‘Fortnite’ is swapping out Arena for a proper ranked mode

Epic Games has announced that a ranked mode is coming to Fortnite, which will replace the battle royale’s Arena mode this week.

Set to launch tomorrow (May 16), ranked will be playable through both mainline Fortnite modes — Battle Royale and Zero Build — though players will be given a separate rank for each.

As for how ranks are worked out, players will be able to progress through eight divisions by eliminating opponents and placing highly in matches. You can check out the new Fortnite ranks below.

• Bronze
• Silver
• Gold
• Platinum
• Diamond
• Elite
• Champion
• Unreal

While Diamond rank and below will each have three divisions, the top three — Elite, Champion and Unreal — will serve as single divisions. Additionally, anyone who reaches Unreal cannot be demoted for the rest of the season, and will compete to reach the top of a global leaderboard.

Those playing in Duos or Squads will be given a “party rank,” which means everyone in the group will share the highest-ranking party member’s rank while queuing for matches together.

However, players looking to jump into ranked with new Epic Games accounts will need to “outlast 500 opponents” in the battle royale before unlocking access to ranked. Additionally, the arrival of ranked play will mean Fortnite‘s Arena mode will be retired with its launch.

While Season Zero of ranked play begins on May 16, and will last until Chapter 4 Season 3 of Fortnite ends.

According to this blog, Epic plans to use Season Zero to “make any adjustments to issues and concerns that arise, while also working on additional features and overall improvements for when ranked starts following the normal Battle Royale Season schedule”.

Earlier in the month, Fortnite was confirmed to appear in this year’s inaugural Olympic Esports Week, and will be used for a virtual sport shooting competition.