state of the competitive system.
At the end of the day, the goal of Valorant and other games like it with a competitive online system is to create a healthy rank distribution system. They are slowly doing this through various tweaks and changes to the ranking system that’ll help improve things in the long run. So today, let’s take a look at the current state of the Valorant rank distribution.
Current Valorant Rank Distribution
Riot released the API for Valorant in December 2020. This means that developers and individuals can now use the API to find out specific sets of data that weren’t available to the public before.
This includes relevant data like everyone’s match history and ranks. This also helps the different Valorant stat trackers to provide more accurate and faster results. This is why were are now able to analyze and look at the data. Thanks, Riot!
There are a total of 25 individual ranks in Valorant, with an average of over 22 million players as of March 2023. Just imagine how hard it must be for Riot to distribute all their players into just 25 individual ranks.
This is the main reason why Valorant has a soft reset at the end of Acts and hard resets at the end of Episodes. It’s also why Riot decided to add the Ascendant rank. I’m sure there are plenty of other things happening behind the scenes that Riot isn’t revealing to the public.
It’s definitely a tough task. This is why they’re constantly changing how their methods to get a proper Valorant rank distribution out.
If I were you, I’d definitely get the best Valorant crosshair and get my aim training on point so that you can stay on top of your game.
The Valorant Rank Distribution Statistics
Now that we’ve talked about the different methods that Riot is using to promote a healthy Valorant rank distribution, let’s talk about the specifics of the data and break down each rank:
The data that we used is provided by a website called Esport Tales. They’re a reliable source that releases monthly data regarding the Valorant rank distribution. The data they release are as accurate as you can get and also covers all the competitive games across all regions.
Based on the graph, we can see that most of the players are grouped between Bronze 1 to Silver 3. There’s also a slight anomaly with a large group in Iron 3 with a sharp decline in Bronze 1 before rising again. The peak of the players is at Silver 1.
On the left side of the graph, a massive drop occurs from Iron 3 down to Iron 2. On the other side, things are a bit more smooth, with slow and steady declines toward Radiant.
Most of the anomalies are probably due to the relatively new Episode being released. Remember, these values are as of the end of Episode 6 Act 1, which means that a hard reset has just occurred, and players have only had one Act to grind their ranks.
You can expect the current Valorant rank distribution to change as the Episode progresses, with more people filling up the higher ranks.
Valorant Rank Distribution Breakdown
Here are the exact percentages for each Valorant rank as of March 2023.
| Rank | Player Percentage |
|---|---|
| Iron 1 | 0.70% |
| Iron 2 | 2.50% |
| Iron 3 | 7.40% |
| Bronze 1 | 6.60% |
| Bronze 2 | 8.80% |
| Bronze 3 | 8.10% |
| Silver 1 | 10.00% |
| Silver 2 | 7.80% |
| Silver 3 | 7.20% |
| Gold 1 | 6.70% |
| Gold 2 | 5.90% |
| Gold 3 | 5.30% |
| Platinum 1 | 4.80% |
| Platinum 2 | 4.00% |
| Platinum 3 | 3.70% |
| Diamond 1 | 3.20% |
| Diamond 2 | 2.30% |
| Diamond 3 | 1.70% |
| Ascendant 1 | 1.20% |
| Ascendant 2 | 0.80% |
| Ascendant 3 | 0.50% |
| Immortal 1 | 0.30% |
| Immortal 2 | 0.10% |
| Immortal 3 | 0.10% |
| Radiant | 0.03% |
Now that we can see the exact percentages, we can get a better grasp of the total number of players in each rank and tier.
As I’ve mentioned, a slight anomaly occurs with the steep decline from Iron 3 to Iron 2 and a slightly larger group in Iron 3 than in Bronze 1. However, aside from that minor detail, the rest of the Valorant rank distribution is in a pretty healthy state.
These percentages are bound to change as we get closer to the end of Episode 6. As more people start to grind and put in the hours, there are bound to be demotions and promotions to occur.
Unfortunately, we cannot provide you with the exact number of people within each rank since Riot doesn’t make these numbers publicly accessible. But, there are an estimated total of 22,703,469 average monthly Valorant players for March 2023.
We can then use the total average monthly Valorant players to get a rough estimate for the number of players within each rank. Simply multiply the total number of players by the percentage of each rank. Assuming all 22 million players are ranked, there should only be around 681, 104 players in Radiant. Sheeesh
Do remember, though, that it’s only a very rough estimate since not all 22 million players actively play ranked games. However, it does give you a pretty great perspective on how you fare against the other players within your skill range.
How Do Rank Distribution Resets Work in Valorant?
Of course, these statistics aren’t going to be accurate forever. Factors such as player loss, new players, meta shifts, and skill disparities, among many others. To prevent inconsistencies in the Valorant rank distribution, Riot does a rank reset at the end of every Act and Episode.
They implement these resets to determine whether each player actually deserves the rank they get. This also gives a refreshing start to players, especially those who are tilted and have had enough of the Valorant rank grind.
The rank resets work differently depending on whether it’s the end of an Act or the end of an Episode. Let’s go a little bit more in-depth about how these resets work.
How Does A Valorant Act Reset Work?
Like the name suggests, Act rank resets occur at the end of every Valorant Act. They are generally considered as “soft resets” that are put into place to check which currently ranked players are still active.
During Act resets, the leaderboards are reset, and everyone in it drops to 10% of their current Rank Rating. This allows lower in the leaderboards or nearly at the leaderboards the chance to get a higher leaderboard ranking. It also makes sure that the top players in the world are constantly battling for positioning and that no one remains stagnant.
For those of us ranked Ascendant or below, we don’t have to worry about much. Our RR doesn’t drop at all, and we’re only required to play one game to get our previous rank. That placement game still applies the regular rewards or penalties that you get in normal Valorant ranked games. Your rank and RR get revealed and adjusted accordingly after playing one placement game.
The soft reset allows for lower-ranked players to continue putting in the hard work and grinding on Valorant for hours to get their dream rank. This also allows the leaderboards to remain a competitive environment where the world’s best players can battle it out.
An Act lasts for about two months. This gives players enough time to grind for their Act rank and get ready for the next Acts to come. This also allows enough time for specific metas to develop, agents to be adjusted, and new strategies to be formed.
The Act reset shouldn’t be much trouble for any active Valorant player, but it’s an important mechanic that keeps the Valorant rank distribution healthy and in check.
How Does A Valorant Episode Rank Reset Work?
Another rank reset occurs at the end of every episode. This is more of a “hard reset” where everybody is given a fresh chance. Unlike the Act resets, which are more or less active player checks, the Episode resets are done to recalibrate the Valorant rank distribution. These hard resets help keep the Valorant rank distribution accurate and updated in the long term.
During Episode rank resets, everyone gets a fresh start. It doesn’t matter if you’re Bronze, Plat, or Radiant. Your rank still resets to the default “Unranked” status. To get your starting rank for that Episode, you’ll have to play 5 placement games. The highest you can place, even if you were Radiant, is Diamond 1.
These placement games adjust your hidden MMR drastically. Although you won’t be jumping from Bronze to Diamond during these resets, they still play a big part in fixing your MMR. After playing the 5 placement games, you’ll typically end up around 1 to 4 ranks lower than what you ended the previous Episode with.
The Episode rank resets make for a fun and competitive environment that allows you to keep grinding at the game. It also helps lessen the amount of “boosted” players because their ranks get dropped closer to their actual values.
During this time, the Valorant rank distribution is going to be a little all over the place. This is because everyone is still getting their new shiny ranks. Some will be placed higher, some will be placed lower, and the grind still continues. However, this should balance out as the Episode progresses and as players get the ranks that match their actual skill level.
Conclusion
And that’s the end of our article. Hopefully, we were able to give you a great look at the current state of the Valorant rank distribution, and we were able to help you find out where you stand among other players.
Competitive can be a hard and challenging game mode to play. We all want to get the best rank we can before each Episode ends. It’s a representation of the hard work that we’ve put into Valorant, and of course, we get to brag about it to our friends.
So, where did you end up within the current Valorant rank distribution? Leave a comment down below.
