Ranked Rating Adjustment
To keep Ranked play as fair as possible, Critical Ops has a system that adjusts player ratings after a match, but only if it's later found to have been unfair. These adjustments help make sure no one benefits (or suffers) from cheating or other unfair behavior, such as ghosting. Ranked compensation is only applied in matches where a confirmed hacker or ghost was present. In matches where there was a griefer or someone went AFK, compensation will not be applied. This is the intended use of the feature to prevent abuse and ensure fairness in ranked play.
What Makes a Match "Unfair"?
A ranked match is considered unfair if one of the players is confirmed to have been cheating after it ends or during it. This includes:
- Hacking – using unauthorized tools or modifications.
- Ghosting – feeding your team live info about the enemy (like their positions or strategies) from outside the match or by playing on the opposite team.
Even if the cheater’s team loses, the match is still flagged as unfair because neither side's competition was fair.
So, How Does My Rating Change?
When a cheater is confirmed in a match, that match is treated as if it never happened, regardless of whether the cheater was on your team or the opposing team.
The system attempts to revert the rating changes as accurately as possible, removing any unfair gains or losses. It does not matter whether you won or lost the match or which team the cheater was on — the match outcome is invalidated.
How Big Are the Rating Changes?
The system looks at how much your rating changed in the original match and adjusts accordingly. But there’s a limit:
You can’t gain or lose more rating than you originally did in the match.
Example: If you lost 20 rating points in a match, and it’s later flagged as unfair, the most you’ll get back is those 20 points.
Will I Know When This Happens?
Yep! If your rating is adjusted, you’ll see a notification the next time you log in. It’ll show you what changed.
What If I Surrendered Against a Cheater?
If you surrendered a match and the enemy was later confirmed to be cheating, your rating will still be adjusted like normal. Surrendering doesn’t affect whether the match counts as unfair.
What If I Didn’t Know There Was a Cheater?
That’s okay—you’ll still be included in the rating adjustment once the system confirms that the match was affected by unfair play.
Since the entire match result is considered invalid, everyone in the match is impacted, not just those on the cheater’s team. This is to ensure fair play for all parties involved.
Why Did My Rating Go Down Even After Losing to a Hacker?
The rating adjustment system applies to individual matches. If you’ve played in multiple matches that were later flagged as unfair, the combined adjustments might still result in a net rating loss.
For example:
- One unfair match where you lost is reverted (+15)
- Two other unfair matches you won are also reverted (-25 total)
In this case, your total adjustment would still be negative, even though one of the matches involved a loss to a cheater.
Can I See Which Matches Were Adjusted?
Unfortunately, no. You won’t be able to see:
- Which specific match was adjusted
- The total number of adjusted matches
- The name of the banned player
The system works quietly in the background to keep things fair over time.