Hacking Ranking

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hack (noun) clever tip or technique for doing or improving something
rank (noun) relative standing or position


Earn your rare Augmented Hellhound Weapon!


Achieve Diamond for one Commendation Crystal!
Achieve Crystal for two Commendation Crystals!

Two Commendation Crystals trade for one Augmented Hellhound Weapon [ https://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/lodes...p/cfe634889ba/ ]




Here are tips, tricks, and hacks to quickly climb ranks. I've achieved the highest ranking multiple times so I like to brainstorm and talk about how to achieve good results.

Are you stuck in the same rank even after playing for months? The following will tell you why!

For every 20 games, you will have the following net outcome in wins with the respective win rates.
52.5% (10.5 wins / 9.5 loses) = 1 win of difference (A decent player) [where you're probably at right now]
55.0% (11.0 wins / 9.0 loses) = 2 wins of difference (A very skilled player)
57.5% (11.5 wins / 8.5 loses) = 3 wins of difference (An expert) [your goal after reading this guide]
60.0% (12.0 wins / 8.0 loses) = 4 wins of difference (A notable player in Crystal ranking)
75.0% (15.0 wins / 5.0 loses) = 10 wins of difference (A Crystal player playing in Bronze)

I would like to mention that the average win rate in the ranked community should be about 50% so don't be disappointed if your win rate is low.

If you have 52.5% win rate and you play 20 games your net gain is only one star (1 win) so you will have to play 80 games just to promote at this rate!

This is true if you consistently have 52.5% win rate!! With 55% win rate, you will advance twice as fast because your net gain is two stars (2 wins) and 60% is a rank up (4 wins) every 20 games.
And so on. This math does change due to bonus stars and as you climb the rankings Gold and Platinum take five wins then Diamond takes six wins to promote.


HOW TO CLIMB RANK AT LEAST 4X QUICKER

You have 2 options but one may seem more rewarding than the other.

You play 2 games a day and you have 52.5% win rate, so
you can quadruple your play time from 2 games to 8 games a day
OR
you can increase your win rate from 52.5% to 60%

Choosing one of the options will increase your rank climbing progress by 4 times more! Or you can take both of the options and make 4x4 = 16 times more progress!

Does that mean you can make a month of progress in only a few days? YES!

TIPS FOR INCREASING YOUR WIN RATE

Now here are some very good tips for winning games.

Always play your best jobs.
Play a warm up game before jumping into a ranked game.
Don't repeatedly make mistakes and be patient.
Evaluate your strengths and try to pick fights to your advantage (kiting, trading hits, all-out, pushing, etc).
If you are the best player on your team, take the responsibility of carrying your team and never make a bad move for the entirety of the game.
Do not surrender and tell your teammates that surrendering is not acceptable in ranked.
Take breaks in between games.
Never play when you are tired, angry, or depressed.
Don't risk to play if your internet is unstable.

Big credit to Inverted Composer for writing most of this. I just edited a lot.

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If you follow most of these tips, raising your win rate from 52.5% to 57.5% is no sweat! As a result, you will make 3 times more progress in climbing ranking than before.

NOTE ON ALTS/SMURFS
Crystal players that train their smurfs advance quickly because they have about 70% win rate as they climb which means they advance 8 times quicker than a player with 52.5% win rate. In addition, Crystal players play much more than a regular player so they will also make more progress.

Does that mean you can make a month of progress in only a few days?

"A month of progress in only a few days!? You're crazy!"
Did you know the rank 1 players only need to play about 1 week for their point gains? The proof is in the pudding.

Primal


Crystal


Aether


See? Some days in January they earned over a thousand points. Wow! These players achieve high win rates at the top rankings and so can you if you apply these tips!


Good luck in Solo Queue!

[Mawlzy]

So the trick is playing well?

[Lacksz]

waiting for the updated list

[brancinaed]

So the trick is playing well?

Obviously, and win more. That's a bit reductionist and it's a bit more interesting to consider why it's important to try to play well in every ranked game. It may not be immediately obvious increasing win rate a little bit has a big impact in overall time spent. It's also a good case for taking break after losing a game or continuing to play when winning more.

[Themarvin]

If you know your job well, very well that increases your chances alot... don't die... limit dying.. this more uptime and moving the objective is better.... I don't have the time they do, but what little I did... I was focused on

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If you know your job well, very well that increases your chances alot... don't die... limit dying.. this more uptime and moving the objective is better.... I don't have the time they do, but what little I did... I was focused on

Focused on what? I agree wholeheartedly, but I see a lot of people suggest to match the job of a weaker player in queue to gain wins. I personally think playing the job you're strongest with is the best long term strategy.

I updated the post. I hope more good players give advice for climbing ranking.

[Sinstrel]

I personally think playing the job you're strongest with is the best long term strategy.

I updated the post. I hope more good players give advice for climbing ranking.

I might be biased as a purely DRG main, but I cannot tell you how many times in the past I have seen players try to "match the job of the weaker player" and then get bodied by the weaker player because they still know the job better. I can only imagine how demoralizing that might feel.

Here are some advice I have given fam and members of my FC who have since become multi top 100 players:

1. The crystal does not matter until overtime/last few seconds of the game.

You need to prioritize player kills. Player kills stagger the enemy side and if you manage to kill them more than they kill you, your team will constantly be at a numbers AND limit break advantage. Pushing the crystal 5 v 3 with 5 limit breaks ready is a lot easier than struggling 5v5 at the end. This is not to say; let 1 lone enemy push to 100% while you are farming the other 4. You'll need to use some common sense judgement but if you start with this mantra you will learn, through experience, the best/right times to push the crystal. If one enemy is pushing to 47% while your whole group dives and kills off the other 4 players, you can come back for the solo and then have their team staggered which will let you push to 50% easier all while their whole team can not charge limit break.

No matter how skilled anyone is, the chances of them winning in a 1 v 3 with no LB is pretty close to 0 now.

2. Do not die.

Limit break charges based on time spent alive. Limit break is also the deciding factor in a majority of high level gameplay especially when it comes down to the wire. You having limit break in overtime while the enemy does not is a huge advantage.

3. Pay more attention to the players on the field than the UI.

I mention this as advice for very technical players. My sister would constantly obsess over the party window for buffs/debuffs/guard/purify on enemies. While this isn't terrible, it does turn you into a "reactive" player instead of a more "proactive" player.

With FFXIVs dial-up modem netcode, you do not want to rely on reacting to things that may or may not have happened yet based on whoever's ping is better. You want to be looking at the enemy position and what abilities they pop on themselves as they move toward a target, and stop them before they can even get anything started.

4. Play a rush down job with fast charging limit break.

The current PvP kits do not promote stylistic play and mostly funnel everyone into this rush-down meta. Furthermore, faster limit break charge gives you more opportunities to use limit (duh) and allows you more chances to swing games in your favor. This point allows you to do point 1 and 2 much better.

5. Be realistic.

Be honest with yourself and realize that playing CC for 6 hours a week is not going to get you the same results as someone who no-lifes the game mode. There are players with <Alpha Wolf> (5000 WINS) on multiple alts who you will be matching with in higher ranked games, players who are content creators being paid to play all day every day, and players who literally have no life outside of XIV PvP. Don't be too hard on yourself if you are not getting the results you want, you just need more game time and experience. Set realistic goals for yourself and try to make incremental improvements. Many of the top 100 players have thousands and thousands more games worth of experience over you. However, I'd say that after about 1000 ranked wins on your main job, anyone starting from 0xp will start to be able to hang with these other types of players. I like to think of the skill cap as being on a logarithmic curve. Steep learning curve but the difference in skill level starts to level off and reach a plateau. So keep at it!

Now I am sure there will be plenty who disagree with everything on this list but I would encourage you to try all of the suggestions in this entire forum thread and find what works best for you. Hope to see some new faces up there during Dawntrail! Good luck!

[brancinaed]

Good post! I smile hearing about the success your friends have had with your advice. I also hope more people are able to achieve higher ranking, hopefully Diamond or better! It's important to share and be remembered by helping someone in any small way.

2. Do not die.

Limit break charges based on time spent alive.

4. Play a rush down job with fast charging limit break.

These are two really interesting points to consider. I agree that not dying, just to be a presence on the battlefield, is incredibly valuable. Killing an opponent with a long limit break charge while having a low limit break charge time yourself is potentially a huge advantage. Perhaps it allows 2 limit breaks to 1 instead of 1.5 to 1 at natural charge rates. Food for thought. I don't think slow limit break charge is enough of a reason not to play any job one really likes, though. I believe any job is viable.

[Commander_Justitia]

Gratitude fills my heart as I reflect on the invaluable advice I received. At the brink of surrender, I dared to give it one more chance, and the results were nothing short of miraculous. In mere days, the seemingly insurmountable hurdles faded into the background as I triumphed over them. This newfound success, all thanks to the guidance bestowed upon me. To whoever shared this wisdom, I owe you a debt of gratitude beyond measure. With your counsel, I ascended to the coveted Crystal Tier, a feat accomplished within just 100 matches over a mere three days. Such rapid advancement would have been inconceivable without your support and insight.