A new competitive mode will be introduced in Fortnite and we expect it to be very popular with the community.
Epic Games recently announced the arrival of a brand new Ranked Mode in Fortnite to replace Arena from Tuesday, May 16, 2023 onwards at the launch of update 24.40.
This announcement has not failed to delight many competitive Fortnite players, both amateurs and professionals, even if opinions remain rather mixed on this new feature that will change the current competitive system.
How The New Fortnite Ranked Mode Will Work
First of all, let's quickly go over how this new Ranked Mode will work, which should still be quite different from the Arena and its ranks.
New ranks are introduced:
- Bronze
- Silver
- Gold
- Platinum
- Diamond
- Elite
- Champion
- Unreal
This is the end of the three rank system of the Arena (Open, Contended & Champion) and adds a bit more diversity and especially gets closer to the ranks of other games like Valorant or Call of Duty: Warzone 2 which also just released its first Ranked mode a few days ago.
What Are The Ranked Game Modes?
As expected, the Ranked mode will feature both Battle Royale and Zero Build to include as many players as possible. However, the ranks of these two modes will be logically separated. Sadly, you won't be able to play with all your friends in each mode, here's the breakdown:
- Battle Royale: Solo, Duos, Squads
- Zero Build: Duos
Who Can Play In Fortnite Ranked?
There are only a few criteria in order to enable Ranked mode in Fortnite. First of all, you should know that this competitive mode will be available in any region. But if you are new to the game, you will have to complete a specific Quest: Outlast 500 opponents.
This is still a fairly simple and quick quest to complete that you can finish in just 2-3 hours of play.
Will Ranked Impact Tournaments Like FNCS?
There will be a season system like with Arena. We start in Season Zero until the beginning of Chapter 4 Season 3 when Season 1 can start. And from Season 1 onwards, you will have to reach a specific rank in order to participate in certain tournaments, including FNCS and Icon Series Cups for example.
The expected rank will of course be different for each tournament, but expect to be ranked at least Elite or Champion for FNCS, Fortnite's most prestigious competition.
When Does Ranked Season 1 Start?
It's confirmed, there will be a season system for the Ranked mode.
From the v24.40 update until Chapter 4 Season 3, we'll be in Season Zero, which is more or less a crash test to give the developers time to make adjustments based on feedback from the community. Then, at the start of C4S3, we will finally move to Season 1 to follow the traditional Fortnite Battle Royale season schedule.
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How To Climb in Ranked
This is pretty straightforward and also different from Arena. Of course, your placement at the end of each game will count. But it's the eliminations that will change.
The further you progress in the game, the more points you get for your eliminations. The rank of the players you eliminate will also be taken into account. This is a really interesting change from the old system and will probably encourage more stacked games and less rush.
Why You Should Grind To Unreal Rank
If you think you're high enough to qualify for the highest rank in Fortnite's Ranked system, you're probably wondering what good it would do you, and it makes sense. First, Epic Games said that players who reach Unreal Rank in the current season will necessarily stay that way until the end, they can't drop down to Champion Rank.
But that doesn't mean you'll have to slow down, as there's a public leaderboard that will rank you among the best players in the world, including some well-known players.
So, are you ready to try and become the #1 Fortnite Ranked player in the world?
Explaining Matchmaking in Fortnite Ranked
In some games with a Ranked mode, matchmaking is a headache for developers. Epic Games obviously wants to make it simple enough for Fortnite and has given its explanations.
- Solo: matched against "same or similar" rank as you.
- Duos or Squads: matched against the rank of the highest-ranked teammate.
What Do Fortnite Players Think
On the one hand, they're happy to see that Epic Games decided to change the Arena system to a visibly more polished competitive mode.
But on the other hand, they have some justified concerns, especially regarding the differentiation between ranked and unranked games.
Epic Games has announced that these differences between the two:
- Material caps from 999 to 500
- Harvesting rates increased
- Players will drop 50 of each material when eliminated
What scares some players is the absence of the Siphon mechanic which allows players to recover 50 HP after an elimination, but especially the absence of a separate loot pool for Ranked mode, as was the case in Arena with the removal of items and weapons deemed non-competitive for the game.
In any case, we're sure that players are looking forward to testing this new Ranked mode in the very near future to get a more detailed opinion on this new feature. And who knows, maybe you'll reach the Unreal rank one day!