VALORANT RR and MMR Explained: How Rank Rating Moves

100 RR = next division
Demote at 0 RR plus a loss
2 Rank Shields in tier 1
Hidden MMR sets your gains

Every VALORANT player has asked it after a win that paid 14 RR and a loss that cost 26: who decides these numbers? The answer is two ratings working together — the Rank Rating you see and the matchmaking rating you don't. This guide explains both as they work on 31 October 2026 (V26 // Act VI, patch 13.09): every RR rule from promotion to Rank Shields, what decides how much a game is worth, how to read your own gains, what else changes RR, and what Riot changed in 2026.

Short answer: RR (Rank Rating) is the 0–100 bar under your rank. MMR is the hidden skill rating Riot uses to build matches and to decide how much RR each game is worth. Reach 100 RR and you move up a division with at least 10 RR; lose at 0 RR and you drop a division to at least 70 RR — unless you are in tier 1 of a rank, where two Rank Shields absorb the first two losses. When your MMR is above your rank, wins pay more than losses cost; when it is below, the reverse.

Key takeaways

The result matters most. From Iron to Ascendant, the margin of victory, standout plays and being the underdog nudge the number.
Big gains, small losses mean your MMR is ahead of your rank: the game expects you to climb.
Small gains, big losses mean your MMR is behind your rank: only a winning record fixes it.
Immortal and Radiant RR is result-only and keeps counting past 100.
2026 changed the maths: hidden MMR was reworked in patch 12.00 and RR eased in 13.00 so steady winners feel less stuck.

Two numbers: the RR you see and the MMR you don't

Rank Rating is the progress Riot shows you: a bar from 0 to 100 in every division (Riot calls them tiers) from Iron 1 to Ascendant 3, and a running total from Immortal 1 upward. MMR is Riot's own estimate of your skill. In Riot's words your rank is separate from your MMR, and you will never see the MMR — it exists to build fair matches. Every game moves both: the result changes your MMR, and the gap between your MMR and your current rank shapes how much RR that result is worth.

That design is deliberate. Riot has said it places new players on the low side so they can rise to where they belong — it calls this convergence. Until rank and MMR meet, the RR numbers are lopsided on purpose; once they meet, wins and losses even out and the climb needs a winning record.

Every RR rule in one table

Riot's two support articles on Rank Rating — one for Iron to Ascendant, one for Immortal and Radiant — set these rules:

Situation	What happens
After placements	You start at 50 RR in the division you are placed in.
Promotion	100 RR moves you up a division; you start the new one with at least 10 RR.
Demotion	At 0 RR, one more loss drops you a division; you land on 70 RR or more.
Rank Shields	Entering tier 1 of a rank gives you 2 shields: the first two losses at 0 RR there cost a shield instead of the rank.
Immortal 1	You arrive on 10 RR and RR keeps counting — no 100 RR cap from here up.
Immortal 2, 3, Radiant	Fixed regional RR lines; Radiant also needs a top-500 place in your region.

The Immortal and Radiant lines differ by region — Europe's Radiant line is 500 RR, North America's 450 — and are listed in our Immortal and Radiant guide.

What decides how much RR a game gives

Riot lists the factors in order of weight:

Winning or losing.
By far the largest factor at every rank.
Your MMR against your rank.
MMR above rank: you gain more RR on wins than you lose on losses. MMR below rank: you gain less and lose more. MMR and rank level: gains and losses come out close to even.
How you played — Iron to Ascendant only.
How much you win by, extraordinary plays and whether your team was the underdog have a smaller effect. Riot stresses it reviews your own performance, not your teammates'. From Immortal up, RR depends entirely on the result.

Riot no longer publishes per-game ranges. When RR launched in January 2021 it quoted 10–50 RR for a win and 0–30 RR for a loss below Diamond; the system has been reworked several times since, so treat those as history rather than today's limits. Our own price model assumes about 20 RR per win — five wins a division — and scales when your wins are worth more or less.

Reading your own gains

You can't see MMR, but your last ten games tell you where it sits. Compare your average RR per win with your average RR per loss:

Gains bigger than losses

For example +24 / −14. Your MMR is ahead of your rank and the system expects you to climb. Keep playing: even a 50% win rate moves you up about 5 RR a game.

Gains and losses about even

For example +20 / −19. Rank and MMR have met. From here only a winning record climbs: at 55% you net about 2.5 RR a game, roughly 40 games a division.

Losses bigger than gains

For example +14 / −24. Your MMR is below your rank — often after a lucky run of wins. You need clearly more wins than losses until the numbers turn.

Huge swings both ways

Usually a fresh rank after placements or an Act start, while the game is still converging. Give it ten games before you read anything into it.

The arithmetic is simple: your average RR per game is win rate × gain − loss rate × loss, and a division is 100 RR. The RR calculator does it for you and shows the wins a promotion takes.

How VALORANT Rank Rating moves in 2026: a division runs from 0 to 100 RR; at 100 RR you promote and start the next division with at least 10 RR; at 0 RR one more loss demotes you to at least 70 RR; in tier 1 of a rank two Rank Shields absorb the first two losses at 0 RR; MMR above your rank means wins pay more than losses cost, MMR level with your rank means about even, MMR below your rank means losses cost more; Immortal and Radiant RR depends only on the result — **One bar, one hidden number.** Your RR moves inside the division; your MMR decides how far each result moves it.Graphic: BoostPirate

Rank Shields and demotion in detail

Rank Shields arrived in patch 10.01 (January 2025) to stop a single bad session dropping you out of a rank you had earned:

Who gets them: everyone in tier 1 of a rank — Silver 1, Gold 1, Platinum 1 and so on, every rank except Radiant.
How they work: a loss at 0 RR uses one shield, a second loss at 0 RR uses the other, and the third drops you to the rank below (Gold 1 to Silver 3, for example). Riot says no extra RR is taken for the shielded games.
How you get them back: only by entering tier 1 again through a promotion or a demotion. Winning back from 0 to 10 RR doesn't refill them.
What they don't cover: tiers 2 and 3. A loss at 0 RR in Gold 2 drops you to Gold 1 straight away.
What doesn't cost one: a dodged or remade match. The Rank Details screen in the client shows how many you have left.

Things that change RR besides wins and losses

Rule	Effect on RR
Five-stack: Everyone Ascendant 3 or lower, someone outside the normal party range	−25% RR
Five-stack: One or more players Immortal 1–3	−25% RR
Five-stack: One or more players Radiant	−75% RR for the team — and Riot says any player below Radiant in that group cuts the potential RR by 90%
A new or reworked map	RR losses halved for its first two weeks in Competitive, wins paid in full (Breeze in 12.00, Summit in 13.00).
You lost to a confirmed cheater	The RR comes back after the cheater is banned, up to a cap per Act.
AFK or queue dodging over time	Riot says doing it over a prolonged period lowers your RR.
Confirmed rank manipulation	Since patch 13.01: RR and MMR reverted to before the boost, rewards reversed, possible suspension.

Groups of two or three must stay within Riot's party range instead, and groups of four can't queue at all. The full party table is in our party rank restrictions guide.

Riot's loading-screen art for Split: a dense city seen from above, with green-roofed traditional houses, a pink apartment block and a curved elevated road beside a huge grey skyscraper — **Split.** Rotated out of the Competitive pool with patch 13.08 at the start of Act VI, together with Ascent.Image: Riot Games

What changed in 2026

Patch 12.00 (6 January): the hidden MMR calculation was reworked to improve match quality and make matches more consistent.
Patch 12.05 (17 March): the Immortal 2, Immortal 3 and Radiant RR lines were re-set so the leaderboards ask the same of every region; the MMR underneath didn't change.
May developer update: Riot said matches had become less one-sided since January and acknowledged the feeling that RR losses can outweigh gains.
Patch 13.00 (23 June): RR calculations adjusted so consistent winners feel less stuck, and on PC matchmaking now keeps each team's average rank within one sub-tier.
Patch 13.06 (22 September): Performance Score, a 0–500 number, replaced ACS for the scoreboard and MVP. Riot presents it as a scoreboard measure; its notes don't say it feeds RR.

Climbing with help

When the numbers are right but the hours aren't, three of our services are built around RR. A rank boost is priced on 20 RR per win; tell us what your wins really pay and the price and time scale with it — 20% less at 25 RR a win, twice as much at 10. Five net wins at Gold 1 are $12.15 today, and five games with a pro teammate $13.50. Riot's rules forbid boosting, and since patch 13.01 confirmed rank manipulation is reverted and can lead to a suspension — read the safety guide first. Coaching is the option that stays inside the rules.

Division climb: Rank Boost to any division up to Immortal 3.
Fix the gap: Ranked Net Wins — the wins that pull a low MMR back up.
Play it yourself: Pro Teammate in duo queue on your own account, or 1-on-1 coaching.

Turn RR into a plan. Price a rank boost (from $3.15 a division), net wins (orders from $5.40) or games with a pro teammate — the booster is paid only after you approve the result.

Sources

Riot Games Support — Rank Rating (RR) for Iron through Ascendant Ranks (rules, RR factors, Rank Shields) · Rank Rating (RR) for Immortal and Radiant Ranks · VALORANT Competitive Mode FAQ (five-stacks, cheater RR restoration)
Riot Games — patch notes 10.01 (Rank Shields) · 12.00 (MMR, Breeze) · 12.05 · 13.00 (RR, matchmaking, Summit) · 13.01 · 13.06 · 13.08 · Ask VALORANT: Rank Rating edition · Episode 2 Act I competitive changes (the 2021 RR ranges) · Playing Fair
Sheep Esports — Riot details the future of VALORANT ranked (May 2026)
Checked 31 October 2026.

Free: VALORANT RR Calculator Your rank, RR, RR per win and loss and win rate in — the RR, net wins, games and days to your target rank, and the live booster quote.

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FAQ

Common questions

How much RR do you need to rank up in VALORANT?

100 RR in every division from Iron 1 to Ascendant 3, and you start the next division with at least 10 RR. From Immortal 1 RR keeps counting; Immortal 2, Immortal 3 and Radiant are regional RR thresholds.

Why do I lose more RR than I gain?

Usually because your hidden MMR sits below your current rank. Riot says you then gain less on wins and lose more on losses until rank and MMR line up again; winning more than you lose closes the gap.

How do Rank Shields work in VALORANT?

When you enter tier 1 of a rank (Silver 1, Gold 1 and so on) you get two shields. A loss at 0 RR there uses a shield instead of demoting you, and the third such loss drops you to the rank below. Tiers 2 and 3 have no shields.

Does individual performance affect RR?

From Iron to Ascendant, a little: Riot names the margin of victory, extraordinary plays and being the underdog as smaller factors next to the result. In Immortal and Radiant only the result counts.

Ready to climb?

Rank Boost

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Ranked Net Wins

Wins at your current rank; a loss doesn't count toward the total.

from $5.40Live price →

Pro Teammate (Duo Queue)

Queue with a verified pro on your own account, no login shared.

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More VALORANT guides

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