How the 2026 Season Is Structured
Valorant changed its calendar in 2025. The old Episode-and-Act format is gone; the game now runs on year-long Seasons, so 2026 is Season 2026 (shown in game as V26). Each Season has six Acts of roughly two months, and each Act brings a fresh battle pass and its own Act Rank, while ranks themselves reset only twice a year.
- Seasons are annual: Season 2025, Season 2026, and so on, replacing the Episode 1 through 9 numbering used through 2024.
- Each Season has six Acts, numbered Act 1 to Act 6 (V26 Act 5, for example).
- Ranks reset twice per Season: at the start of Act 1 and at Mid-Season, the start of Act 4.
- New agents and map-pool changes are rolled out across the Acts of a Season, often when a new Act starts.
What Actually Happens at a Rank Reset
At the start of the Season and again at Mid-Season, your displayed rank is reset and you play five placement matches to earn it back. You are not sent back to the bottom: placements lean on your hidden MMR, so players who finished higher place higher. The one hard limit is that nobody can place above Ascendant 3, which is why Immortal and Radiant players feel the reset the most.
- Everyone plays five placement matches at the start of Act 1 and Act 4.
- The highest possible placement is Ascendant 3, so Immortal and Radiant have to be won again in normal games.
- In Acts 2, 3, 5, and 6 there is no full reset: you play a single placement match to update your rank. Your rank does not drop automatically, but a rough placement match can lower it.
- Immortal and Radiant players who play that single placement keep their leaderboard position but lose 90% of their RR, so every Radiant starts those Acts back in Immortal.
Placement Matches and Hidden MMR
This is the part most players misunderstand. Where you land after placements depends less on your placement-match record than on your hidden MMR, the matchmaking rating Valorant uses to estimate your real skill. A reset changes your displayed rank, not that hidden number, so it pulls you back toward your real level within a handful of games.
- Play your five placement matches at the start of a Season or at Mid-Season to reveal your new rank.
- Wins and losses matter, and so does how you perform against your lobby, because the system is checking whether your hidden MMR still fits.
- A reset does not wipe your hidden MMR, and that number is the main driver of your placement result.
- Practical takeaway: a player who finished high will place higher than someone who finished low, even with the same placement record, because hidden MMR does the heavy lifting.
Act Rank, Rank Legacy, and Ranked Gun Buddies
Each Act also tracks your performance separately through Act Rank, which reflects the highest rank you won a match at during that Act: what Riot calls your proven skill. It stays on your record after the Act ends, so your history survives every reset.
- Act Rank records the highest rank you won a match at during the Act.
- Since Patch 13.06, the Competitive Hub on your Career page adds Rank Legacy, which counts how many times you have reached each rank. Each rank can add to that count once per half-Season: once in Acts 1 to 3 and once in Acts 4 to 6.
- Ranked gun buddies come twice a year rather than every Act: one for the highest rank you reached across Acts 1 to 3, delivered at Mid-Season, and one for Acts 4 to 6.
- A higher peak rank earns a more prestigious buddy, which is a tangible reason to push before each half of the Season ends.
What to Expect After a Reset
The first days of a new Season or Mid-Season feel chaotic on purpose. Everyone has just played placements, so games are messier than usual while hidden MMR sorts players back into place. Knowing this lets you play the reset smart instead of tilting over a few rough lobbies.
- Early lobbies are uneven: you may face a wider spread of skill until the ladder re-sorts over the first week or two.
- Climbing back to your previous rank is usually fast if you play consistently, since your hidden MMR has not really left.
- Use the early days to warm up fundamentals rather than forcing a big push on day one.
- Check where the current meta sits before you grind, since balance changes between Acts can shift which agents are worth one-tricking.
Related resources
Frequently asked questions
How often does Valorant reset your rank?
Twice a year: at the start of each Season (Act 1) and at Mid-Season (Act 4). Each of those resets asks for five placement matches and caps placements at Ascendant 3. In the Acts in between you play one placement match, and your rank does not drop automatically.
Does Valorant fully reset your MMR each Act?
No. A reset changes your visible rank, not your hidden MMR, and that hidden number is the main factor deciding your placement result. That is why a player who finished high places far above one who finished low, whatever their placement-match record.
How many placement matches are there after a reset?
Five, at the start of each Season and at Mid-Season, with Ascendant 3 as the highest possible placement. At the start of the other Acts you play just one placement match to update your rank.
What is Act Rank in Valorant?
Act Rank reflects your proven skill in an Act: the highest rank you won a match at during it. It stays on your record after the Act ends. Since Patch 13.06, the Competitive Hub also shows Rank Legacy, a count of how many times you have reached each rank.
Why do I drop more rank than my friends after a reset?
Because placements cap at Ascendant 3. Immortal and Radiant players cannot place straight back into their old rank and have to win it again in normal games, while lower-ranked players are not held back by that cap.