What is Rank Disparity in Rocket League?

What do you mean we can't play anymore together?

A car in rocket league boosting through the air toward the ball.
Screengrab via Reddit

As fun as Rocket League can be, it gets even better when you team up with your friends. If you’ve been playing together for a long time, the level of coordination will be off the roof and it can also be a nice environment for your friends who are just getting started with Rocket League.

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While most players choose the casual mode to team up with their rookie teammates, some decide to queue for ranked, which causes the matchmaking system to struggle.

In most competitive titles, there’s usually a system that prevents players from queueing with each other if the skill gap between them is too large. With season four, Rocket League also introduced a similar system called Rank Disparity to the three-vs-three competitive and tournament modes.

The change mostly affects players who queue as two for three-vs-three matches. The duo must be within three ranks with each other to be able to queue for a game. This change doesn’t apply to Extra Modes or Casual Playlists and it mostly aims to preserve the competitive environment of the ranked game modes.

The change mainly aims to prevent teams having that one player who’s way below the average rank of a match, which can put teams at a disadvantage. If there’s a rank gap between you and your friend, your only option will be to rank up in your spare time and close the gap so you can play in the same party the next time.

The fastest way to rank up will be through learning more about the game and you should see the results of improvement as you learn and research more. There are countless guides available on YouTube where professional players explain some of the most effective tricks in Rocket League that can also help you with the process.

Author
Image of Gökhan Çakır
Gökhan Çakır
Gökhan is a Staff Writer and Fortnite Lead at Dot Esports. Gökhan graduated as an industrial engineer in 2020 and has since been with Dot Esports. As a natural-born gamer, he honed his skills to a professional level in Dota 2. Upon giving up on the Aegis of Champions in 2019, Gökhan started his writing career, covering all things gaming, while his heart remains a lifetime defender of the Ancients.