Competitive is one of the two core Online Gameplay modes. The Competitive mode is based purely on skill tiers which will loosely determine the skill of a player.
Playlists
There are eight Competitive playlists:
- Solo Duel
- Doubles
- Solo Standard
- Standard
- Rumble
- Dropshot
- Hoops
- Snow Day
Each player has a separate progression for each playlist (i.e. it is possible to be a Silver 3 in doubles and a Diamond 2 in Standard).
Solo Duel
Solo Duel is arguably the most balanced in terms of raw skill. Because it is simply a one-on-one game, Solo Duel is not based at all on co-operating in a team, but on strategy and skill in the arena.
Doubles
Doubles is a popular Competitive playlist. Doubles is very popular because Standard tends to balance the game less proportionally when there are more players to play with or against. In doubles, you need to cooperate with only one teammate.
Solo Standard
Solo Standard is perhaps the least popular Competitive playlist. The matchmaking will place you randomly with 2 players of your skill tier against 3 random other players also of your skill tier. This playlist forces you to cooperate with the largest number of teammates available in ranked along with the team variation.
Standard
Standard is the most popular Competitive playlist. This playlist is similar to Solo Standard, except the matchmaking for this playlist is less strict, giving you leeway to choose your teammates. This way, the playlist is a lot more determinant on your and other players’ ability to choose teams or even to play against teams. Though Solo Standard creates a balanced environment, playing this playlist solo could be recommended, as playing Standard will usually choose 2 other players on your team based on the 3 opponent players, and not only the matchmaking average, leading to higher and lower skilled players being placed with you, giving you a chance to balance with them.
Extra Modes
Ranked Extra Modes coming with Season 9 on September 24th, 2018 for all platforms.[1]
Rumble
Dropshot
Hoops
Snow Day
Tiers
Introduced in Season 2, Competitive Tiers replace the preceding Ranking system and Ranked Points with a brand new set of skill tiers, skill rating and a much more complicated progression system. In addition, all players are required to play 10 placement matches in a single playlist, otherwise they remain locked in the Unranked tier.
If you are in the Unranked tier, the game will place you in a tier after 10 matches based on your performance. You can track the progression of your Competitive status on the tier display that shows up at the end of the game or from the main menu’s matchmaking window.
As the 10 games progress, matchmaking will put you in games with people of or closer to your current tier. It takes an average of 4 last games for the game to know your tier, but there are 6 more for assurance. Once you are finally placed in your final tier for the first time, you will be put in Division II of your skill tier.
Below is the current Competitive Tiers list:
- Unranked
- Bronze I
- Bronze II
- Bronze III
- Silver I
- Silver II
- Silver III
- Gold I
- Gold II
- Gold III
- Platinum I
- Platinum II
- Platinum III
- Diamond I
- Diamond II
- Diamond III
- Champion I
- Champion II
- Champion III
- Grand Champion
Each tier has four divisions, ranging from Division I (the lowest) to Division IV (the highest). You can go up or down a division within a tier based on how many matches you’ve won.
Note: The Champion tier group is reserved for a very small percentage of players. The game is constantly adjusting this percentage.
Ranking
You can track your own stats and current Competitive progression on Rocketleague Tracker and Rocketleaguestats.
If you are playing via Steam, open the program and click your avatar on the bottom right corner of the window. Right click your profile background and click "Copy Page URL". This will put your profile URL on your clipboard. Paste it into the box. Make sure the selection bar is set to Steam.
If you are on PlayStation 4 or Xbox One, simply enter your PSN username or Xbox Live gamertag, and set the selection bar to PlayStation or Xbox.
History and rewards
The Competitive rewards are based on the highest tier the player has achieved on any given playlist within a season. The rewards are cumulative, and will be given to the player at the end of the season. The Grand Champion title, on the other hand, requires the player to remain in the Grand Champion tier at the end of the season.
Season 1
The first official Rocket League competitive season was known as Ranked. Ranked Season 1 began with patch v1.05 on September 8th, 2015, and ended with patch v1.11 on February 11th, 2016.
Ranked Season 1 used a progression system based on Ranked Points. Players ranked up by accumulating 100 RP within a rank. Going below 0 RP within a rank resulted in demotion. Each player who participated in Ranked Pre-Season would also be seeded to a particular rank based on their respective Pre-Season performance.
Below is the Ranked Season 1 rank list:
- Unranked (reserved for players who did not participate in Ranked Pre-Season)
- Bronze I
- Bronze II
- Bronze III
- Silver I
Season 1 reward toppers.
- Silver II
- Silver III
- Gold I
- Gold II
- Gold III
- Platinum (reserved for the Top 100 players)
The rewards for Ranked Season 1 were as follows:
- Bronze I or higher: Season 1 – Bronze (Topper)
- Silver I or higher: Season 1 – Silver (Topper)
- Gold I or higher: Season 1 – Gold (Topper)
- Platinum: Season 1 – Platinum (Topper)
Season 2
Season 2 saw Ranked renamed to Competitive as it is now called. Competitive Season 2 began with patch v1.11 on February 11th, 2016, and ended with patch v1.19 on June 20th, 2016.
Competitive Season 2 introduced the new Competitive Tiers and replaced the Ranked Points with Skill Rating to make the progression system much more skill-based as opposed to Season 1’s points-based progression. Below is the list of Competitive tier list for Season 2 (before patch v1.13):
- Unranked
- Prospect I
- Prospect II
- Prospect III
- Prospect Elite
- Challenger I
- Challenger II
- Challenger III
- Challenger Elite
- Rising Star
- All-Star
- Superstar
- Champion
Unlike in the previous season, every player started Season 2 at Unranked, and was required to play 10 placement matches before they could be seeded to any skill tier. In case the player did participate in Ranked Season 1, however, their final Season 1 rank would also determine their initial Competitive Season 2 tier.
Also introduced in Season 2 was Competitive Reconnect, which allows players to rejoin Competitive matches from which they were disconnected, provided that the match is still ongoing. This feature, however, is not available for Solo Duel, because the match ends immediately if either player is disconnected, giving the disconnected player no chance to rejoin.
Patch v1.13 on February 24th, 2016, made several changes to the Competitive Tiers. The number of skill tiers was increased to 15, and the Champion tier group was added to include three separate tiers (Champion, Super Champion, Grand Champion). To accommodate the new Champion tier group, the Star tier group was reorganized as a four-tier group (Rising Star, Shooting Star, All-Star, Superstar).
In addition to tier reorganization, each skill tier was also given five divisions, with each of them representing roughly 20% of the skill range within a particular tier. Each player would start at Division II of any given tier, whether they had completed 10 placement matches or been promoted or demoted.
The rewards for Competitive Season 2 were as follows:
- Prospect I or higher: Season 2 – Prospect (Rocket Trail)
- Challenger I or higher: Season 2 – Challenger (Rocket Trail)
- Rising Star or higher: Season 2 – Star (Rocket Trail)
- Champion or higher: Season 2 – Champion (Rocket Trail)
- Grand Champion: Season 2 Grand Champion (Title)
Season 3
Competitive Season 3 began with patch v1.19 on June 20, 2016, and ended with patch v1.31 on March 22nd, 2017. Season 3 was the longest Competitive Season so far, lasting approximately nine months.
With the exception of changes made, Competitive Season 3 was pretty much like Season 2, as Season 3 used the same Competitive Tiers as in Season 2. Every player started at Unranked, and thus had to play 10 placement matches first. However, their final Competitive Skill Rating had been reset for Season 3.
Competitive Season 3 was announced to have included a restriction on Party Matchmaking for Competitive play, based on the skill tier of each respective player in a single party. If the skill range of the party exceeded three tiers, that party would not be able to queue for any Competitive playlist. This was never implemented into Season 3.
On August 3rd, 2016, Psyonix released an update for Competitive play party matchmaking in an attempt to fix the rank boosting issue. The update adjusted the party skill rating so that the rating is now determined by which player in the party has the highest skill tier, rather than the mean rating of each player’s tiers.
Patch v1.22 on September 8th, 2016, implemented the inactivity rules for Competitive play. Players who do not play a Competitive match for 30 days or longer are considered inactive. Inactive players are excluded from Competitive Leaderboards, and their skill tiers are reset to Unranked. However, the Competitive progression for each inactive player is retained. Inactive players must play a specified number of placement matches (usually around 2), based on the period of inactivity, to recalibrate their skill rating.
On October 11th, 2016, Psyonix made some adjustments on the Competitive skill tiers. These included the reduction of thresholds for all skill tiers, allowing for larger numbers of Star and Champion tier players. All Competitive playlists were also given their own skill tier thresholds based on the number of active players in each playlist.
Season 3 reward wheels.
The rewards for Competitive Season 3 were as follows:
- Prospect I or higher: Season 3 - Prospect (Wheels)
- Challenger I or higher: Season 3 - Challenger (Wheels)
- Rising Star or higher: Season 3 - Star (Wheels)
- Champion or higher: Season 3 - Champion (Wheels)
- Grand Champion: Season 3 Grand Champion (Title)
Season 4
Beginning on March 22, 2017,[2] Season 4 reintroduced the rankings previously used in Season 1, but with major changes and still using the same progression mechanic first introduced in Season 2. As a result, the skill tiers were completely reworked, and the number of skill tiers was increased to 19, and the number of divisions were reduced to four for each tier.
All players were given a soft skill reset at the start of Season 4 so as to prevent the matchmaking issues that occurred in Season 3. Due to these issues, players who were found to have abused the matchmaking system in Season 3 were given a hard skill reset, and did not receive any Competitive Season 3 rewards.
The placement match system was also reworked so that players could climb faster if they won the majority of their placement matches.
Season 4 reward trails.
The rewards for Competitive Season 4 are as follows:
- Bronze I or higher – Season 4 Bronze Trail
- Silver I or higher – Season 4 Silver Trail + lower Trails
- Gold I or higher – Season 4 Gold Trail + lower Trails
- Platinum I or higher – Season 4 Platinum Trail + lower Trails
- Diamond I or higher – Season 4 Diamond Trail + lower Trails
- Champion – Season 4 Champion Trail + lower Trails
- Grand Champion – 'Season 4 Grand Champion' in-game Title + Champion Trail + lower Trails
Season 5
Rocket League’s Competitive Season 5 commenced with the release of the Anniversary Update on July 5th.
Contrary to the transition between previous Competitive Seasons, there was no Competitive Skill reset for Season 5, meaning ranks carried over from Season 4 into Season 5. While Psyonix recognizes some players look forward to starting over each season, the downside of doing a reset were considered significant. Match quality can be poor for several weeks after a season ends as players recalibrate to their actual skill ranking. With seasons happening more frequently, they aren’t comfortable creating so much matchmaking instability every few months.[3]
Season 5 reward player banners.
Season 5 bonus reward player banners.
The rewards for season 5 were player banners, a customization item that was released in the Autumn Update (coinciding with the end of season 5). In addition, season 5 introduced a new system for earning rewards for a given ranked tier: in order to earn rewards for a given tier, a player must win 12 matches at or above that tier. This requires winning 12 matches at each of the lower tiers as well. For instance, in order to achieve gold rewards, the player will need 12 wins at bronze or higher, 12 wins at silver or higher, and 12 wins at gold or higher. This is discussed further below.
The rewards for Competitive Season 5 are as follows, The rewards have been updated to include the bonus rewards[4]:
- Bronze I or higher – Season 5 Bronze ‘Dragon’ Player Banner + Season 5 Bronze ‘Standard’ Player Banner
- Silver I or higher – Season 5 Silver ‘Dragon’ Player Banner + Season 5 Silver ‘Standard’ Player Banner + lower Banners
- Gold I or higher – Season 5 Gold ‘Dragon’ Player Banner + Season 5 Gold ‘Standard’ Player Banner + lower Banners
- Platinum I or higher – Season 5 Platinum ‘Dragon’ Player Banner + Season 5 Platinum ‘Standard’ Player Banner + lower Banners
- Diamond I or higher – Season 5 Diamond ‘Dragon’ Player Banner + Season 5 Diamond ‘Standard’ Player Banner + lower Banners
- Champion – Season 5 Champion ‘Dragon’ Player Banner + Season 5 Champion ‘Standard’ Player Banner + lower Banners
- Grand Champion – 'Season 5 Grand Champion' in-game Title + Season 5 Grand Champion ‘Dragon’ Player Banner + Season 5 Grand Champion ‘Standard’ Player Banner + lower Banners
Season 6
Competitive Season 6 commenced with the release of the Autumn Update on September 29th.
On January 24, 2018, Psyonix stated that they were making some adjustments in Duel (1v1) and Solo Standard (3v3) playlists in order to bring a higher percentage of those players into the Champion and Grand Champion ranks.[5] The same day, due to the overwhelmingly negative reception to the rewards, the Rocket League twitter account shared an image of the updated Platinum and Diamond wheels.[6]
To kick off the new season, a soft reset occurred on all accounts that have previously placed in any Competitive Playlist. As a result, all players were required to play ten placement matches before achieving a rank.
Season 6 reward wheels.
The rewards for Competitive Season 6 are as follows:
- Bronze I or higher – Season 6 Bronze Wheels
- Silver I or higher – Season 6 Silver Wheels + lower Wheels
- Gold I or higher – Season 6 Gold Wheels + lower Wheels
- Platinum I or higher – Season 6 Platinum Wheels + lower Wheels
- Diamond I or higher – Season 6 Diamond Wheels + lower Wheels
- Champion – Season 6 Champion Wheels + lower Wheels
- Grand Champion – 'Season 6 Grand Champion' in-game Title + Champion Wheels + lower Wheels
Season 7
Competitive Season 7 commenced with the release of Patch v1.41 on February 7th.
To kick off the new season, a soft reset occurred on all accounts that have previously placed in any Competitive Playlist. As a result, all players were required to play ten placement matches before achieving a rank.
On the 2018 Rocket League Summer Road Map, it was announced that the end of Season 7 Competitive would occur sometime in late May. [7]
Season 7 reward player banners.
The rewards for Competitive Season 7 are as follows:
- Bronze I or higher – ‘Season 7 - Tier 1’ Player Banner
- Silver I or higher – ‘Season 7 - Tier 2’ Player Banner + lower Player Banner
- Gold I or higher – ‘Season 7 - Tier 3’ Player Banner + lower Player Banners
- Platinum I or higher – ‘Season 7 - Tier 4’ Player Banner + lower Player Banners
- Diamond I or higher – ‘Season 7 - Tier 5’ Player Banner + lower Player Banners
- Champion I or higher – ‘Season 7 - Tier 6’ Player Banner + lower Player Banners
- Grand Champion – 'Season 7 Grand Champion' in-game Title + ‘Season 7 - Tier 7’ Player Banner + lower Player Banners
Season 7 bonus reward goal explosions.
The bonus rewards for Competitive Season 7 are as follows:
- Bronze and Silver Tiers – ‘Striker’ Goal Explosion
- Gold and Platinum – ‘Striker’ and ‘Striker Pro’ Goal Explosions
- Diamond, Champion and Grand Champion – ‘Striker,’ ‘Striker Pro’ and ‘Striker Legend’ Goal Explosions
Season 8
On the 2018 Rocket League Summer Road Map, it was announced that the start of Season 8 Competitive would occur sometime in late May. [8]
Season Reward Level
For Season 5, Psyonix introduced a concept called Season Reward Level that is independent from your matchmaking rank. Your Reward Level starts at Unranked, and each win earns you progress towards the next level. Each Reward Level requires 10 wins to unlock, and they are sequential - you unlock Silver rewards after Bronze, Gold after Silver, and so on. Losing a match will not count against your Season Reward Level in any way, even if the loss causes you to drop a Tier or Division.
Note: Up until Season 6, 12 wins were required to advance to the next Season Reward Level. This changed starting in Season 7
| Number of Wins | Season Reward Level |
|---|---|
| 10 wins at Bronze Rank or higher | Bronze |
| 10 additional wins at Silver Rank or higher | Silver |
| 10 additional wins at Gold Rank or higher | Gold |
| 10 additional wins at Platinum Rank or higher | Platinum |
| 10 additional wins at Diamond Rank or higher | Diamond |
| 10 additional wins at Champion Rank or higher | Champion |
| 10 additional wins at Grand Champion Rank | Grand Champion |
Wins only count toward your Season Reward Level if you’re playing at or above that level’s Skill Tier. For example, you can progress towards unlocking Bronze rewards by playing at Bronze tier or higher. But a Gold player who has unlocked Gold Season Rewards cannot yet unlock Platinum Season Rewards.
- FAQ
- Q: Can I lose Season Reward Levels if I lose matches or drop a Skill tier?
- A: No, you will not lose progress towards your Season Rewards. Losses do not subtract from your win total, and your progress will be stored even if you get demoted.
- Q: How do different playlists interact with the Season Reward Level?
- A: You can earn wins towards leveling up from any Competitive Playlist. However, you still only earn Wins for matches of sufficient rank. If your 2v2 rank is Platinum and your 3v3 rank is Silver, 3v3 wins will only count towards Silver Reward Level and below.
- Q: When are Season Rewards given out?
- A: For Season 5, they will still be awarded at the end of the season. In future seasons, we hope to have them be awarded immediately upon unlocking a Reward Level.
- Q: How long will Season 5 last?
- A: Similar to Season 4, we are planning for Season 5 to last 3 to 4 months.
April Fools' Day 2017
On March 31, 2017 as part of an April Fools' Day joke, Psyonix announced new ranks would be implemented in the game.[9] Shortly after the announcement the actual rank images had changed in game. The new ranks were:
- Unranked
- Potato
- Hearty, solid, and unflashy. Potato players have a lot of potential, but need more time in the oven of competition.
- Onion
- However you dice them, these players are versatile, but still learning how to mix well with others. Occasional mistakes can make teammates cry.
- Corn
- These players have used their eyes and ears to pop above the maize of the lower ranks.
- Broccoli
- Heady players that stalk the field with a purpose.
- Radish
- Esteemed players that often have deep roots in the community.
- Purple Cabbage
- The cream of the crop, they often steam their opponents. These champions are not your garden variety veterans, are extremely versatile, and mix well with a variety of teammates.
- Grand Eggplant
- Only the best Rocket League players have grown their skills enough to reach this exclusive rank.
Rank icons
See also
References
- ↑ Season 9 Update on Rocket League - Official Site
- ↑ Patch Notes v1.31 on Rocket League - Official Site
- ↑ Changes Coming for Competitive Season 5 on Rocket League - Official Site
- ↑ Autumn Update Bonus Season 5 Rewards on Rocket League - Official Site
- ↑ Competitive Season 7 and Season 6 Rewards on Rocket League - Official Site
- ↑ @RocketLeague on Twitter: "Updated Season 6 Reward Wheels"
- ↑ Rocket League Summer 2018 Roadmap on Rocket League - Official Site
- ↑ Rocket League Summer 2018 Roadmap on Rocket League - Official Site
- ↑ Incoming Rank Adjustments for Competitive Season 4 on Rocket League - Official Site