Fortnite's Ranked mode is still in its infancy, and Epic Games has decided to make some changes to the mode while it's still in Season Zero.
Fortnite Ranked launched into Ranked Season Zero last month alongside Fortnite Update 24.40, and now Epic Games has decided to make some changes to the mode ahead of Fortnite Chapter 4 Season 3 which begins today (and you can view the Fortnite Chapter 4 Season 3 patch notes here). Epic Games already made a ranked-related change earlier this month when Trios (which was disabled at the launch of Fortnite Ranked) was brought back within a matter of weeks.
The new changes to Fortnite Ranked Season Zero include changes to the matchmaking system to reduce queue times, making the top-level Unreal Rank a bit harder to reach and the announcement of a complete Rank reset for players when Fortnite Update 25.10 launches. You can view the full list of changes set out by Epic Games and the reasons behind them below.
Fortnite Ranked Season 3 Changes
The following is the list of changes Epic Games posted on the Fortnite Website:
Season Zero
Season Zero is only the beginning for Ranked. We are — and will be — continuing to evaluate all of the topics below as we iterate throughout Season Zero to provide the best Ranked experience possible. As a reminder, Season Zero will span until the conclusion of Battle Royale Chapter 4 Season 3 and you may see changes to Ranked during this time.
Trios and available modes
We rolled out v24.40 with the goal of minimizing queue times and maintaining matchmaking quality for all players — not just those jumping into Ranked. To achieve this, we made the decision to remove Trios in Battle Royale and Zero Build when we launched Ranked. We soon realized that Trios fills a valuable place for the community and re-enabled it in non-Ranked Battle Royale and Zero Build.
We feel confident that non-Ranked Trios will have minimal impact on queue times and matchmaking quality in the near-term. We’ll be evaluating different team sizes and their viability moving forward. As Fortnite continues to evolve, we’ll vault and unvault modes to maintain the same high standards of play for our players.
Queue times
One of our goals is to put players into matches against players of similar skill levels, all while minimizing queue times. Early on, some players who rapidly ranked up found themselves well above the initial matchmaking parameters we had set, resulting in longer wait times.
There were a few factors that led to this result:
Some players began with higher ranks than intended, placing them in ranks with very few other players. We quickly addressed this within a few hours of launch.
Our note from our original blog post — “The ranks of the players you or your team eliminated will be taken into account” when it comes to how much your rank progress bar increases after a match — was not working as intended. Players performing well in matches where that was the expected outcome were being awarded too much. We’re actively working to fix this soon.
To mitigate long queue times, we began to loosen matchmaking parameters to ensure players were getting into matches in a timely manner. Although this solution has helped, it may result in some players getting into matches with other players above or below their own skill level. This is an area we will continue to refine and develop as we work towards creating fair matches for all players.
Rank Reset
As part of Season Zero, we plan on resetting everyone’s rank. This reset will be a test run of resetting ranks, as we would do during a Seasonal turnover, before we enter Chapter 4 Season 4 Ranked. It also gives us an opportunity to continue iterating on our systems at a fast pace.
Rest assured, your Ranked Urgent Quest completion will not be reset. However, this may update the appearance of your Burn Bright Emote to reflect your new rank. We’ll also be using your current rank at the time of reset to help determine your initial placement afterward, just as we would for a Seasonal turnover. We’re targeting v25.10 for the reset, and we’ll keep you updated as we get closer.
Reaching Unreal
It has been exciting to watch players pursue the top rank, and you all met our expectations for how many great matches were needed from our top players to reach Unreal. That being said, we’ve heard your feedback that you’d like for the achievement to hold even greater meaning.
To address this, we will be making adjustments to the Elite and Champion ranks, increasing the threshold needed to rank up. This, combined with the adjustments mentioned previously, should make the journey to Unreal feel more rewarding. This change will occur alongside our rank reset.
Ranked Gameplay
We’re still evaluating the gameplay adjustments we made in Battle Royale/Zero Build to launch Ranked. These include lowering material caps, increasing harvesting rates, and making it so that players drop 50 of each material when eliminated. It also includes the decision to not include Siphon in Ranked. We know Siphon in particular is quite a game-changing mechanic, and we’re continuing to monitor the effect of its absence in Ranked.
Competitive Fortnite and Ranked
While Ranked is still in Season Zero, the Fortnite Competitive landscape is going through its own changes. Tournaments will have many of the same gameplay features as Ranked matches, though there will still typically be exceptions for performance reasons (Hired Characters, vehicles, or other features that may cause performance issues). We’ll continue to keep the competitive community updated on additional changes in the future.
While the rank reset and higher barrier of entry to Unreal rank may upset a few players, it makes sense to bring changes like this into the game now while Fortnite Ranked is still in Season Zero rather than later down the line. Plus Trios coming back is always cause for celebration.
