VALORANT Act Rank Reset Explained (2026): What Resets and When

"New Act, new rank" was true in VALORANT's early years. Since the game switched from Episodes to seasons named for the year, the reset has two very different sizes, and knowing which one is coming decides how you should spend the last weeks of an Act. This guide covers the system as it stands on 31 October 2026 (V26 // Act VI, patch 13.09): the V26 calendar, what a full reset does, what the smaller Act changes do, Act Rank and the ranked gun buddy, what carries over, and how to plan around the end of Act VI.

The V26 calendar: six Acts, two full resets

Each Act opens with a patch. Riot publishes the notes at 13:00 UTC on the first date; Europe and Asia-Pacific usually get the update overnight, hence the two dates.

Act VI is the long winter Act: it is scheduled to run until 5–6 January 2027, depending on region, when the 2027 season begins with Act I and the next full reset. The season calendar counts down to it in your own time zone.

What a full reset (Act I and Act IV) does

At the start of each season and at mid-season, every player — Iron to Radiant — plays five placement matches before a rank is shown again. The rules that matter:

• The ceiling is Ascendant 3. Nobody places higher, so every Immortal and Radiant player has to win the top ranks again in ordinary games.
• Placement is seeded by your hidden MMR, not by a blank slate — players who finished high usually place high.
• Riot places on the low side on purpose, so expect a dip below your old rank and bigger gains in the games that follow.
• You start on 50 RR in the division you are placed in.

Our placement matches guide covers how to prepare for the five games.

What happens in the other four Acts

In Acts II, III, V and VI the reset is light. Your rank doesn't drop automatically; you play one placement match to show it again, and Riot warns it can drop if that game goes badly. Your hidden MMR isn't touched, which is why that single game usually puts you back close to where you finished.

The exception is the top of the ladder. Immortal and Radiant players also play one game and keep their leaderboard position, but their RR is cut by 90%: 450 RR becomes 45. Because Radiant needs your region's RR line, the cut returns every Radiant to Immortal until they win the RR back — see the Immortal and Radiant guide.

Act Rank, badges and the ranked gun buddy

Your rank is where you are now. Your Act Rank is the rank of your highest ranked win in the Act — Riot calls it your proven skill, and a win counts at the rank you hold when the match ends, so a game that promotes you counts at the new rank. Each win adds a triangle to the Act Rank pyramid, and higher wins gradually replace lower ones.

• Nine wins in an Act earn the Act Rank badge and qualify you for ranked rewards. The badge appears on your Career page and player card once the Act ends, and its border evolves at 9, 25, 50, 75 and 100 wins.
• The gun buddy: at mid-season and at season end Riot gives a buddy matching your highest Act Rank badge. Riot doesn't spell out which Acts count toward each buddy, so the safe reading is to have your best badge of each half by the time Act III and Act VI close.
• Changes ahead: Riot said in May 2026 that the V26 Act III and Act VI buddies are the last to be the main ranked reward, with a progression-based reward system planned for 2027.
• Rank Legacy (patch 13.06) counts how often you have reached each rank — at most once per rank in Acts I–III and once in Acts IV–VI, so the season's two halves are tracked separately.

What carries over and what doesn't

Planning around the end of Act VI

1. Get your nine wins early.

   Without nine Competitive wins in Act VI there is no badge for it, whatever rank you reach.

2. Climb before the January reset.

   Your highest win of the Act sets the badge, and the 2027 placements are seeded from your MMR — a strong finish carries into the new season.

3. Expect five placements in January.

   The 2027 Act I is a full reset: five games, nothing above Ascendant 3, and a start on the low side. Read the patch notes first — maps rotate at Act starts.

4. Don't panic after placements.

   The games right after a reset swing more while rank and MMR converge. Judge your rank after ten games, not two.

5. Immortal players: your peak is what counts.

   The badge comes from your highest win of the Act, while leaderboard RR is cut at the one-game Acts and rebuilt from Ascendant 3 after a full reset. A late slump costs less than it feels — but every loss still lowers the MMR your placements read.

Help around the reset

The weeks around a reset are when players most often want help — with the placement games themselves, with the divisions a reset took away, or with the nine wins a badge needs. Five placement games after a Gold finish are $11.70 today, and nine net wins at Gold 1 $21.87. Riot's rules forbid boosting, and since patch 13.01 confirmed rank manipulation is reverted, rewards included, and can lead to a suspension — read the safety guide before ordering.

• Placements: one to five games, priced by the rank you finished last Act.
• Win it back: Rank Boost from where you placed to any division up to Immortal 3.
• The badge: Ranked Net Wins at your current rank.

Related guides: placement matches · VALORANT ranks explained · the map pool