How to unlock Ranked in Deadlock: Season 1 requirements
To play Ranked you need 60 Standard wins and three heroes with 15 wins each. Here's what counts, the solo and duo rules, and how to get there fast.
Updated · Patch Nov 4, 2026
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Ranked requirements
You need 60 wins in Standard Mode and at least three heroes with 15 Standard wins each. Three is the smallest roster Ranked will let you queue with, and you can only pick a hero in Ranked once you've won 15 Standard games on them.
These are the rules as of Ranked Season 1, set in Valve's Matchmaking Update on July 30, 2026. Your account also has to be clean: an active sanction, such as low priority or a comms ban, blocks the Ranked queue until it runs out.
- 60 wins in Standard Mode.
- 15 Standard wins on each hero you want to play in Ranked.
- At least 3 heroes that meet that bar.
- No active low priority, comms ban or other sanction.
What counts toward the 60 wins
Only Standard Mode wins. Losses don't take anything away, they just don't add, and wins in Street Brawl or any other mode count toward neither number.
The two requirements overlap: a Standard win on a hero counts toward that hero's 15 and toward your 60 at the same time. The bare minimum is 45 wins spread over three heroes plus 15 more on anything, which at an even win rate is roughly 120 games.
Solo and duo rules
Ranked takes solo players and duos only, no three-stacks or bigger. A duo has to be within one rank of each other, so a Mystic can queue with a Ritualist or a Sentinel but not an Emissary. Eternus is stricter: Eternus players can only duo with another Eternus within three subranks.
Your first 8 games each season are calibration games, and they're solo only, so play your placements on your own before you team up with a friend. Valve said at launch these limits might be too tight and could be loosened later.
Get to 60 wins faster
Standard Mode has no party size or skill-spread limits, so bring your whole group. A party on voice usually plays tighter than six strangers, and that's what you want while you grind wins.
Standard's matchmaker also accounts for your experience on the hero you queued, so a new hero won't throw you into games far over your head. Build your Ranked pool now rather than after you hit 60.
- Spend your Standard games on the heroes you'll take into Ranked. A win on them counts twice.
- Get three heroes to 15 wins before you spend wins on a fourth.
- Losses don't cost you progress, so taking a break costs nothing either. Stop when you start throwing games.
- Queue at peak hours in your region for better-matched games.
Choosing your three Ranked heroes
Your three heroes are what you queue with and the only heroes you can switch to in the pre-game swap. If all three do the same job, you have nothing to fix a bad team composition with.
Make sure at least one can play frontline. Valve has tuned the matchmaker to aim for two frontliners per team since 2024, and since October 2025 it looks at a balanced roster beyond that, so a pool that covers a gap is easier to place and easier to swap with.
- Take one frontliner, one damage carry and one hero you'd play anywhere.
- Get a fourth and fifth hero to 15 wins over time. Ranked has 3 bans per game, and a deeper pool means a ban never leaves you stuck.
- Pick heroes you already play well over whatever is strong this patch. Balance changes every couple of weeks; your hours on a hero don't.
Your first Ranked games
Once you qualify, your first eight Ranked games are placements. They're solo, and you can't finish them higher than Oracle VI, so play them on your best hero, not the one you most want to learn.
Ranked Season 1 ends on November 5, 2026 at 2pm Pacific time (22:00 UTC), and Season 2 starts straight after with a fresh set of placements. Valve has said future seasons will likely add recency requirements on heroes, which could mean needing recent games on a hero as well as 15 lifetime wins, so check the requirements again when the new season opens. Once you're in, our guide to climbing Ranked covers the habits that win games.