How the Fortnite Ranked Mode will change the game forever

Fortnite Ranked Mode will officially be added to the game after the update v24.40 goes live on May 16, 2023. While this feature has been present in other Battle Royale and competitive games over the years, it's been missing from the metaverse. Once added in, it will replace Arena as well. While this is rather sad, there's no stopping progress.

That said, the Ranked Mode will change the game forever in a positive way. It will be open to players, both new and old, and will matchmake players with similar skills against each other. But that's just the tip of the iceberg, and based on the official information that's available, Epic Games has big things planned for the Fortnite Ranked Mode.

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Fortnite Ranked Mode will introduce some much needed changes to competitive gameplay

Unlike the normal Zero Build - Battle Royale and OG Battle Royale modes, the Ranked Mode will mix things up a bit. For starters, the Zero Build - Battle Royale will only feature Duos, while the OG Battle Royale mode will feature Solo, Duos, and Squads. This will be the current format, but more modes will be added later. Furthermore, players will have separate ranks for both modes.

Since teams will be involved in ranked matches, all team members will either gain or lose progress as a whole. This will be based on team placement and eliminations calculated at the end of the match. This likely means that irrespective of who gets the most eliminations, progress will be shared equally. While this is not a bad thing, it may lead to weaker players being pushed up the ranks forcefully.

What makes Fortnite Ranked Mode great is that all players in a game will be of equal skill level. This means that there will not be any bots or sweats. This should level the playing field considerably for everyone and remove any advantage that players may have in terms of experience.

However, having said that, once the Ranked Mode is activated, there will be a few ups and downs in the first few weeks.

To elaborate, since everyone will start at Bronze, there's a high chance that newcomers will be paired up against more veteran players. This will make things a bit difficult. But as stated, as veteran players move up the ranks to Elite or higher, the bottom tiers will settle down, and matchmaking will work as intended.

That said, there will be a few changes that players can expect to see in the Fortnite Ranked Mode for the OG Battle Royale. The biggest change is that the Material cap will be drastically reduced from 999 to 500. However, to counterbalance this, the harvesting rate and amount of materials opponents will drop when eliminated have been increased.

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Are there any rewards for playing Fortnite Ranked Mode?

Yes, as with everything in-game, there are rewards for playing Fortnite Ranked Mode. Every time players jump off the Battle Bus in a Ranked match, they will be given a Ranked Urgent Quest/Challenge. By completing them, Seasonal cosmetic rewards can be unlocked. However, remember that these do not carry over from match to match.

While the list of cosmetic rewards should become available after the update v24.40 goes live, the final reward for Ranked Season Zero has been made known. According to the official information, it's an Emote called Burn Bright. When obtained, players can show off their current rank color.

For now, that's all the information that's been made available; Epic Games will likely provide an update on May 16, 2023, once the Fortnite Ranked Mode goes live.