Tips for Ranking Up in Valorant

Ranking up in Valorant isn’t something you can mindlessly do. Here are some things that you should always be thinking about.

Your Mood

If you’re tilted or in a bad mood, just don’t boot up Valorant. It’s not worth it, and you’re much more likely to do badly and/or tilt the rest of your team. Just go ahead and play a casual game for the night, or take a break in between games if you’re frustrated.

This also applies if you’re on a losing streak—don’t torture yourself.

Also, don’t be afraid to hit the mute button if a teammate is being toxic and/or tilting you. It’s not worth losing a whole game just to potentially get callouts. 

Queuing Up With People

Whether you have real-life friends that also play Valorant or you meet buddies online in your ELO, it’s always better to queue up with a team rather than going solo. It’s generally pretty easy to find friendly people in the game that will team up with you if you perform well. It may take a bit of getting used to, but don’t be afraid to send friend invites to people you enjoyed playing with (and that you played well with).

However, keep internet safety in mind if you do this. And don’t be discouraged if you don’t find a solid team in one night—you’ll find people eventually.

Watch Pros

If you’re serious about ranking up in Valorant, then you should be watching players who are better than you. This can be your favorite streamers or actual pro matches. 

You can learn a lot just by seeing the correct choices that high-ELO players make. Plus, it helps you learn maps, agents, and teamwork better. Depending on what ELO you’re in, this could be a massive help. 

Going from Iron to Bronze

If you’re in Iron, don’t fret. It may be the lowest rank in Valorant, but there’s a plethora of things you can improve on, which makes it much easier to rank up. Here, there are two main things you should be working on.

1. Learning the Games

A big part of Valorant is knowing the game. Knowing the map and what Agents can do makes a huge difference in how you plan your strategies. This is the rank for learning all of that. The only real way to do this is to immerse yourself in the game, whether that’s Quick Play matches or even Competitive queues. Don’t be afraid to hop in a comp match—you can’t go down, so you can play Competitive games and see how quickly you start improving and climbing. 

Generally, Iron is a friendly rank. You won’t run into too many toxic players, and you may find some friends that you can work with to get better. 

2. Aiming

Learning how to aim in Iron doesn’t mean hitting back-to-back headshots. If you’re not used to FPS games—and many at this rank aren’t—then working on actually landing your shots is an important thing to do. 

You can do this with the in-game practice tools. There are several different activities you can choose from, and most of them will help you focus on your aim. 

What to Stop Doing: Walking and Spraying

Valorant punishes people who “spray and pray.” It’s hard to resist the temptation to run and gun, but it’s a habit you should be getting out of as soon as possible. Essentially, when you’re moving, the potential places your spray of bullets can go increases a very large amount. Unless you’re literally on top of an enemy, it’s not worth it. 

Going from Bronze to Silver

Once you’ve got the  basics of the game down, then you’ll probably find yourself in Bronze. There are a few things you can do to get out of the second-to-last rank. If you feel stuck, don’t stress—Bronze games tend to fluctuate, and you can go through all three tiers in one night if you’re lucky.

1. Crosshair Placement

Bronze is the rank where you’ll need to work at hitting headshots. For the most part, this is another thing that just takes practice. However, practicing in games can be a bit difficult since you may not always have a chance to focus on the enemy’s head.

Many of the maps have points along the wall that help you aim at the right height. You’ll see them scattered around, and things like molding and half-walls are good examples of what to look for. 

2. Movement

A lot of Valorant is about movement, and the difference between Bronze and Silver players is generally seen in how they move. More often than not, Bronze players are a bit hesitant in their decisions, and they move more awkwardly because of it. 

While you’re getting through Bronze, don’t be afraid to commit to an action and practice moving around the map. If you’d like to challenge your movement, go into Practice mode with Raze. Use her abilities to boost yourself around until you feel comfortable with the physics of the game. 

What to Stop Doing: Playing Every Agent

It’s always good to have a well-rounded team, but you’re not going to climb the ranks easily by switching the Agent you play every game. Try to stick to a few, even if they cover the same roles in a team. It’s not the best idea to only play Duelists, but if that’s all you can play, it’s better to choose an Agent you know than lose games because you aren’t familiar with how to use an unfamiliar Agent’s abilities. 
Going from Silver to Gold

Congrats! If you’ve made it this far, then you’re ranked higher than roughly 50 percent of Valorant’s players. However, there’s still a lot to improve on if you’re aiming for the top.

1. Focus on Winning Rounds

In prior ranks, it’s easy to mostly focus on killing the enemy team instead of the objective. However, if you want to get into Gold, you’ll need to make planting/defusing the Spike your main priority.

You should build habits like playing for time when you can, or making enemies run around you while you stop them from defusing. Learning team lineups can help a lot with this, and most Agents have some kind of lineup that makes defusing the Spike difficult. Don’t focus on your kill-to-death ratio anymore and work to win the game.

2. Play Your Agent Correctly

Look, Battle Sages are great and all, but are they always the best way to play? Sometimes the answer’s no, depending on the current meta. Playing your Agent the way they’re most commonly played will help you reach Gold. Your teammates can better predict what you’re going to do, and it’s generally just a better way to play. 

There’s a reason Jett isn’t a smoker, even though she has a smoke in her kit. Play the game the way it’s meant to be, and you’ll see more consistent success. 

What to Stop Doing: Crouching

If you came from other FPS games, then you’re probably used to crouching. Even people who have only played Valorant may have picked up the habit of crouching, moving, and shooting at the same time. Silver is the rank to stop doing this.While you may cheese a few kills, you’re more often than not going to die quicker because you can’t move fast enough and enemies that aren’t the best shots are going to headshot you more often. 
Going from Gold to Platinum

If you’re trying to get to Platinum, there are a few key things you’ll need to focus on. This section deals with the macros of Valorant, which can be hard to learn alone. Watching pros play and listening to commentary here can be crucial in upping your game. 

1. Game Sense

The difference between Gold and Platinum Valorant players has a lot to do with game sense. Knowing the ins and outs of the maps, the best places to plant, what route you should take, and where your blind spots are are all incredibly important at this rank. 

Players at this level aren’t going to whiff the majority of their shots unless they’re having a really bad game. (We’ve all been there). It’s more important than ever to catch them off guard, and improving your game sense helps do this. 

2. Find Your Agent(s)

It’s time to really hone in on one or two Agents and play them as often as you can. Working as a team is pretty important, so having a backup option or two to cover different roles can be a good idea—however, you should be specializing in only two Agents max. 

While you may be able to use any Agent in the game, there are things that you’ll only learn by playing the same Agent over and over again. First-hand knowledge like the timing of certain abilities can make or break a round, so having one or two Agents that you know the ins and outs of is ideal. 

What to Stop Doing: Buying Every Round

The economy in Valorant is complex and tricky—it’s easy to think that you should always buy the best weapons you can, but that’s seldom the case. 

Learning how and when to save, what abilities each Agent should prioritize on buying, and what rounds are best to buy in is complicated. However, good economy is one of the biggest indicators of a high ELO player, and it’s incredibly important in games. 
Going from Platinum to Diamond

If you’re trying to get from Platinum to Diamond, you may want to brace yourself. This is the rank that most players find themselves "hardstuck" at, and there are a lot of theories as to why. There are a few things you can focus on, though. 

1. Play With Your Team

At the end of the day, Valorant is a team game. If you have a team that plays well together, then you’re going to do better more consistently—and that’s the key to getting out of Platinum. 

Things like cross-holding an angle, taking a site together, and swinging with other players can make the game really tough for your enemies. If you’re in Platinum, everyone already knows you’re pretty great at the game—you don’t need to one-v-one every enemy to prove it. 

2. Communicate

Part of playing with your team means communicating with them. Even if you don’t have a mic, it’s important to be pinging information as you see it, which can be a bit tricky if you don’t have good bindings set up for this. However, a simple ping can make the difference between an enemy being able to sneak up on your teammates. No matter how frustrated you are with your team, at the end of the day, you still want to win.

Because there are a lot of people stuck in Platinum, the communication skills in the rank can be up and down. Unfortunately, this means that players are often toxic. Muting toxic or troll teammates lets you focus on the game, which will have a better outcome if you let them tilt you.

What to Stop Doing: Blaming Your Team

Yes, you’re going to run into uncooperative teammates that make the game much harder than it should be. However, that's not going to be the main reason you constantly lose ELO. You may feel like you know what you’re doing because you’re already in Platinum, but you should be looking at your gameplay and seeing how you can improve. 

Going from Diamond to Ascendent

Getting to Ascendent is difficult, and there’s not much you can do except find ways to make sure you’re playing at the top of your game. There are two things you can work on.

1. Becoming Consistent

Everyone has good or bad games, but if you’re trying to get to Ascendent, you’ll need to know how to avoid your bad games. Warm-ups are key to this, and it helps you gauge how you’re playing on a particular day while also getting you ready to play competitive games. Going through various Practice modes is a great way to warm up.

2. Work On Your Mental Space

At a high level, Valorant is going to test you mentally. It’s easy to beat yourself up over mistakes or slip into a spiral once things start looking down—but if you want to hit Ascendant, you need to stay cool in all of your games. This takes practice and learning what you need to do to help yourself.

Going from Ascendent to Immortal

If you’re trying to get into Immortal, then good luck! This is the highest rank in Valorant, and you’ll be competing with actual pros if you get there. 

Immortal requires you to be on the top of your game every single game. This means making the perfect choices in every situation, not missing any shots, staying cool while communicating, and every other thing on this list. It’s not for the weak of heart, and it’ll take thousands of hours of practice for most people. 

However, if you’ve managed to rise through the ranks, then you may just have a shot. Ranking up in Valorant isn’t easy, but hard work pays off. 

You can download Valorant on the Epic Games Store.