Mastering Stealth: A Guide on How to Hide Rank in Valorant

Curious about Valorant and the concept of rank in the game? Players often wonder why some choose to hide their rank and how they can do so.

In this article, we explore the reasons behind this practice and provide tips on how to hide your rank in Valorant.

We also discuss the consequences of hiding rank, whether it goes against the rules, and offer alternative strategies for those looking to maintain transparency while playing.

Let’s dive in and uncover the secrets of rank hiding in Valorant!

What is Valorant?

Valorant is a team-oriented first-person shooter (FPS) developed and published by Riot Games in 2020. In Valorant, players formally compete in matches of five versus five. Similar to the popular game Counter Strike: Global Offensive, the game involves special agents each with unique abilities in addition to normal shooting skills, which integrate features more commonly found in MOBAs and class-based shooters with similar elements to Rainbow Six and Overwatch.

While the general gameplay is similar to Counter Strike, players in Valorant use unique character abilities rather than buying them in the round. Valorant offers an Economy phase where players are given a number of credits at the beginning of each game to purchase weapons and shields during the game. Valorant features a unique shooting and movement model, which features gunplay-focused gunplay. Valorant has a radial firing accuracy model to help incentivize shooting instead of constantly strafing, which makes the game less about twitchy moment-to-moment reactions.

What is Rank in Valorant?

Rank in Valorant refers to your competitive mode rank that determines a player’s skill level and puts them in a subset of players with similar skill levels during matchmaking. Your Valorant rank is determined by your skill rating, which defines how a player’s performance is graded in each match, based on multiple factors such as performance, kills, deaths, assists, and match outcomes.

Valorant uses an elo-based matchmaking system and a player’s rank improvement follows the elo scoring system. Rank is displayed after each competitive match and tournaments at the beginning.

The rank is important to Valorant players as it determines whom they are matched with and how factors such as competition and difficulty in a match are calculated. Many players interested in playing casually or having fun in the midst of a competitive game environment wish to hide their competitive mode rank and avoid seeing numerical feedback when it comes to their perceived skill in-game.

Remember that rank in Valorant refers to competitive mode rank only, and you may disable its visibility by following these steps.

Why do players want to hide their rank in Valorant?

Players want to hide their rank in Valorant because they believe the game’s matchmaking system is broken and other players will dodge them if they display their rank. Since rank in Valorant is used for team selection and requires a majority vote to veto, players are fearful that other teammates will vote to veto matches they are part of if they have low or high enumerated ranks.

Teammates are trying to create as easy a Valorant experience as possible for themselves so players fear having their matches vetoed. The practice of hiding your rank can be the cure to this as it does not allow for easy vetoes and will eventually mean players will be unable to see ranks right before a match starts.

How to Hide Rank in Valorant?

You cannot hide your rank in Valorant. It is available for players to see, as the game has no option to hide the rank and skill legend icons. If you have played with friends or players who conceal rank for privacy or to mask decline, use this paragraph if later in the game they do worse.

It is a frequent request from players on the Official VALORANT Community that Riot Games implement a method to hide ranks in order to avoid in-game discrimination and flaming. Viewers on the /r/Valorant Discord share examples of flaming and berating in various regions based on opponents’ ranks as justification for Riot to one day enable a feature. The /r/Valorant Discord participants consider toxicity the main reason hiding ranks should be an option.

Change Display Name

This is the only method for hiding your rank in Valorant. Changing your display name makes it impossible for individuals who previously played with/against you to reference your past and current information.

Riot allows all users to change their display names once for free in order to make an alias. If you do this and someone remembers your unique tag, then this method for hiding your currently displayed information is not as effective. Riot may even consider giving individuals an additional free display name change if asked to allow for owners if the current cap on visibility at once for payers is lifted.

Disable Match History

You can hide your rank in Valorant during actual matches. Disabling match history in Options>General>Match History will make match information disappear and will help shield your rank from others. Your Valorant rank badge is still visible in the menu, however. To make match history visible again make your way back to Options>General and toggle Enable Match History back on.

Turn off In-game Overlay

The in-game overlay, also called Overwolf, is a service that tracks your play time, gaming patterns, and match history. This is helpful in that it can automatically assess your rank. However, if the goal is hiding your rank, the in-game overlay can give away this information when you log in – needing to be turned off in those instances. You can choose to leave the service off altogether by adjusting in-game settings to your preferences.

To hide your rank by keeping the in-game overlay hidden in the matchmaker, you can take these steps:

• Click on your Overwolf icon (located at the top left of your Valorant game screen).
• Select all the stats shown and switch them from on to off.
• The background of the game screen will stay red, but the stats feedback will be removed.

Avoid Streaming or Recording Gameplay

While it may not hide your rank in Valorant in real-time, hiding your rank by avoiding streaming and recording your gameplay will help prevent preconceptions of your level of play. This means that if someone were to check after playing with or against you, their view of your ability would not be predicated by whether they think you noticeably over- or under-performed for your rank. This tip will also reduce the likelihood of stream sniping.

What are the consequences of hiding rank in Valorant?

Consequences of hiding rank are applicable to both pros and casual players. For pros, the VALORANT Champions Tour invites players based on their current Rank. This could mean that a pro player is not being invited to the tournament because of their Unrated, lower rank, rather than their true skill level. Similar cases with opponents thinking players are smurfs are also bad for the competitive scene´s integrity.

Loss of credibility

A facial expression or body language that shows the lack of credibility in what one is saying that is called hiding a rank. Hiding a rank makes people appear less credible as they may come off as speaking about matters in which they have no field experience. This is a disadvantage for experienced gamers who are talented at certain games but do not show this talent.

Experts in the field of body language recommend that when playing games in which the display of rank is preferred to avoid body language, or tone of voice, or phrasing in speech that hints at certain skills or rank within the game.

Difficulty in finding teammates

Joe Wrigley writes in an article published by University of Exeter in August 2017 that people are more likely to establish networks with those they are already in social and economic proximity to. This means higher rank Valorant players who go out of their way to make faces and have names in the game are more likely to have those acquaintances recognize them in chat and be more willing to randomly me together they see the name.

Consequent Rank Isolation is difficult to do on purpose but is a highly accessible option for unknowing players who frequently play more limited games and only deliberately seek out unknown or regularly played games to source a wider base of willing and able mates. This allows more personal familiarity without accidentally engaging that wider circle in off-match interactions.

Limited opportunities for competitive play

Players can hide their rank in Valorant by participating in competitive-play, committing to only playing unrated matches, and infrequently playing the game. Players can pretend to be tracker-error smurfs with faulty ranking data, and this can lend credibility to their argument that they have no rank despite what they say in chat.

If there is any downtime in the Valorant competitive-play season, whether it be several days or the end of each act or episode, finding unrated matches as well as Deathmatches and Spike Rushes can be a good way to relax a bit and take the stress off.

Players who prefer to avoid the intense emotions of competitive play can opt to just take a break and play unrated matches in order to relax some. Deathmatches are among the best ways in Valorant to cut stress as you do not have to worry about teamwork, and just focus on all-out-effort gunplay that can be refreshing.

Is it against the rules to hide rank in Valorant?

No, it is not against Riot or Valorant’s rules to hide your rank. Hiding your rank does not give you any material advantages in the game, so there are no rules that say you can’t do it. Whether to hide rank or not is a personal choice…

…and this choice is left up to players. Hiding ranks is preferred by some players because they think it provides a better environment for improving skill, without the added pressure of knowing the rank of people they are playing with and against. Others still prefer to see teammates and opponents’ ranks for the added competitive pressure and motivation it gives them.

What are some alternatives to hiding rank in Valorant?

Some alternatives to hiding rank in Valorant are to sign out of the game in advance to start, set your profile or match history views to private, turn off match performance and Skill Tiers settings, or by buying a proxy account that hides ranking statistics. These limited settings can only reduce the frustration at rank display and are not considered as true methods that can hide rank in Valorant from others.

Focus on improving gameplay instead of hiding rank

Focus on improving gameplay instead of hiding rank. Using the billybicepshack Valorant Rank card to hide rank will not help you play better. Instead of worrying about hiding your rank from yourself or others, juts focus on getting better at the actual game. The time that would be spent hiding your rank by artificially tweaking scores, the billybicepshack Valorant Rank Card, or other means will be better spent by you in the game itself. This will help you to actually improve your gameplay. Self-improvement is such a powerful tool and something that streamers should learn to accept. Improving your skill and rank without the need to hide either from yourself or your viewers will assist in producing quality content, and viewers will like to see improvement over time.

Play with a group of friends

Playing in a 5 stack, or even just a 2 stack is another effective way to hide your rank in Valorant. This allows you to avoid the toxicity of solo queue and instead play against a more competitive team. This way intentionally losing to game the system is minimized and you have a more enjoyable experience while you improve your abilities. Playing with a group of friends can make hiding your rank a fun experience.

Take breaks and play other game modes

Regularly take breaks from competitive game queues, especially if you are on a losing streak and your performance is reflecting a decline in your player rank. Playing a casual game mode (i.e., Deathmatch or Spike Rush) will keep your aim and your game sense sharp while reducing your workload in a less stressful environment.

Playing games such as Rocket League when you want to take a break can help keep your overall coordination and fine motor skills sharp.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the purpose of hiding rank in Valorant?

Hiding rank in Valorant can be beneficial for players who want to keep their skill level private or avoid potential targeting by opponents based on their rank.

Is it possible to hide my rank in Valorant?

Yes, it is possible to hide your rank in Valorant by adjusting your privacy settings in the game.

How can I change my rank privacy settings in Valorant?

To change your rank privacy settings in Valorant, go to your account settings and look for the “Privacy” tab. From there, you can toggle your rank visibility on or off.

Will hiding my rank in Valorant affect my matchmaking?

No, hiding your rank in Valorant will not affect your matchmaking. You will still be matched with players of similar skill level.

Can I hide my rank in Valorant for a temporary period of time?

Yes, you can choose to hide your rank in Valorant temporarily. You can turn it back on at any time through your privacy settings.

Is there a downside to hiding my rank in Valorant?

The only potential downside to hiding your rank in Valorant is that your friends and teammates will not be able to see your rank. This may affect your team coordination and strategy.