The world of Fortnite is set to become even more competitive with the introduction of Fortnite v24.40, which brings the exciting new feature of Ranked play to both Battle Royale and Zero Build modes. This latest development invites players to enable the Ranked option and embark on a journey that can see them ascend through the ‘Silver’, ‘Gold’, ‘Platinum’ tiers and beyond.
The ranking system for Fortnite Battle Royale will span across eight tiers: Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Diamond, Elite, Champion, and Unreal. Players will advance through three ranks within Bronze to Diamond, while Elite, Hero, and Unreal consist of one rank each. The goal remains the same: to continue moving up the ranks from Bronze to Unreal.
The debut of Ranked Play in v24.40 will mark the start of Season Zero Ranked, which will continue through to the end of Battle Royale Chapter 3 Season 4. This period will serve as an opportunity for the Fortnite team to address any issues arising, implement additional features, and adjust the system based on player feedback.
For players curious about the starting rank in Season Zero, it will be determined based on previous match performance, as well as performance in the first Battle Royale and Rank Zero Build ranked matches. One ranked match each in Battle Royale and Zero Build is enough to reveal your rank.
Once players reach the Unrealistic rating, they will retain that status for the rest of the rated season, regardless of subsequent performance. Unreal Reach also indicates global standing among other Unreal players, with a certain number reflecting their position. The Unreal Leaderboard, which will be updated regularly on the official Fortnite website, will feature players’ Epic display names and unreal placements.
The ranking process is straightforward: players will see their current rank and a progress bar indicating how far they are from the next rank in the lobby if ‘Rank’ is set to ‘On’. The movement of the progress bar depends on the match mode, the number of eliminations locked, and the ranks of the eliminated players. In team matches, all members will gain and lose progress equally, with the team’s rank being determined by the highest-ranked player.
The initial release of Ranked play in v24.40 will support Solo, Duos, and Squad modes in Battle Royale and Duos in Zero Build. Players will maintain separate ranks for Battle Royale and Zero Build.
Solo ranked matchmaking will align single players with opponents of the same rank, while duos or squads will compete against teams of similar rank. Although there is a party rank, individual rank progress will still be tracked based on personal and team performance in duos/team matches.
The gameplay experience in ranked matches will mirror that of non-ranked games, with all standard Battle Royale and Zero Build features available. However, version 24.40 will introduce certain balance changes, such as reducing material caps from 999 to 500, slightly increasing harvest rates, and having players drop 50 of each material upon elimination.
Ranked Fortnite aims to cater to both new and seasoned players. To ensure new players are adequately prepared, those logging into Fortnite for the first time will need to complete a specific task (Outlast 500 opponents) before they can access the rank option.
Playing ranked matches provides the opportunity to unlock seasonal cosmetic rewards by completing Urgent Ranked Quests, and the final reward for Season Zero is the Burn Bright Emote, a success token that reflects the color of the player’s current rating.
The addition of Ranked play will disable the arena in v24.40. However, the remaining tournaments for Battle Royale Chapter 4 Season 2 will not require a rank for eligibility, with the exception of the Console Champions Cup, which requires a minimum Platinum I rank for Battle Royale. This tournament is scheduled for May 23.
Starting with the next Battle Royale season, a player’s rank, along with other factors, will be considered an eligibility requirement for tournaments hosted by Epic. This includes both cosmetic prize tournaments such as the Icon Series tournaments, and cash prize tournaments such as the FNCS tournaments. The specific ranking requirements for each tournament will be detailed in the official rules of the respective tournament.
