It’s no secret that playing Ranked can be more fulfilling than just the regular random multiplayer matchmaking. There’s a certain edge to giving it your all and rising through the ranks. Treyarch and Activision have introduced several updates to Black Ops 6 to improve the competitive gameplay in the upcoming Ranked mode. Many of them address disruptive behaviours, while others focus on the accessibility of the mode itself. Stay tuned as we answer when is Ranked coming to BO6, how to participate, ranked rewards and features, and how Ricochet anti-cheat features in the equation.
When does Ranked Play launch in Black Ops 6?
Ranked Play for Black Ops 6 is set to launch on November 21, 2024, so you’ll have the chance to start competing for ranks after this date. With Season 1 released on November 14, this will mark the shortest time CoD players have had to wait for a ranked ladder – a mere week since the first season.
How to unlock Ranked mode?
Before jumping into Ranked Play, you need to meet a certain prerequisite – to win 50 match-made multiplayer matches. This will then unlock the Ranked mode for you, so you can jump into the action. Those wins can come from any multiplayer mode, as long as you’ve won them. Any wins you had even during pre-season will count and there’s no Player Level requirement anymore.
Ranked play features
Several new features have made it into BO6’s ranked mode, so we’ll break them down below.
New ranking system
The old systems of rank and skill division have been combined, so your rank in BO6 is expressed in SR through eight ranks:
- Bronze
- Silver
- Gold
- Platinum
- Diamond
- Crimson
- Iridescent
- Top 250
This means you won’t have to earn Victory Stars anymore, instead, you’ll be earning SR which can propel you higher in the ranking tiers. It remains to be seen how placements and point margins work once the Ranked mode launches.
Map and game mode veto system
Your team will be able to veto one of the three maps and modes offered in the lobby, providing you with a measure of control for the upcoming ranked match. The opponents will get a chance to do the same, leaving the remaining option as the defacto pick. The vetos are blind, so if both teams veto the same option, the game randomly picks one from the two remaining options.
Forfeit
The new Forfeit option allows the team who’s down one or more players (due to disconnects, leaving, etc) to end the match early. However, you can’t just end the match at the start, instead, there are a few rules depending on the game mode:
- Hardpoint: the winning team has to reach 100 points first
- Control: you can forfeit after the first round is over
- Search & Destroy: you can forfeit after the third round.
Party skill restrictions
In Black Ops 6, players across any rank can team up to play together. However, the caveat is that your matchmaking will be based on the highest rank in the party, which can be difficult if the rank discrepancy between your friends is pretty high. This restriction accounts for any party size, even if you’re duo or trio-queueing.
Seasonal setbacks
There’s a different system to address the end-of-season setbacks when players’ SR ratings are being adjusted. When the next season starts, your rank could get reset based on where you ended up previously. Here’s how it impacts individual ranks:
- Bronze or Silver Rank: These players are not impacted by the Seasonal setback and will be able to pick up where they ended the previous Season with no loss of SR.
- Gold or Platinum Rank: These players will start the next Season in Tier I of their previous rank.
- Diamond and above Rank: These players will start the next Season at the Diamond I tier.
Loss forgiveness system
The previous forgiveness system was updated with BO6 Ranked Play. Now, no matter your Rank, your first loss of the day won’t result in loss of SR. In addition, after you rank up or when a new season starts, you’ll get three “freebie” games where you won’t lose SR. These three games will only count down after losses, so winning won’t reduce your “freebies”. However, none of the above stack up, so you won’t be able to pile up potential free losses.
Ranked mode rewards
You will be able to earn various rewards for excelling in competitive play. You will start your ranked journey with the default Competitor operator, and each rank you earn after Gold and beyond will unlock new skins for that operator. You will get those skins as soon as you rank up, so you won’t have to wait for the season to end to get them. The players who reach the Top 250 rank will get special Competitor skins, with the top player in Ranked mode being able to earn the Champion skin.
Additionally, you can complete ranked challenges to earn other rewards including further Competitor skins, a Knife blueprint, a Frag Grenade skin, a Gunscreen that tracks your Ranked wins, and other rewards. These aren’t season-specific and can be unlocked across your ranked career.
Ricochet anti-cheat updates for ranked play
In preparation for the launch of the first season of Ranked Play, Activision and Treyarch have been working on improving their anti-cheat, Ricochet. These updates aim to minimize the number of cheaters once ranked mode opens up, which as we all know can be very frustrating to deal with. Here’s what they were working on:
- AFK Detection: To prevent account boosting, Black Ops 6 now includes advanced AFK detection. This system helps identify players who are intentionally leaving matches idle to artificially boost their rank without actively participating.
- Ping Threshold Adjustments: To combat VPN abuse and ensure players are matched with others from their region, the game will now enforce stricter ping thresholds. This adjustment forces players to play in their designated region, which helps reduce unfair advantages gained by manipulating connection speeds.
- Manual Review for Account Renaming: To further secure the integrity of Ranked Play, players at Crimson rank or higher will now face a manual review for any account renaming requests. This additional step helps prevent players from using name changes to evade penalties or manipulate the system.
- Live Detection Systems: The detection systems initially deployed at launch to gather data and test their effectiveness will now be fully activated with Ranked Season 1. These systems will actively flag suspicious accounts for action based on patterns of cheating, boosting, or other disruptive behaviour.
In addition to Ranked Multiplayer mode, the same updates will be applied to Ranked Play in Warzone when it launches mid-season. Both game modes will benefit from these security improvements, but we’ll have to wait for the start of both ranked modes to see their effectiveness.