What Is Ranked?
Ranked matches are a great way to step up your game in Pokémon Unite. If you find yourself getting more into the game and taking your win/loss ratio more seriously, you might want to consider playing ranked. Ranked matches are played the same way as normal matches, you defeat enemy Pokémon and score on the opponents goals, but they’re meant for more competitive players. Though, this mode is better if you have a group of friends to play and cooperate with, it’s also possible to solo queue and get some decent teammates depending on your rank. Your Elo or MMR rating will determine who you play with and against. This means in ranked matches, you’ll always be paired up with other players with similar ranks. If you’re a high rank, expect to be paired with other players who know what they’re doing.
The Ranking System
When you’re playing ranked, there are 6 ranks you can earn. You start at Beginner and work your way though the ranks of Great, Expert, Veteran, Ultra, and Master. Within each rank, there are classes. Think of classes as an XP bar. When you win a ranked match, your class will go up. When you reach the highest class in your rank, you’ll advance to the next rank. But watch out, if you lose matches, your class can go down and so will your rank if you lose too many. This is the main difference between casual matches and ranked play. In regular matches, even when you lose, you still level up and make progress. In ranked, you only rank up if you win a match. This gives you bragging rights as the better you play, the more matches you’ll win. The more matches you win, the higher your rank will be. This is where cooperation and good teammates become important as you don’t want your team dragging your rank down.
Requirements For Ranked
Before you are able to play in a ranked match, you’ll need to meet a few requirements. The main requirement being your trainer level needs to be 6 or higher. This can be done pretty quickly, within the first couple hours of gameplay even. This also allows you to get some casual practice in before you head to a more competitive scene. The second thing is you need to acquire 5 Pokemon licenses. Lastly, you need to have 79 or more Fairplay points. Fair play points are points that you gain from having good sportsmanship and making the game fair for everyone. You should have enough Fair-play points if you don’t abandon matches early, sit idle in games, or are being reported by other players for any reason. Once you meet these 3 requirements, you’re ready to play ranked matches!