Fortnite has addressed many Ranked Mode concerns.
Fortnite Ranked Mode launched on May 17 to a somewhat lukewarm reception from players. Outside the intricate ranking system, Ranked Mode offered little improvement over the now-defunct Arena Mode. Players complained of long queue times, an exploitable ranking system, the removal of Siphon, and more.
Epic Games has heard the feedback and issued a response where the developers addressed plans for the future of Fortnite Ranked Mode.
Addressing queue times in Fortnite Ranked
Lengthy queue times have become a severe concern for players. Like Arena Mode, those with high ranks often wait up to one hour to find a match. Epic removed Trios to reduce queue times.
Following this decision, Epic re-enabled Trios as a non-Ranked playlist, feeling that it should have a minimal impact on Ranked Mode. The blog post cites two issues that led to long waits:
- Players were placed in higher divisions than intended. Epic was able to resolve this issue.
- The ranking system did not function as anticipated. As a result, Fortnite’s Ranked system rewarded players too much. Epic is working on a fix for this issue.
The blog post continues, explaining what Epic has attempted to address queue times:
“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.”
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Is Siphon coming back?
One of the most significant Fortnite Ranked Mode complaints revolves around the Siphon mechanic. Competitive Fortnite previously included a feature where players would gain health or shield after eliminating an opponent. However, Epic removed the mechanic entirely after launching Ranked Mode.
Epic did not explicitly say that Siphon would return. Instead, the team will monitor how the lack of Siphon affects Fortnite. Players must wait and see if Epic reverses the controversial decision.
Rank Reset coming soon + a change to reaching Unreal
Fortnite Ranked Mode is still in Season Zero, a testing phase for Epic Games to work out the kinks and receive feedback. Per the blog post, Epic says it will reset the ranks during Season Zero, particularly with update v25.10.
Alongside the Ranked Mode reset in patch v25.10, Epic plans to make Elite and Champion more challenging. This decision addresses the belief that Unreal is less rewarding to reach.
You can expect another update with Fortnite Chapter 4 Season 3 set for launch on June 9.
Stay tuned to esports.gg for more Fortnite and esports news!
