Riot to replace Valorant’s top rank with new title after full release

Valorant’s top-tier rank – confusingly labeled ‘Valorant’ throughout the closed beta – will be getting a highly-requested name change upon the full release.

With Valorant’s Tuesday, June 2 release date right around the corner, Riot has addressed one crucial tweak that competitive players can expect at launch. A number of fixes are already set to go live on day one of the full release, but this particularly nagging problem had been left unanswered until now.

After weeks of backlash towards the top Valorant rank sharing the same name as the game, an adjustment is on the way. Though what exactly will the new label be?

“When we were brainstorming these names, Valorant seemed like a really awesome choice for the top rank,” senior designer Sean Szopinski said in an interview with Polygon. It stands atop Immortal and all other ranks as the single most alluring goal in Valorant’s competitive playlist.

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However, he acknowledged that after a few weeks of the general public going hands-on, the label became “a bit confusing.” Referring to a group of players using the same name as the full title, came with its fair share of complications. “We get it. I get,” Szopinski reassured. “We’ll change it for launch.”

The replacement title wasn’t revealed, so players will have to wait until the full release to learn the new name. It could fall in line with League of Legends’ Challenger ranking, or be something entirely new just for Valorant.

A label change isn’t all that’s on the way for competitive players though. The developer also teased that higher-tier players will soon have something more to grind for, other than just reaching the top rank.

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“As for showing specific rating for top players, this is something that we have discussed a lot and will eventually be part of Valorant’s Competitive Ecosystem,”

Former Overwatch League professional and popular streamer Daniel ‘Dafran’ Francesca recently slammed the game’s ranked mode. Arguing that there’s “nothing” to do once reaching the Valorant rank.

It appears as though Riot is fully aware of these concerns, however. The developers are not only lining up a name change, but also changing how high-tier players can flex their accomplishments.