Ranked Play Set To Land This Week In Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare II

Ranked play has been requested since Modern Warfare II launched last year. Ranked is where the best of the best throw down to see where they truly stack up against other players, so its no surprise many players have felt hollow with its absence. This will all change this week though when Ranked Play officially lands in Modern Warfare II.

Modern Warfare II ranked has been built from the ground up to deliver on an authentic competitive experience that rewards winning. Ranked has its own Skill Divisions and will have Skill Rating Forgiveness and Demotion Protection. If you are truly new the the experience, here is a quick rundown of the basics of ranked:

Ranked will feature the following modes with their respective maps listed:

Hardpoint

• Al Bagra Fortress
• Breenbergh Hotel
• Embassy
• Mercado Las Almas
• Zarqwa Hydroelectric Search & Destroy
• Al Bagra Fortress
• Breenbergh Hotel
• El Asilo
• Embassy
• Mercado Las Almas Control
  
• Al Bagra Fortress
• Breenbergh Hotel
• El Asilo

Playing matches grants Skill Rating (SR), which determines what Skill Division out of the eight you belong to:

Skill Divisions will be broken up between the following rating categories:

Bronze – 0-899 SR
Silver – 900-2,099 SR
Gold – 2,100-3,599 SR
Platinum – 3,600-5,399 SR
Diamond – 5,400-7,499 SR
Crimson – 7,500-9,999 SR
Iridescent – 10,000 SR minimum
Top 250 – 10,000+ SR

SR will be given to players that win matches and taken away from players that lose. Individual performance will help determine how much you are given or how much you lose. On paper this seems like a fantastic system that prevents people who don't participate in the win from advancing forward in matchmaking. To keep it even more fair, players will not be able to stack a good team together with a low tier friend to help pull that friend forward. MWII will have the following limitations:

• Bronze through Platinum players can party up with no restrictions.
• Diamond and Crimson players can only form parties with and play against other players within two Skill Divisions.
• Iridescent and Top 250 Players can only form parties with and play against other players within one Skill Division.

Ranked Play will also bring in the Rank system. Seperate from the Skill Divisions, Rank will be what determines your rewards in Ranked Play.

From the Official Blog: The Rank represents your cumulative progress in Ranked Play, starting at Rank 1 and going through Rank 50. Advancing through Ranks is as simple as winning matches – every Ranked Play win awards a Star. Earn enough Stars and you'll progress to the next Rank in your journey to Rank 50. Every five Ranks awards a new symbol that appears in the color of your Skill Division, such as a Wolf for Ranks 11–15 or the mighty Silverback Gorilla for Ranks 31–35. Unlike Skill Divisions, Ranks do not reset between Ranked Seasons.

Call Of Duty has also seemed to hit the nail on the head when it comes to quitter penalties. Not only will the quitter be penalized for leaving a game mid match but all players in the party will not lose any SR from the match if they lose. If they happen to overcome the advantage and win, SR will still be awarded. Players that are frequent flyers on the pity plane and quit will also be more harshly penalized than in previous times.

If all of this wasn't enought to get you chomping at the bit, MWII will also be deploying a fresh series of CDL style skins to reward players as they climb the ranks.

As you level up in ranks, so will your rewards. MWII has the current progression laid out for Ranked Play as:

• Rank 5: “Ranked Competitor” Operator Skin Pack, one “Home” version and one “Away” version awarded for both the Male and Female CDL Operators
• Rank 15: Pro Issue Sidearm Blueprint, which has similar attachments to what is used at the highest level of competitive play.
• Rank 30: New Gun Screen that tracks Ranked Play wins.
• Rank 40: Pro Issue Combat Knife Blueprint, which is another popular competitive Secondary weapon.
• Rank 50: “Ranked Veteran” Operator Skins (Home and Away) awarded to Male and Female CDL Operators, proof of your commitment to Ranked Play no matter your Skill Division

There are also several rewards for simply winning matches such as the a sticker at 5 wins, a Pro Issue SMG Blueprint that is awarded at 10 wins and additional such as a Charm, Decal, Loading screen and even a Weapon Camo.

Exciting times are ahead for Call of Duty and hopefully soon here at Tracker Network we can start tracking all of your wins and K/D like he have for years. Time will tell when Modern Warfare II will set their API live but until them make sure you have signed up to get notified when it goes live.

Will you be jumping into Ranked Play when it launches? Let me know in the comments below or on Twitter @Suttledge