Modern Warfare 3 Ranked Play: Skill divisions, ranks, maps & modes explained

Ranked Play is finally arriving in Modern Warfare 3 with the launch of Season 1 Reloaded on Wednesday, January 17.

Over the years, a functional Ranked Play has become imperative for any competitive video game, as players want to face off against those on their skill level and work their way up the ladder.

Call of Duty is no different, and Ranked has become an important feature in the game each year.

So whether you’re completely oblivious to the competitive scene or a die-hard Call of Duty League fan, Ranked Play gives you the opportunity to play like the pros. Here’s how.

MW3 Ranked skill divisions

It’s worth noting that rank and Skill Divisions are two separate things in this year’s iteration of Ranked Play. Your rank represents your Ranked career, and everybody starts from Rank 1. Win matches to earn stars and rank up. It’s worth noting that tank is permanent and persists across seasons.

Skill Divisions, however, are the more interesting part, separating players based on skill from anywhere between Bronze and Iridescent.

The system won’t be new to those who played Modern Warfare 2 ranked, but here’s each division:

• Bronze
• Silver
• Gold
• Platinum
• Diamond
• Crimson
• Iridescent
• Top 250

The Skill Divisions in Modern Warfare 3 Ranked Play are the same as MW2.

You will start in Bronze 1 and earn Skill Rating (SR) for each win you get, based on personal and team performance. This will allow you to climb the Skill Divisions, but be aware that losing matches will result in losing SR, as will being inactive, disconnecting from matches, and engaging in repeated friendly fire.

In subsequent seasons, you will be dropped back three Tiers, e.g. from Diamond 2 to Platinum 2.

MW3 Ranked maps & modes

Once again this year, the competitive circuit will be playing Hardpoint, Search & Destroy, and Control, and this is reflected in Ranked Play.

That said, there may be some slight adjustments to each mode, altering it from public matches:

• CDL Search & Destroy: No respawning; 1.5-minute round timer; Friendly Fire enabled.
• CDL Hardpoint: 5-minute time limit; 250 score limit; 60-second objective rotation; Friendly Fire enabled.
• CDL Control: 30 lives per team; 1.5-minute time limit; 3-round win limit; Friendly Fire enabled.

They will be played on the following maps:

That’s all there is to know about Ranked Play in Modern Warfare 3. It will be available to play on January 17 alongside the launch of Season 1 Reloaded, which is due to bring a huge number of changes, including new maps and weapons as well as a new weapon balancing pass for both MW3 and Warzone.