How to earn more SR in MW2 Ranked Play
The way SR works in MW2's competitive Ranked Play is confusing and can feel unjust. Why should two teammates earn varying amounts of SR when they both worked together to defeat the same opponents?
Let's review how SR works in Ranked Play and how to earn more of them in MW2.
How SR works in Ranked Play
Skill Rating (SR) represents your skill in Ranked Play. Therefore, your Skill Division is determined by your SR.
Everyone who ventures into Ranked Play begins with zero SR and is in the Bronze I Skill Division. Simply put, you gain SR by winning matches and lose SR when you squander a match. Personal and team performance also factors into your SR gains.
Click to enlargeHowever, there is another largely unknown factor that helps determine your SR gains and losses called Hidden Performance Range (HPR). Treyarch has a system working in the background that judges your performance compared to other players. While SR is your actual rating, HPR is essentially what Treyarch's underlying performance systems believe you should be rated.
SR and HPR are directly tied, but they are separate ratings. Beating players with an HPR higher than yours will further boost your SR gains while losing to players with a lower HPR will punish you with extra SR losses. The influence HPR has on SR is why there can be such a disparity in SR gains and losses between different players.
How can you earn more SR?
For starters, winning and performing well in your first handful of matches in Ranked Play will blast you up the Skill Divisions. When you first jump into Ranked Play, your SR is zero.
However, dominate the lower Skill Divisions, and Treyarch's underlying performance systems may determine early on that your HPR is that of a top-tier player. Consequently, you will gain tons of SR as the system tries to raise you up to where it thinks you belong.
Click to enlargeAlso, in lower Skill Divisions, personal performance plays a large role in SR gains and losses. If you can pop off individually while climbing the Bronze through Platinum Skill Divisions, you will find that you gain more SR than your counterparts.
In higher Skill Divisions, team performance takes priority. To ensure you're maximizing your SR gains in Skill Divisions such as Diamond, Crimson, and Iridescent, it's important to put your personal stats aside and focus on aiding your team as a whole. If your entire squad does well and wins convincingly, your SR gains will reflect that.
If you begin trading wins and losses back and forth, you may find that your SR gains start leveling off. If this happens, it means that Treyarch's HPR thinks that the Skill Division you currently reside in is where you truly belong.
To escape what's commonly referred to as "ELO hell", you must improve your overall performance and persuade Treyarch's underlying performance systems into believing that you deserve to rise the ranks further.
We know how frustrating it can be to see your friends gaining nearly 100 SR after each win while you only get 25. But at least now you have an understanding of how Skill Rating works in Ranked Play. Use this information to earn more SR in Ranked Play.
Climb the Skill Divisions fast with the best MW2 Ranked Play Classes.