Deadlock's ranked rework leaves players grinding back to old ranks

Deadlock players are struggling to settle into the ranked mode Valve introduced late last week, according to a report by PC Gamer, which describes widespread frustration on the game's subreddit over placements, hero restrictions and the pace of climbing.

The update replaced the rudimentary ranked system that had been in place for roughly two years. Valve reworked the matchmaking underneath it, introduced a set of rules governing how players move up the ranks, and created a separate standard mode for casual play. The studio told players ahead of the change that the first week or so would be turbulent while the system sorted everyone into a rank.

PC Gamer reports that the severity of that adjustment period has caught players out. One of the most-discussed changes is a requirement to record 15 wins with a hero before that hero can be played in ranked. In practice, that sends players into the new standard mode to accumulate wins first, which the outlet describes as a slow process — and a particularly awkward one for players who spent their time in Deadlock playing a single hero and are only now broadening their pool.

Placements are landing lower than before

Players who previously sat in the highest tier are reportedly finishing their placement matches three or four levels below where they were, which has made match quality inconsistent at the top end as well. Progress toward the next rank is tracked through a points system whose gains and losses shift with the skill distribution of a given match, so a decisive win can yield very little movement — behaviour PC Gamer says has confused players trying to return to their previous rank.

The outlet suggests part of what players are seeing is a ranked system still recalibrating what each tier represents, with a smaller pool of players now spread across two modes. Deadlock remains invite-only and unfinished, and its player counts are correspondingly small compared with established competitors, which makes match quality more variable than it would be in a larger game.

Valve has not announced further changes to the ranked system since the update went live. 1vX.gg has not independently verified the player accounts described in the report.