Ranked
The one on one ladder
Ranked is one on one. You queue from the ranked screen, you get paired with someone near your rating, and the winner takes WP off the loser.
Your WP is your tier. It resets every season, and while you wait the game widens its search by 250 WP every 30 seconds until it finds you someone.
Getting in
| Requirement | Detail |
|---|---|
| Level 20 | Ranked stays locked until then. |
| No ban | A ban on your account closes the queue. |
| No queue penalty | Decline or ignore five matches in an hour and you sit out two hours. |
| No leaver ban | Quit five matches early inside six hours and ranked shuts for a day. |
| Placements done | Two runs at the start of a season, or skip them and start at 500 WP. |
| One account | One account per player each season. Alts are not allowed. |
Tiers
| Tier | End of season badge |
|---|---|
| Iron | bottom 18.25% |
| Bronze | bottom 28% |
| Silver | top 30% |
| Gold | top 15% |
| Diamond | top 6% |
| Platinum | top 2% |
| Master | top 0.5% |
| Challenger | top 0.25% |
How WP moves
A match is worth up to 75 WP. Beating someone rated above you pays most of that, beating someone well below you pays almost nothing, and the loser drops by what you gain.
| Situation | What happens |
|---|---|
| Short matches | Under turn 20 the whole swing shrinks with the turn count, down to a fifth. |
| Long matches | Past turn 20 the winner gains a little more and the loser drops a little less. |
| A draw | Either player can offer one from turn 30. If it is taken, neither rating moves. |
| Quitting early | Bail out behind before turn 20 and it is tracked. The first two inside six hours cost you the reduced amount, the third costs the full loss, the fourth costs one and a half times it, the fifth doubles it and locks you out of ranked for a day. |
| Floor | WP never drops below 1. |
Seasons
A season lasts about a month, then everything on the ladder starts over.
- Everyone goes back to 500 WP.
- Finish above 500 and your final WP and ladder position are kept as a season badge on your profile.
- Season XP resets and the ladder is wiped.
- The queue closes while the season rolls over.
Placements
You play these on your own before your first ranked match of the season.
| Detail | |
|---|---|
| What they are | Solo runs of up to 200 turns each, two hearts, no heart gain. |
| What you get | The further you push, the higher you start, up to 1600 WP. |
| The cap | Last season's finish sets the ceiling on what you can win back. |
| Skipping | Allowed. You start at 500 WP. |
Inside a ranked match
| How it works | |
|---|---|
| Settings | Locked. There is no host, so nothing can be changed. |
| Language | You each play in your own. Pick it on the ranked screen before you queue. |
| Hearts | Two each to start. |
| Heart gain | Harder than a normal room. The alphabet refills tougher, you get five hearts back instead of eight, and it stops entirely at turn 750. |
| Prompts | They get harder every 40 turns, and two strong players start on harder ones than two new players. |
| Spectators | Anyone can watch once the match starts. |
| Reactions | You cannot send them to your opponent. |
| XP | Words pay 15 percent more than in a normal room. |
| Dog tags | Matches that last past turn 20 pay them out. The winner gets more, and the higher your tier the more they are worth. |
| Disconnects | Drop out seven times and you lose the match. |