Overview
This guide will explain how to find a globally ranked match, the different types of globally ranked matches, what the ranks are decided by, and some tips for playing competitively.
Finding a Globally Ranked Match
So you decided you’d like to try a globally ranked match, but you cannot figure out how to find one that actually ranks you. Thankfully, I am here to explain how to.
There are two ways of finding globally ranked matches.
Way 1:
1. Click on highlighted servers.
2. Click Multiplayer
3. Any server that falls within the bottom two categories (competitive/teams and competitive/solo) are globally ranked. However, sometimes these servers are mislabeled (DDD’s server that shows up in solo is team shootout, not shootout, which means it is not ranked.)
This is what you should see:
Way 2:
1. Click find servers.
2. set Tags to include global_ranks (it helps as well if you filter out servers by below 125 latency and has users playing.)
3. Refresh the window
This is what you should see:
The Types of Ranked Matches
There are three types of ranked matches.
There is Shootout, where you fight the world in a desperate attempt to come out on top.
There is Teamplay, where you (hopefully) play as a team to complete objectives.
There is Versus, where you go 1v1 in different environments with different weapons.
All these modes give points by kills. However, in Teamplay, there is a “Offensive playstyle reward: global rank scores get boosted the closer a player gets to enemy spawn (up to +50% per kill). On the opposite, players getting their kills close from their own spawn get a negative boost (up to -50%). As this multiplier scales linearly, getting a kill midway from each spawn place just rewards player same as before.” – Rebel_Y, game developer.
Playing Global Ranks
So you are now on a globally ranked server. But you have a few questions, like “Why am I not getting ranked on this globally ranked server?” or “How is my rank decided?” or “How do I see my rank?”
The answer to question one is this: In versus, where you play 1v1s, you need 1 other player for ranking (you take their points and they take your points.) In Teamplay you need six? players on the server for it to rank. In globally ranked Shootout you need at least six players total or global ranks are turned off.
An important note is that if a player leaves mid-match on teamplay? or shootout, dropping the server to 5 players, and no one rejoins to fill his place the “you gained/lost x points (+/- y rank)” will not appear but the part of the match that you had six players on still counts!
The answer to question two is this: ranked points decide your global rank. When you die, a portion of your points are transferred. “How many points?” you might ask. The answer is that the points taken/given are decided by the difference in rank (high rank killing low rank gives less points then low rank killing high rank) and gun noteriety (killing a player with a Colt Walker will give less points then killing with the Navy.) Now you are probably asking, “What about my total notoriety? I got top score on the server but I lost points, why?” and my answer is this: notoriety from assists and killstreaks do not add to your global rank whatsoever.
This is different in Versus. In Versus the points given/taken are solely determined by rank, and a little text popup will tell you how many points you will win/lose in this match.
The answer to question three is this: Every globally ranked match you join will display your rank at the time you join it. However, if you want to see it, click Leaderboards in the main menu.
From there, if you are lazy/not in the top so many, click View Friends-only Leaderboards (highlighted in red), which will show you and your friends global ranks, which (should) narrow the list down dramatically. In addition, to view different global ranks, click the drop-down menu highlighted in blue, select either Versus, Shootout, or Teamplay, and then click Show. This menu appears in either leaderboard.
Tips and Tricks for Achieving at Globally Ranked Matches
1. Join the lowest latency possible server.
2. Remember that this is about K/D and gun notoriety; bigger guns give less points and the goal is generally to earn more points per life than are taken away at the end of the life. If there is a top 100 or less player playing and you can identify them by their weapon choice or style, try to focus them as they will grant more points, but don’t suicide yourself in the process.
3. Finish with the highest-notoriety weapon possible, but keep in mind the safety of that weapon. Running into someone and finishing them with a punch will grant the most points, but while you are running at them they could finish you with a Colt Navy headshot.
4. Pair up your guns. Create gun combos that two-shot enemies while granting the most points possible. some great ones are (in order that they should be fired) Mare’s Leg/ Colt Peacemaker with the Colt Navy, Mare’s Leg with the Volcanic, Coachgun with the Navy or Volcanic (Navy if at longer range) (quick-draw recommended), Yellowboy with the Navy or Volcanic (Navy if at longer range) (quick-draw recommended), SW Schofield with the Remington Army (use at closer ranges because it only barely does 100 damage) (grants only eight noteriety,) and any gun dealing more than 75 either by bodyshot or headshot but less than 100 damage followed by a jumpkick.
5. Surviving is more important than gun notoriety. If you are going to lose a battle because you ran out of bullets but you have a knife, use it in a way that you understand. If you suck at throwing the knife, don’t throw it for the extra point of notoriety, just stab him unless he is too far away.
6. Know when to fan. Fanning can be a godsend or a curse. Sometimes landing every shot is easy and sometimes it is nigh impossible. Use fanning where you know where you will hit. A great example of fanning is when you jumpkick followed by fanning a Colt Navy. If you do it right, the victim will be dead less than a second after touching the ground.
Notes
This guide is a rough draft; do not expect perfect spelling. Steam guide making does not offer spellcheck.
The purpose for the release of this guide is to get some more US players playing globally ranked matches again, particularly Shootout.
Feel free to leave feedback! I read every comment!