The community is divided on the bomb Riot has dropped. Ranked Rating (RR) associated with each map changes upon the release of new maps, and it only functions with the new map. In the two weeks after a new map is released, losses on the new battleground will count less in hitting your RR, while wins always count big. Same for the older maps.
Now, this has generated excitement in some, while in others, not so much.
Well, basically Riot has been trying to stop players from dodging new maps as if it were a curse. Winning will give you a full RR boost; losing will hurt less. However, this has not sat right with some players. Azore deemed it to stop map dodging and good change, and Mufasa remarked, “the dumbest thing I’ve ever read.”
And then the math talk came into play: Would this change inflate the RR in general and thus make it less accurate? Xavier Luo (blesthades) was asked; Mae responded by saying that two weeks of reduced losses on a single map will not throw the entire system out of balance. David (TakedownFN), however, argued that it could upset the grind when combined with rank shields.
Of course, now there are the memes: “Waiter, waiter! More rank inflation please!” mocked CaptainUmayrica, to which J O H N (TribaaLChief) added that rank grinders will be “insane” at farming the new map.
Another shocker is that some people are worried about the VALORANT engine. The horrid Momoss🫶🏼 straight-up asked would they be switching to Unreal Engine 5, worried about performance. Pyro Krystal was quick to shut that down, “That’s not how game engines work, brother.”
So what’s the final verdict? Clearly, this is Riot trying to fix a genuine issue, with no one loving map dodgers. But on whether this is the correct solution, the community is still giving it loud cries. One thing is for sure: queues will be stacked once that new map drops. Is that good? Grab popcorn and watch the chaos.
And hey, at least more Icebox reworks aren’t being talked about. So far.
