Pokemon Unite recently launched for Nintendo Switch and, as with most games of its ilk, comes with its own distinct ranking system. After reaching level six from playing standard matches, you'll unlock the ability to compete in ranked matches, which are designed to gauge your ability and place you in a certain tier based on it.
Pokemon Unite ranked matches are very different to the standard games. It's still 5v5 and matches are still ten minutes long, but there's way more at stake here, which you'll immediately notice from how much more teamwork is involved. While standard matches are pretty casual, the people in ranked know what they're up to.
If you're curious about how the Pokemon Unite ranking system works, we've put together a handy guide with details about all of the various ranks and tiers you can reach from winning games. From Beginner to Master, there are currently six different ranks you can attain in Pokemon Unite. Here's how competitive Pokemon Unite works, as well as how each individual rank is set up.
Pokemon Unite Ranking System: How To Unlock Ranked Matches
You unlock ranked matches in Pokemon Unite after reaching level six from standard play and obtaining five or more Unite licenses. At this point, you'll be able to access "Ranked Matches" from the Unite Battle menu.
The main difference between ranked matches and standard matches is that every match will have an impact on your overall placement. The more you win, the more you'll ascend through the ranks - if you lose, though, or perform poorly, you'll be relegated back down to a lower tier of play. It's basically a means of continuously assessing how good you are in relation to other players.
Pokemon Unite Ranking System: Every Rank In Pokemon Unite
As mentioned above, there are currently six different ranks in Pokemon Unite, each of which is separated into a certain number of tiers. These are as follows:
- Beginner - three tiers
- Great - four tiers
- Expert - five tiers
- Veteran - five tiers
- Ultra - five tiers
- Master - as the highest rank, this has no tiers and is instead measured by a special ranking system of its own
You obviously start out at Beginner rank. From here, it's pretty easy to reach Great, but you'll notice some knockback after losing at this level. The further you climb the ladder, the better the players you'll come up against, meaning that matches get progressively harder as you go on. In most competitive games, regular players tend to end up somewhere in the middle - in a couple of weeks' time, expect a lot of people to be hovering around the Great and Expert divisions. Only the best of the best will reach Master, so if you've got your eyes on the prize, you'll need to commit a lot of time to learning the best ways to play Pokemon Unite and string up a lot of victory chains, which grant you pretty major point boosts - basically, the more matches you win in a row, the more points you'll gain per win.
If you're wondering how to improve your game, be sure to check out our other guides for things like the best Zeraora build in Pokemon Unite and the best Garchomp build in Pokemon Unite. Also, don't forget to consult our Pokemon Unite tips and tricks guide, which has loads of valuable advice for beginners and veterans alike.