Let's cut to the chase - Ranked Season 1 starts today, and you should get involved. For honor, glory, and the dangly doodad you'll get at the end of it! All the grisly details on Ranked Season 1 and other additions lie ahead...
Ranked Season 1
After test-driving the Ranked Preseason for more than half a year, it's time shit got real - Today we're kicking off Ranked Season 1!
First off, if you qualified for a Preseason Trinket you'll find it in your inventory sometime in the next day or two. Slap it on your Primary and show the world how high you climbed.
Where Do I Sign Up?
To get a head start on the season, hit 'Ranked Match' in the Play menu. Remember, you have to be at Level 7 or higher to get stuck in.
When you enter the new season, you'll battle through ten placement matches to determine your starting Rank.
Your placement is affected by where you ended up in the Preseason, but if you're fresh to Ranked these ten games will be the proverbial sorting hat for where you begin.
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We've ditched the oft-confused numbering system from Pre-Season, and lovingly named the Ranks within each league from Recruit to Master. Icons have also been given a facelift to separate them further from each other.
What Else Has Changed?
- Skill Limit Update - We're significantly tightening up the maximum allowed skill difference between players for more evenly matched games. While we will always match the closest available players, you might occasionally come across a difference of 3-5 Ranks.
- Rank Bracket Update - We've updated the point at which new players enter the system to the top of Bronze, rather than the top of Silver.
- Leaver Penalty - To discourage players from leaving Ranked games, anyone who leaves will no longer receive ANY credits at the end of the match. Previously they would leave with anything they had earned up until that point.
- Solo/Duo Queue - For this first Season, we'll be limiting queues to Solo/Duo. This is to prevent the majority of players who join as Solo coming up against 5-Player pre-made Parties. We plan to re-introduce full 5vs5 Ranked play with a few improvements as soon as we can, as we consider organised teamplay the lifeblood of Dirty Bomb. For a greater breakdown on the change, check out this forum post.
- Disabled AU & Asia Regions - We will be disabling the AU and Asia regions in Ranked play for the time being, to avoid overly long queue times due to the smaller player counts in these regions
What Do I Get?
The chance to claw your way up through the unwashed masses, emerging in the golden glow of sweet, sweet victory...
Also, a healthy 50% Credit Bonus that's applied to your Credit total at the end of every match (as of January's Fine Tuning Update).
On top of that, you'll be rewarded an exclusive Season 1 Trinket for the highest Rank you attain during the Season when it wraps up. Moving down a Rank won't cost you the higher Rank Trinket, so don't be afraid to fight your way back to the top!
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Alright, time to prove your mettle - Get in there and start raising your Rank!
Balance Changes
Thunder
- Reduced the size of Thunder's body hitboxes by ~2%
Other Changes
Gameplay
- Team Shuffle Votes are now available in Execution Mode
- We're reducing the amount of Objective progress information freely given to the opposition, with the aim of encouraging more tactical play
- As a team is disarming C4, disarm progress is no-longer visible through walls to the opposing team
- CDA Defenders will now only see EV repair progress when a member of the team has line of sight on the EV
- CDA Defenders are no longer notified when a Carryable is dropped or picked up in the field, only when picked up from the starting location
These changes have been made to better allow more tactical play without players giving away their position so easily. For example, players could previously hide behind walls and wait to see a C4 disarm progress before popping out to kill the vulnerable defusing player. Now they'll need to keep eyes on the C4 at all times or else risk the sneaky defuse.
User Interface
- Added the improved Team HUD & Match Start elements found in Execution to all other game modes
- Refreshing the Server List in the Server Browser can now be cancelled
- Server List sorting order is now saved when leaving the Server Browser
- Friendly Merc selection is now visible in Ranked match lobbies
- Active players in your Friends list are now grouped and sorted by Server
- Added an Online Friends list to Party screens
- Updated Trade In to allow players to use Loadout Cards for the same Merc
- Added a warning message highlighting the possibility of receiving the same Loadout Card back
- Added a separate Spectator Control bindings screen
- Added minor visual improvements to the Merc and Weapon Stats pages
Audio
- Improved the BR-16 remote firing audio
Maps
- Fixed numerous visual and collision bugs on all maps
Notable Bug Fixes
- Fixed bug where players were sometimes unable to fire their weapon
- Fixed bug where equipped Loadout Cards could sometimes accidentally be Traded Up
- Fixed bug where the Pylons on Dome could appear to be in the incorrect state to players
- Fixed bug where scoping in on very low sensitivity could result in mouse movements being lost
- Fixed bug where Bomb Squad would make grenades and other projectiles visible through walls
- Fixed bug where nearby grenade indicators were not visible
- Fixed bug where reloading would be cancelled if the player had the Double Time augment and began sprinting
- Fixed bug where Mercs with the Mechanic augment would not take priority over others at an Objective
- Fixed bug where destroyed Proximity Mines could still play the 'tripped' audio when running over the location
- Fixed bug where the respawn timer on the HUD and the scoreboard were de-synced by around 1s
- Fixed bug where Nader would often fire a Grenade Launcher Grenade upon death
- Fixed bug where all players could be put on one team for the second half of a Private Stopwatch Match
Notable Known Issues
- The Rank Icons displayed in the 'Performance Snapshot' section of the end game review screen are still using Pre-Season Ranks
- Players who join in the middle of the match will have a blank Merc portrait at the top of the HUD in Objective and Stopwatch games