Deadlock: Ranked Mode Explained

Deadlock is Valve's newest MOBA Hero Shooter. It's still in the playtest phase, and the latest update (July 30th, 2026) overhauled the Ranked System entirely. You can read the full Patch Notes here. Notably, this update revamped matchmaking in Deadlock, introducing two separate game modes: Standard and Ranked.

• Standard Mode is a regular-play queue, with no Rank adjustments and no restrictions on party size or skill spread. It is the ideal mode to try out new heroes, as the matchmaking adjusts based on how many games you've played with your hero.
• Ranked Mode offers more competitive games where you'll be matched against players with a similar skill level.

In this article, you'll learn everything you need to know about Deadlock's Ranked System, including how to access it, its rules, and some climbing tips.

You can explore all our Deadlock Guides here.

To be eligible for Ranked Mode, you must have:

• 60 Standard Mode wins
• 15 wins with at least 3 different heroes

Note that even if you meet the requirements above, you will need to win 15 Standard Games with any hero before unlocking them in Ranked Mode.

In Valve's words, this will ensure higher quality games, with players who have a solid understanding of their heroes.

Future Ranked seasons might require you to have a certain number of recent wins to play heroes in Ranked Mode.

Deadlock has just introduced Ranked Seasons, with the first one ending on October 7th, 2026. Season Two will start immediately after it ends. After a Season ends, your Rank history page will display the highest Rank achieved during the Season.

At the start of each Season, all players will have their Rank soft reset and enter an 8-game calibration phase, after which they'll be given a Rank. Calibration games must be played solo.

Future Ranked Seasons might introduce Splits, breaks within Seasons where Rank adjustments are made.

In the latest update, Deadlock has updated Rank Badges and the Rank climbing system. Before starting your Ranked journey, you will be given a Rank of Obscurus (Unranked). The Ranked ladder has 11 Ranks, each with 6 Subranks (I - VI). From lower to higher, the Deadlock Ranks are: Initiate, Seeker, Acolyte, Sentinel, Mystic, Ritualist, Emissary, Oracle, Phantom, Ascendant, and Eternus.

When you win or lose a game, your Rank Points will update based on your MMR (Matchmaker Rating). The standard win/loss is +/- 250 Rank Points on average. To promote to the next Subrank, you will need 1,000 Rank Points. When promoting to an entire new rank (i.e. Mystic VI to Ritualist I), you will need 2,000 Rank Points instead.

The Eternus Rank works differently, as its Subrank thresholds are not fixed. Instead, they are dynamically updated daily to segment the Subranks based on the current number of Eternus players and their Rank Points.

Deadlock has introduced a Rank loss protection system. When you are at risk of demoting to a full lower rank, you will need to lose 5 games in a row to demote. This is reduced to 2 consecutive losses for Subrank demotion.

Right now, Ranked Mode is restricted to solo and duo parties. Duo parties must be within 1 Major Rank of each other. The Eternus Rank works differently, as players can only queue with other Eternus players within 3 Subranks.

In Ranked Mode, you will be able to select your hero before queuing. This will impact the matchmaking, as it will try to meet everyone's hero preferences and create decent team compositions.

However, you will also be able to change your hero once in the new pre-game phase. When entering a Ranked Match, you will see everyone's Ranks and your team's selected heroes, and you can change yours to any other that hasn't been picked (as long as the hero is unlocked for Ranked). Note that you will only see the enemy team's initial hero lineup.

You can also change your starting lane in the pre-game phase.

A new Ranked Hub is introduced in the hideout. It shows all the information about current and past Ranked Seasons, and allows you to see global Ranked leaderboards and your Ranked history. After a Season ends, an item in the hideout will display your highest rank.

The latest update also made some changes to the requirements to appear on leaderboards: Notably, you must have played 75 games in the past 30 days, and for hero-specific leaderboards, you must have at least 100 lifetime wins on that hero and at least 30 wins in the past 30 days.