VALORANT Devs Answer Questions about Unrated Balance Issues
The VALORANT developers at Riot Games have answered the fanbases burning questions about the balance issues in Unrated games.
In a dev blog, Ian Fielding, Senior Producer, and Yilin He, Senior Data Scientist, answered the question; "Some unrated games have felt really unbalanced, is it because unrated has looser matchmaking?"
A discussion about skill disparity has been raging on behind the scenes in the VALORANT player base, with many feeling like the matchmade squads they end up with are not on par with their own skill level.
Fielding and He answered this question long-form, explaining all the steps taken to produce what they hope is truly a balanced experience for all.
Both Riot Games team members explained that Unrated was a way to play the core VALORANT game mode with any one of their friends, therefore the skill range must be wider, and they do understand it can "lead to matches feeling less fair". They did drop in to the conversation, however, that they've "taken some steps at the cost of a moderate increase to queue times in order to reduce the average disparity in matches" in an effort to make the matches seem more balanced overall.
Fielding and He also confirm that the skill disparity gap in Unrated matches isn't much higher than in Ranked games, and matchmaking 'quality' is tracked, which will be a relief for those who are growing frustrated at the current system in place in VALORANT.
Images via Riot Games
