Shortly after the game’s early access release, the first competitive season began, giving players their first chance to conquer the rankings and carve their legend among the stars! This system worked great for the first seasons of the game but it started showing some shortcomings, particularly as the difference between veteran and newer players grew larger.

We are excited to announce a major upgrade to our ranking system, set to launch this week! With this update, our aim is to introduce a clearer progression system that creates a more engaging and rewarding experience for players of all skill levels, from newcomers to seasoned veterans.

New Progression System: From Iron to Legendary

The new ranking system replaces the ELO rating with a tiered division structure. Players will progress from Iron to the Legendary rank. Here’s how it works:

• Divisions and Ranks: Players start at Iron Division I and progress through 30 ranks, divided into six divisions: Iron, Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, and Diamond. Each division has five ranks (I to V).
• Honours: Each victory grants an Honour. To advance from Iron Division I to Iron Division II, you need 2 Honours. The required Honours increase gradually, up to 5. From Bronze Division onwards, defeats will remove one Honour. Players cannot drop to a lower division within a season, encouraging mid-season experimentation.
• Draws do not grant or remove Honours.
• Win Streaks: Starting from the third consecutive victory and lasting until the player loses or draws a match, each win grants 2 Honours instead of 1.
• Matchmaking and MMR: The matchmaking system will try to pair you up with players of your same division, but you could find yourself playing against players who are one division lower or higher than you. No challenge is too big or too small if you wish to conquer the ranks!

Become a Legend: How the Legendary Division works

After reaching the Legendary division, you will face a different challenge if you wish to top the charts. Players who reach Legendary division will start competing to increase their ‘Faction Ratings’. Here’s how it works:

• Promotion to Legendary: Players who earn 5 Honours in Diamond Division V advance to the Legendary Division. Remember you cannot be demoted from your highest division within the season.
• Faction-specific rating: Upon reaching Legendary, players start with a Rating of 2500 for each faction. Winning and losing games while playing a particular faction will adjust that faction’s rating similarly to how the old MMR system did.
• Faction Leaderboards: Separate leaderboards will exist for each faction, based on the highest rating achieved this season. Only the highest rating each player has reached this season will be taken into account, so players will not drop in the leaderboard when they lose matches and their ‘current’ rating drops.
• Global Leaderboard: A Global Leaderboard will rank players by their Global Rating, which is the average of their four highest Faction Ratings. This means that players will be more likely to top the Global Leaderboards if they show their expertise at the command of multiple factions during the season.

End of Season: Rewards and Resets

No ranked season would be complete without epic rewards! When the new ranked system launches, the end-of-season rewards will be very similar to the current system. We aim to introduce some extra goodies in the future, but for the moment here is how the end of the season will work:

• Rewards: All players who participate in at least one ranked match per season will receive rewards based on their final rank. The top 200 players on the Global Leaderboard will receive the greatest prizes, with the top 50 adding an exclusive card back to their collection.
• Rating Resets: At season’s end, players lose some rating. Those in the Legendary Division with a Global Rating above 3000 will stay in Legendary, with all faction ratings reset to 2500. All others will drop 2 ranks (for example, from Legendary to Diamond IV, or from Gold III to Gold I). No player will drop lower than rank Bronze I during this reset.
• Legendary Points: Players above 2500 Global Rating receive legendary points equal to their excess rating above 2500, which will be added to their profile tally for bragging rights.

Transition to the New System

At the beginning of the first season under this new ranked system, players will be placed in the rank closer to their rating at the end of the previous season:

• Players with 2500+ rating will begin the season in the Legendary Division, with all their faction ratings starting at 2500.
• Players below 2500 rating will begin the season in the rank closer to their rating.
• No one will go down 2 ranks during the transition between the old and the new ranking system.

With this new ranked system, we wanted to strike a balance between a clear and fun progression system for newer players and a way to promote a diverse, skill-rewarding ranked system for the most veteran ones. We can’t wait to see it in action and watch new legends rise to the top, be they in the faction-specific Leaderboards at the command of their favoured faction, or in the Global Rankings displaying their mastery over the Galaxy’s greatest warriors.

Hone your decks! Prepare to fight like never before and climb the ranks in the new and improved Warpforge competitive season. See you battling among the stars, commander!