Valorant has a ranked system which is very complex and takes much understanding to figure out. The community are currently wondering whether there is a ranked decay feature in the game. Many players want to know if they spot playing the game for a substantial amount of time their rank will suffer from it.
Whilst there technically isn't rank decay in Valorant, the decay effect can have issues on other parts of your gameplay. With many elements going into your ranked gameplay, there's a lot to take into consideration when you take time away.
So, let's look at whether there is ranked decay in Valorant, why it happens, and how to avoid this happening to you.
Is There Ranked Decay in Valorant?
The answer to this seems simple but has more layers than an onion. So, technically there isn't a ranked decay system in Valorant, but if you take time away, you may be affected.
There are two big elements which affect your ranked games in Valorant, your MMR and your actual rank. Taking time away does not affect your actual rank. But, it does affect your MMR.
The more time you take away, the lower your MMR will drop. And your MMR is vital to keeping you at the correct skill level. This will make some of your games not enjoyable to play. Since you will be paired with people that have a low MMR.
MMR Decay Explained
Several tweets and comments by @RiotEvrMoar explained how this system works in detail on his Twitter page.
He went on to explain how 'Variance' is how confident the system is of your MMR. Higher variance means that the team are unsure about where you belong in your MMR group.
EvrMoar didn't elaborate much on the specifics but gave us a little hint into how exactly it might work.
"Keep the specifics under wraps, but we use data and machine learning to see how being gone effects a returning player's skill and use that as our guidance."