Valorant patch 1.05 introduces new matchmaking changes for pre-made queues

A new Agent and a brand new ranking system was not the only thing that Valorant patch 1.05 brought with it.

The patch has a slew of quality life changes, which the majority of the player base felt were a much-needed addition to the game.

One of the most important changes to Valorant is the new matchmaking system for the pre-made queue. Previously, similar-sized pre-made groups were not clumped together, as according to the Valorant devs, the matchmaking system was not ‘properly’ toggled.

Hence, solo and duo players would often end up in matches where they either had to play with a 3 or 4 man squad or play against them.

solo/duo queue instant pop over and over into 5-stacks, the changes mentioned in the patch notes made literally no differenceim put at 70 ping servers against 5stacks with 30 ping solo/duo queueing, they legit changed absolutely nothing :(

— Liquid Mendo (@Mendo) August 5, 2020

Team Liquid’s Mendo even posted a tweet about it where he says:

“solo/duo queue instant pop over and over into 5-stacks, the changes mentioned in the patch notes made literally no difference. im put at 70 ping servers against 5stacks with 30 ping solo/duo queueing, they legit changed absolutely nothing”

What are the matchmaking changes in Valorant patch 1.05?

So... In EU/TR/CIS and NA/BR/LATAM, we didn't properly toggle the matchmaking change where solo/duo players would have a higher chance to match against similarly-sized premade groups (at the cost of slightly higher queue times).That change should now be ON for those regions.

— VALORANT (@PlayVALORANT) August 7, 2020

On the 7th of August, Riot Games had tweeted about the problems that matchmaking was having in the various regions, and how players were being queued with big premade parties. Their tweet read:

“So... In EU/TR/CIS and NA/BR/LATAM, we didn't properly toggle the matchmaking change where solo/duo players would have a higher chance to match against similarly-sized premade groups (at the cost of slightly higher queue times).”

Now, from patch 1.05 onwards, solo and duo players will have a much higher chance of landing in games with similar party sizes. However, getting a match will take a bit longer than usual, but we feel that players would gladly accept this penalty.

By fixing this aspect of the matchmaking, the Valorant devs have made the ranked grind much more balanced than what it was. If you aren’t placed against a large pre-made party, you will have a much higher chance of winning your games.

With that being said, this is not going to rule out the chances of getting a troll or a player with a much lower MMR than you as a teammate. Hence, this aspect of matchmaking is going to remain frustrating.