This page details how the ranking system works in Ranked Arena for Halo Infinite multiplayer. We’ll cover all the ranks and their associated tiers, what ranked queue modes are, how to increase your rank, and different ranked game modes such as Oddball, Capture the Flag, Strongholds, and Slayer.

How Ranks, Tiers & Ranked Queues Work¶

All ranks from Bronze to Diamond have I - VI tiers in each, but there are no tiers for the Onyx rank. So for example, if you start at Bronze I, you’ll be climbing from Bronze I to Bronze VI, then you’ll move on to Silver I and so on. After your first 10 ranked games you’ll earn your first rank. However, you won’t necessarily go immediately to rank Bronze I. The rank that you’re initially assigned to will depend on how well you perform on average throughout your first 10 Ranked games. As a result, in theory you could gain a high Platinum or Diamond rank after your first 10 games, but you’re more likely to fall somewhere between Bronze and Gold if you’re new to the game.

Max Ranks & Tiers Overview¶

Ranked Queues¶

Once you’re in the Ranked Arena menu, you’ll notice an option for Ranked Queue. This essentially determines whether you want to play solo, duo, or with a team of four. You’ll always play as a team of four if you leave the Ranked Queue option as “Open”, which is the default and arguably the most competitive, and you’ll always be playing with and against players across different platforms(PC and console) if you choose this option, too. However, if you choose to play Solo/Duo, you’ll notice that you now have the option to play specifically with other people who are using keyboard/mouse or controllers. If you’re using a controller while playing on PC, you’ll still be placed in the queue with other players who are using controllers on consoles if you choose to play Solo/Duo rather than Open.

How to Increase Your Rank¶

You can gain points towards your rank status in three main categories, each of which are noted on the scoreboard during a game. These are your Kills, Deaths, and Assists. The basic concept of these categories are obvious, but there are some nuances in relation to how your final score turns out. For example, you’ll generally earn 100 points towards your total score for each kill, and you’ll earn 50 points for each assist (defined by whether you inflict damage to an enemy just before they’re killed by an ally). However, even if you have a high amount of kills and assists towards the end of a game, your overall score will suffer if you have a near equal amount of deaths. This means that you’ll need to play smart to capitalize on kills, while avoiding being killed yourself as much as possible.

Aside from the three main categories of Kills, Deaths, and Assists, your overall score towards the end of a game will be influenced by what you’ve done to contribute to your team winning for a specific game mode. For example: if you’re playing Oddball, you’ll earn 10 points towards your overall score for picking up the ball, and 50 points for each 5 seconds that you hold the ball continuously. This can significantly increase your score even if you aren’t getting any kills, thereby contributing to your rank progress. So, even if you’re not the most skilled FPS player, you can still be a valuable team member by focusing on completing the objective.

With that said, ultimately you’re only as good as the rest of your team, so you’ll need to rely on their tactical approach and specific game mode knowledge just as much as their general skill in shooters, as they will need to rely on you. The key is to stick with your team so that you can support them at all times and figure out specific roles for each individual. This is particularly important in Strongholds and Capture the Flag. These two game modes will require a good balance of offensive and defensive playstyles, and you may want to commit to one over the other, or switch it up by effectively communicating with your team in terms of when it’s a good time to make a push, or play reserved.

All of the above contributes to your success in Ranked Arena games, which subsequently determines how quickly you progress through the ranks and what max rank you’re capable of reaching. You’ll find that communication generally improves as you ascend the ranks, and your fellow team members will expect more from you in terms of cooperation and teamplay.

Ranked Arena Game Modes¶

There are four main game modes in Ranked Arena: Strongholds, Oddball, Slayer, and Capture the Flag. Your experience with these game modes in Ranked Arena will be much the same as it is in Quick Play. However, the main differences are that friendly fire is now on, you have no access to the radar in the bottom left of your screen, you start each round with just one weapon: the BR75 three-round burst precision rifle (rather than the fully automatic MA40 AR assault rifle), and last but not least: you’ll generally be facing more competent opponents, especially as you progress through the ranks.

Since you’re restricted to just one weapon at the beginning of each Ranked Arena game mode, it’s important that you locate weapon spawns to acquire a secondary weapon as soon as possible. This will give you access to more powerful weapons, but also give you an advantage in terms of being able to switch to a secondary once your primary weapon requires a reload.

Ranked Strongholds¶

The Ranked Stronghold game mode is one of the more versatile, since you’ll find yourself running back and forth from the same three stronghold capture zones, marked A, B, and C. Each team will start the game holding one of the zones, and the third will be neutral ground until one team captures it. From then on it’s a battle to hold the captured zones for as long as you can, while also recapturing those which the enemy managed to take from you. It can be a good idea to work in groups of twos here, since the more players that you have in a zone, the less time it takes to capture. If your team controls two zones you’ll score 1 point per second, while controlling all three scores you 3 points per second. The first team to reach 250 points wins the round, and the first team to win two rounds wins the match.

One way that you can ensure success with a competent team at higher ranks is to ensure that you contest the zones which have the most powerful weapon spawns near to them. For example, you might find that one zone has a rocket launcher spawn point within it, allowing you to control access to the weapon. This is important because if you aim well, you can easily take out two opponents at once with the rocket launcher, which will give your team time to capture other zones while you defend. However, you’ll need to communicate effectively with your team members in terms of knowing when to request help when you’re being overwhelmed, and you’ll need to know how to use the map features to your advantage so that you stay alive long enough for your allies to arrive.

Scoreboard Points for Ranked Strongholds:

Ranked Oddball¶

The Ranked Oddball game mode is arguably the most reliant on good teamwork. This is because whoever holds the ball is rendered far less effective in combat than they are with a gun. Not only that, your movement speed is significantly slower when you’re holding the ball. As a result, you’ll need to rely on your team members to protect you as you take cover in a decent hiding spot. However, keep in mind that you’re not completely defenceless when you’re holding the ball: you can still hit enemies with it to inflict a reasonable amount of damage, but if your opponent is smart and they find you alone, they’ll keep their distance as they take you out from range before they pick up the ball or wait for an ally to do it.

As your combat effectiveness is limited when you’re holding the ball, you’ll learn to know when it’s best to drop the ball. In general, you’ll want to drop the ball whenever your team is outnumbered, or even when it’s a 4 vs 4 scenario. If you drop the ball you’ll stop earning the 1 point per second towards the objective (holding the ball for 100 seconds wins the round), but you’ll at least have a better chance of repelling the opposing team. It’s far easier to drop the ball, defeat an attacking team and then pick up the ball to immediately continue scoring points, than it is to lose the gun fight and then hunt down the opposing team as they hold the ball, all the while increasing their score.

Scoreboard Points for Ranked Oddball:

Ranked Slayer¶

The Ranked Slayer game mode is perhaps the most simple in terms of what you need to do, but it can also be one of the most difficult to score points in and ultimately win if you’re more adept with tactical gameplay over pure FPS movement / aim proficiency. Don’t fret too much though: there’s a degree of tactical skill required for this game mode which may not be obvious from the start, and effective tactics will become more and more valuable as you progress through the ranks. This is because the overall score of your team will depend not just on the amount of kills that you get collectively, but also the amount of deaths that you prevent. Remember: this is a fight between two teams for the first to reach 50 kills, so the more you die the more you effectively hand points over to the opposing team.

With this in mind, it’s important that you don’t run off on your own and stray too far from your team members. Doing so will almost always result in a swift death, especially if the enemy team knows what they’re doing in terms of holding a position and sticking together. Instead, you should communicate as much as possible with your team members, deciding collectively when to hold a position and when to push one. You should aim to stay in the same area as your allies, but try not to stand on top of them too much. This will leave you vulnerable to AoE (Area of Effect) attacks from enemy grenades and rockets. However keep in mind that since you’re not necessarily encouraged to stay in a specific area of the map in the same way that you are with Capture the Flag and Oddball, you can be more creative in where and how you just to hold a position.

Scoreboard Points for Ranked Slayer:

Ranked Capture the Flag¶

This game mode primarily requires two things from you and your team: defend your team flag, and capture the enemy team flag. A successful capture is achieved when you steal the enemy flag from their spawn area and bring it back to yours, where your own team flag is placed. There are numerous ways that you can go about doing this and you’ll find that there’s an inherent sense of chaos to the game mode in the early ranks. However, as you progress through the ranks you’ll likely discover that teams stick together far more, and so you’ll find yourself facing off against 3-4 players more often each time you try to steal a flag and bring it home, or when you’re trying to get yours back. This is a very different experience from the early ranks, where you’ll find that players like to go off on their own to sneakily steal a flag, something which doesn’t work for long as the enemy team will be alerted as soon as their flag is taken, and the flagbearer’s location will be marked for all to see.

Once you’ve stolen an enemy flag and you’re running to your spawn area to capture it, try not to blindly run to your spawn leaving your teammates behind. If you encounter four opponents along the way and you keep running with the flag, you’ve just decreased the chances of your team members surviving that fight, which will come back to bite you when you’re all alone at spawn. Instead, try dropping the flag and remain in the circle so that it doesn’t return to the enemy spawn. This way you can help your allies by adding firepower to the fight. This tactic won’t matter so much in the lower ranks, but you’ll need to adapt your playstyle in this way as you face more experienced opponents in the higher ranks. Keep in mind that this advice applies to most encounters with the enemy, but if you’re literally just a few metres from capturing the flag, it still makes sense to place it first before you enter the fight.

Scoreboard Points for Ranked Capture the Flag: