Riot Games has just added Rank Shield to Valorant, and it could be your saving grace the next time you’re on the brink of deranking.
For the uninitiated, Rank Shields were added to the competitive mode with the newly-introduced Valorant 10.1 patch. The update also brings a few other changes to the shooter, including bug fixes for Tejo and some improvements to Premier.
But what exactly is the Rank Shield in Valorant, and how will it protect you from deranking?
In this article, we will take a look at everything you need to know about the new Rank Shield in Valorant, including its function, and how you can use it to avoid deranking.
Valorant Rank Shield: How To Use It?
As mentioned earlier, the new Rank Shield will enable you to prevent yourself from deranking in Valorant.
Here’s how it works:
- Players are given two Rank Shields when they are in Tier 1 of any rank except Radiant.
- Tier 1 ranks include Iron 1, Bronze 1, Silver 1, Gold 1, Platinum 1, Diamond 1, Ascendant 1, and Immortal 1.
- Once a player loses a game with 0 RR, one shield is consumed.
- Losing again at 0 RR consumes the second shield.
- If you have no Rank Shields remaining, losing a game will demote you to the previous rank.
- This means that you’ll effectively have to lose three games while at 0 RR to get demoted to a lower division.
- No additional Rank Shields will be provided at Tier 2 and Tier 3 of any rank.
- Rank Shields will only be replenished if a player enters Tier 1 of a rank via promotion or demotion.
Note that once you’ve consumed a Rank Shield in Valorant, you won’t be able to replenish it till you leave your current rank tier. For instance, going to 10 RR from 0 RR will not replenish your Rank Shield.
Overall, the Rank Shield is meant to provide you with a couple of additional layers of protection when you’re on the verge of deranking to a lower division.
While a portion of the community is viewing this as a positive change, a lot of Valorant players have also expressed concerns about MMR inflation. This issue has persisted in the game for a while, largely due to the lack of hard rank resets, and it appears to be further exacerbated by the introduction of Rank Shields.
