It’s been no secret that Splitgate has received a ton of support from fans since beta launch. For good reason too, as many who’ve played the game have pointed out. It perfectly blends the arena-style first-person shooting of classic Halo with the on-your-feet brain puzzles of Portal, making for an enjoyable experience that feels fresh in an industry oversaturated with free-to-play shooters. It was recently announced that the game would be staying in open Beta for the foreseeable future as 1047 Games continues to perfect the title.
The game has plenty of fans asking for Splitgate to receive bigger eSports leagues, and its ranked modes suggest that 1047 has that in mind for its future. As it stands currently, the ranked modes leave a little bit to be desired in terms of capitalizing on all the interesting features that Splitgate has to offer. With only three modes available so far, it feels a little bit underwhelming when looking at the plethora of modes available in non-ranked play. It’s worth pointing out that the ranked game modes have already been tweaked and changed over time, so it seems like 1047 is already looking into making the ranked modes as fun as possible.
Suggestions for Ranked Splitgate Modes
When dreaming up the best possible ranked modes for Splitgate, one doesn’t need to look far for inspiration. There’s already plenty of excellent game modes included in un-ranked lobbies that 1047 Games could use for ranked. Obviously, not all of the modes like Gun Game would work, as they're more arcade-style fun than anything else, but a good handful might be worth including in the ranked lobby rotation.
It seems like Showdown is an obvious pick for ranked play, as it already feels like a spectator sport with its 11 discrete rounds. The 3v3 permadeath mode feels perfect for ranked as it requires players to truly know each weapon in the game with the mode’s randomized loadouts. Because of the permadeath in each round, it lends itself well for spectators as players are able to pull out nail-biting, from-behind victories if they’re skilled enough. By including Showdown in Splitgate’s ranked circuit, it would also allow for veteran players to always be paired with similarly highly ranked players to make for top-tier Splitgate moments.
The arguments against including Team SWAT in ranked play for Splitgate does make plenty of sense, as having an instadeath mechanic included in the mode doesn’t always make for interesting plays — it’s hard for a player to be able to counter an attack if they were killed before they had the chance to turn around. On the other hand, however, it would truly test a player’s abilities to hit consistent headshots and be one step ahead of the enemies that are closing in. Because Team SWAT also ditches several elements of the HUD, it pushed players to be even more vigilant and aware of their surroundings making for even more cut-throat matches with high-level Splitgate play.
Because of its team-based nature, VIP also feels like a shoo-in for ranked, however, it may require everyone playing to be using a microphone or be in the team chat. As points are only scored when taking down the VIP, it would require cooperation and communication between those on offense and those on defense. What’s more, as the VIP is randomly changed once the current VIP is killed, it would make for some interesting play changes as the title can be given to anyone on the team. If the mode isn’t a perfect match for the game’s ranked mode, then hopefully it can be included if and when Splitgate ends up with an official league.
Splitgate is out now in beta for PC, PS4, and Xbox One, with PS5 and Xbox Series X versions also in the works.