Everything about the Marvel Rivals ranking system

Competitive Play in Marvel Rivals ^[1] launched shortly after the game's release in Season 0, offering an opportunity for dedicated players to improve their gameplay by competing against others within skill brackets. This ranked system, much like other games, requires you to unlock it and move through the tiers based on your performance. While it's pretty straightforward, it has an added Marvel Rivals touch.

If you're curious about participation criteria, prizes, or how the ranking system works, the guide below summarises everything you need to know about Competitive matches plus how to climb the ranks effectively. From how players can unlock the rank to how the rank breakdown works, we’re here to go through everything about ranked in Marvel Rivals.

So, without further ado, here’s everything to know about the Marvel Rivals ranked system.

How to unlock Competitive in Marvel Rivals

Players must progress their profile to level 10 to unlock Competitive Play in Marvel Rivals. It's an easily reachable milestone, especially thanks to modes like Quick Play that can help players level up fast - so long as they have more wins than losses. Once available, players can participate in Competitive matches on their own or with friends whose rankings are near each other; for example, Bronze with Silver or Gold.

Rank Breakdown in Marvel Rivals

Marvel Rivals' ranking system has eight ranks. Each of the first six is subdivided into three divisions so that players can progress incrementally while climbing. However, the elite two ranks abandon divisions in favor of an elo-based system based on performance metrics. This allows proper placement and progression of players at the highest levels of competitive play. 

• Bronze III, Brone II, Bronze I
• Silver III, Silver II, Silver I
• Gold III, Gold II, Gold I
• Platinum III, Platinum II, Platinum I
• Diamond III, Diamond II, Diamond I
• Grandmaster III, Grandmaster II, Grandmaster I
• Eternity
• One Above All

Bronze

All players begin their competitive journey at Bronze Division 3 with 0 rank points. As players win matches, their rank points increase, ultimately putting them into higher divisions as their core mechanics, strategies, and game sense evolve. However, losing competitions deducts rank points. These divisions help players recognize their progress, foster opportunities for improvement, and reward success.

Silver

Silver is just one rank higher than Bronze; this is where players begin to learn about tactics, teamwork, and improving their game mechanics. Most people at this level have a more consistent execution of strategies and a flexible adjustment to the flow of games. Players are beginning to prove their competitive spirit and contribution to the team's success.

Gold

Players polish their skills with specific heroes and drill down to their strengths and abilities in matchups. Some players begin to explore advanced strategies such as team composition and counterplay while practicing pressurized decision-making. In general, all these pass-throughs require a more complicated understanding of game mechanics and proper communication with teammates.

Platinum 

Obtaining this rank marks a considerable jump in skill: the players show much stronger coordination and the ability to adapt to dynamic situations. Players also gradually come out of the narrow focus on their own individual goals and into the importance of collective victory, drawing upon their experience to pull off more complex measures against opponent strategies.

Diamond 

Diamond rank defines an unparalleled stage of expertise in individual hero mastery along with perfect team dynamics. These players are the most important for the competitive scene, showing sharp strategic thinking, exceptional mechanics, and the ability to synergize seamlessly with teammates.

Grandmaster

At the topmost echelon of competition, there is Grandmaster- the rank reserved for the elite of the elite. Attaining and holding such a ranking requires unparalleled skills, extensive game knowledge, and impeccable performance under pressure. Players at this level show coordination, adaptability, and mastery of their heroes like no other.

Eternity

In competitive gaming, Eternity is the first of the two elite ranks. Players in this rank can demonstrate exceptional control and strategy, constantly pushing the boundaries of gameplay. Progress in Eternity is purely done by elo points instead of divisions.

One above all

As the apex of the ranking system, this tier is reserved for the world’s most elite players. Reaching this rank is rare, requiring an extraordinary level of skill, strategic prowess, and unbreakable commitment. It stands as the ultimate testament to mastery and dedication in competitive play, marking its achievers as the global best.

How Team-Ups work in Marvel Rivals

When teaming up with friends in Marvel Rivals, matchmaking is limited to players within adjacent ranks. Bronze and Silver are treated as one rank, allowing players of both ranks to match with each other and Gold players. This is the same for Platinum players who can team with Gold, Platinum, and Diamond players. However, the elite ranks (Eternity and One Above All) are limited to each other. This means that players in these ranks can only match together to ensure balanced and fair competition across the board.

Advancement of Ranks: Points and Progressive Accumulation

Marvel Rivals uses a ranking point system wherein players gain points for winning and lose points for losing.

• Starting Point: All players start in Bronze Division 3 with 0 out of 100 points.
• Moving Up in Ranks: Players advance into the next division or rank once they have amassed 100 points in a division. For example, from Bronze Division 2 to Bronze Division 1, the next 100 points will jump you up to Siver Division 3.
• Elo System for Elite Levels: At the Eternity level, divisions are replaced by an elo-based system in which performance affects actual ranking in the leaderboard.

Rank protection- What are Chrono Shields? 

Chrono Shields are items earned as you play through the ranks in Marvel Rivals, which prevents immediate demotion. The moment a player reaches 0 points in Division 3 of a rank, the Chrono Shield comes into effect, preventing movement to the previous rank (e.g., Platinum to Gold).

The Chrono Shield will be consumed after a defeat to recover points lost, allowing players to recover and gain wins. However, players who lose back-to-back matches while under the effect of this shield will be demoted to a lower rank.

The Top-Tier Rank Decay

The top two ranks, Eternity and One Above All have a rank decay system for preserving the competition's integrity. Inactive players lose their rank points, and at some point, they may be demoted. This mechanism encourages players to keep an active role in their elite standing. It resembles rank decay systems in other competitive games. Thus, only the most loyal and dedicated players can retain these fancy ranks.

Some tips for winning competitive in Marvel Rivals

Now that you know everything about how players can unlock competitive and how the various systems work, it’s time to go through some tips for competitive mode.

Warm up first

You might want to jump straight into queuing for competitive, but that could end up being a grave mistake. To maximize your wins, you should play one normal match- Quick Play, Conquest, or Practice range, choose any mode where you can practice your main and reignite muscle memory. It’s better to sit through a single boring match than start on the wrong foot, pulling you and your team down.

Master a few heroes and stay adaptable.

A common mistake by players is to have a singular main they always choose. But what if your main gets taken before you can claim it? Learning to fill in for your team is important as well. For example, if you’re a duelist main but your team already has a duelist and no strategists, the best thing to do is take on the missing role.

This increases your team’s chances of success and is another reason why you should practice a handful of heroes to keep yourself adaptable. Keep in mind to never try out new characters in competitive to avoid losses!

Stay consistent

As we saw above under Rank Decay, being inconsistent can cause you to lose your rank. Other than this, however, staying consistent is important to improve your skills. This works both ways: beginners need to stay consistent to climb the ranks and experts need to stay consistent to maintain their ranks. 

Target strategists

Strategists are paramount to the survival and success of any team, which makes them the deciding factor between victory and defeat. As such, an obvious gateway to winning is to target them; however, this can be difficult since they usually stay in the back while enemy duelists and tanks take the front line.

This means that to get rid of opponent strategists, you need to get behind enemy lines to take them out, leading to another tip: never flank alone unless you’re a really skilled duelist. It’s best to go in pairs, even better if you have a healer with you.

Competitive rewards in Marvel Rivals

Marvel Rivals offers rewards at the end of every season according to the highest rank achieved by a player. For the current season (season 0) these are the rewards you can obtain:

• Exclusive Cosmetics: For example, during Season 0, the players who earned at least Gold III were awarded Moon Knight’s Golden Moonlight skin.
• Honor Crests: Grandmaster and Eternity ranks earn a Silver Crest, while the top 500 players get a Gold Crest. These crests can be added to player cards, allowing everyone to see their achievements.
• In-Game Currency & Titles: Players can also obtain titles and currency to further customize their profiles and unlock new heroes.

All of these motivate players to continue doing their best and move along the ranks.

FAQs

What level does ranked unlock in Marvel Rivals?

Ranked mode in Marvel Rivals unlocks as soon as the player hits level 10. This will likely naturally happen as players simply play quick matches with friends and the level is high enough to ensure players players have a good understanding of the game and its roles.

Can you play competitive mode in crossplay?

No. Marvel Rivals’ competitive modes don’t support cross-play and only players on the same console or device can play competitive with each other. This is likely to ensure there’s no unfair disadvantage for players who use controllers.

References

1. [1] "Official Marvel Rivals website". www.marvelrivals.com. Retrieved January 04, 2025