Rating System

TopRankMC uses an Elo rating system to rank players fairly based on competitive match results. Here's how it all works.

What is Elo?

Elo is a rating system originally designed for chess. It measures relative skill — when you beat a higher-rated player, you gain more points. When you lose to a lower-rated player, you lose more. Over time, your rating converges on your true skill level.

Every new player starts at 1000 Elo (Gold III). Your rating cannot drop below 100.

Rank Tiers

Each tier has three sub-divisions (III, II, I) spanning equal thirds of the range.

Tier	Elo Range	Description
Legend	2000+	The absolute best
Grandmaster	1800–1999	Elite competitors
Master	1600–1799	Top-tier players
Diamond	1400–1599	Highly skilled
Platinum	1200–1399	Above average
Gold	1000–1199	Starting tier
Silver	800–999	Below average
Bronze	0–799	New or struggling

Tier Promotion

Each tier has an Elo ceiling. When your Elo reaches the top of your current tier, it caps at the ceiling until you prove you belong in the next tier by defeating a player from that tier or above.

Example: You're Gold with 1199 Elo (Gold ceiling). You win another match but stay at 1199.

You see: "Tier ceiling reached! Beat a Platinum player to promote."

When you beat a Platinum player, your Elo uncaps and flows through — you promote!

Legend tier (2000+) has no ceiling. This system prevents inflated ranks from farming lower-tier opponents.

Tier-Based Elo Scaling

You earn reduced Elo for beating opponents from lower tiers. Losses are always full value.

Opponent Tier vs Yours	Multiplier	Example
Same tier or above	1.0x	Gold vs Gold
1 tier below	0.75x	Gold vs Silver
2 tiers below	0.50x	Gold vs Bronze
3+ tiers below	0.25x	Platinum vs Bronze

Minimum gain per win is always 1 Elo (never zero). This prevents farming weaker players for easy points.

K-Factor (Rating Volatility)

The K-factor determines how much your rating changes per match. New players have a higher K-factor so their rating adjusts quickly. Experienced players have a lower K-factor for stability.

Player State	K-Factor	Games Played	What It Means
New Player	40	0–30	Big swings — finding your true rank fast
Stabilizing	24	31–100	Moderate changes — narrowing in
Established	16	101+	Small, steady shifts — your rank is settled
Returning	32	After inactivity	Re-calibrating after time away

Match Rules

Max duration: 5 minutes (300 seconds). If time runs out, the player who dealt more total damage wins.
Min duration: 15 seconds. Matches shorter than this don't count for Elo (prevents exploits).
Disconnects: Always count as a forfeit regardless of match duration.
Draws: If both players deal equal damage at timeout, no Elo changes.
Countdown: 3-second countdown before the fight begins. Players are frozen during countdown.

Matchmaking

When you queue for a kit, the system searches for opponents within a narrow Elo range and gradually expands the search if no match is found:

0s: Search within +/- 50 Elo

10s: Expand to +/- 100 Elo

20s: Expand to +/- 150 Elo

... expands every 10 seconds ...

50s: Max range: +/- 300 Elo

You cannot face the same opponent more than 3 times per hour.

Composite Rating

Your overall ranking on the leaderboard uses a composite rating calculated from your top 2 kit ratings:

composite = (best_kit × 0.6) + (second_best_kit × 0.4)

If you only play one kit, that kit's Elo is your composite rating.

Elo Decay

Inactive players lose Elo over time to keep the leaderboard active:

Starts after: 14 days of inactivity
Rate: 2 Elo per day (~15 per week)
Affects: Gold (1000+) and above only
Floor: You cannot decay below your current tier's minimum (e.g., Diamond players won't drop below 1400)

Play one match to reset the decay timer.

Seasons

Ratings are reset at the end of each season using a soft reset formula:

new_elo = (current_elo + 1000) / 2

This pulls everyone toward 1000, but preserves relative skill:

Was 1500

1250

Was 800

900

Was 2000

1500

Each season requires 10 placement games before your rank is visible on the leaderboard.