Riot Games developers answered community questions about Performance Score, Agent Mastery, matchmaking and agent balance during a Reddit AMA tied to Patch 13.06. The session confirmed that the new Performance Score metric does not influence MMR or RR, that Agent Mastery is an initial release with expansion planned, and that Neon is a balance priority with changes targeting her kit rather than raw numbers.

Performance Score Does Not Touch MMR or RR

The most common question from players was whether the new Performance Score, which replaced Average Combat Score as the primary per-player feedback metric, has any effect on rank progression. Riot was direct: it does not.

Riot developer riot_kero stated that “Performance score and ACS do NOT affect MMR. MMR is generally a reflection of how well you play with your team and how well you perform in your gunfights!” Developer RiotReally added that the relationship between Performance Score and RR is correlational, not causal: “It’s not a causal score, it correlates.” RR is calculated through a separate system tied to MMR and expected outcomes.

RiotReally explained the design intent behind keeping the two systems separate. The goal is to prevent scenarios like “a Diamond player queuing with 4 Bronze players and gaining big amounts of RR based on having a high Performance Score (or previously ACS).” In other words, individual stat-padding will not shortcut the ranking system.

How Performance Score Is Calculated

For players curious about what the score actually measures, riot_kero provided several specifics. The in-game bell curve shows “your performance score compared to all other players.” The system uses adjusted kills and deaths rather than raw counts. “Not all kills/deaths in a game have the same impact and we want to recognize when they are more impactful! First bloods for example are a lot more impactful than subsequent kills in a round,” riot_kero said.

The Trades factor counts both directions. “It counts for both! We think Valorant is best when you are playing TOGETHER,” riot_kero confirmed, meaning a player earns credit for trading a teammate’s death and for being traded when they die.

Utility usage is normalized per agent and per ability. “We normalize this per agent per ability so we don’t evaluate a Chamber and Clove in the same way. We’re actively tuning this piece to make sure it feels true to the game of VAL you played,” riot_kero said. This means the system accounts for the fact that a controller’s smoke placement and a sentinel’s trap placement serve different functions and should not be graded on the same curve.

Agent Mastery Is “Version 1.0” With More to Come

Agent Mastery, the new progression system introduced alongside Patch 13.06, is explicitly a first pass. Riot_Tyrana described it as “Version 1.0,” noting that “the team is very happy with where Agent Mastery landed, but we went into AM with the intent that it would be a living system.”

Mastery Points are earned through play, with bonuses for winning and for a high Performance Score. “You earn Mastery Points just by playing, and you’ll get bonus points for winning the match and for a high performance score. So play your best, play to win, and you’ll level up faster!” said riot_dango.

Players who were close to completing old Agent contracts can still obtain Agent gun skins by reaching Lifetime Level 15 on those agents without purchasing additional items. RiotTrouble confirmed the team is exploring ways to surface Agent Mastery more visibly throughout the client, though no timeline was given.

On the Kingdom Credit cap, Riot declined to commit to a change. The team wants to “see general trends and spending across the economy” before making adjustments, noting there are multiple ways to tune the economy and they want to avoid a snap reaction.

Neon Flagged for Pattern-Level Changes; Warden Under Review

penguinVALORANT, Riot’s Agents and Live Balance lead, confirmed that Neon is a balance priority. “While we expect Neon to be frustrating, she’s still out of line for both our tactical principles in experiential gameplay & just raw ranked power in multiple skill brackets,” penguinVALORANT said. The planned response goes beyond number tweaks: “Changes here wouldn’t be just straight numbers nerfs, we want to look at more pattern level changes.” No specific changes or timeline were shared.

penguinVALORANT also acknowledged the team “went too far with some earlier nerfs, including Yoru’s first nerf pass,” a notable admission given Yoru’s long climb back to viability after that initial round of cuts.

On the Warden, the new rifle introduced in Patch 13.06, TiffyMunchsnax said the team is reviewing its first week of data but has not committed to specific adjustments or a patch. “Generally speaking though, weapons do take a little longer for players to build the mechanics around so there’s some balance levers that are safer vs more disruptive,” TiffyMunchsnax said.

Riot also addressed its weapon balance philosophy more broadly. The team stated it does not balance weapons solely for VCT. “We don’t only balance for VCT and look at usage there. But the biggest thing is does the gun have a clear identity on when you should be using it.” Factors considered include kill/death and damage stats, economy effects, player sentiment surveys, weapon feel, mechanical and positioning mastery, and alignment with Riot’s weapon-type philosophy.

Matchmaking and Rank Disparity

On the question of visible rank gaps in competitive matches, Riot acknowledged the issue. “We’ve been working on the MMR system throughout the year (and will continue to do so), and although we are happier with tighter matches (closer round differential/less crazy top frags), we think there’s an opportunity to also look at tightening up the visible rank disparity in matches!” This suggests future work on ensuring that displayed ranks in a lobby more closely reflect actual MMR groupings.

What This Means for Players