All Warzone Ranked Play changes in Season 5: SR adjustments and restriction

To make Warzone Ranked Play more balanced, Season 5 has introduced adjustments to the Skill Rating (SR) system and the addition of a new restriction. These changes aim to provide a fairer competitive environment, where previously, players in higher lobbies often struggled to progress once they reached a certain point, as earning SR became difficult without consistently winning matches.

The revised SR system now makes progression slightly easier, rewarding not only first-place finishes but also strong placements such as second or third. Both placement and kill-based SR have been adjusted to achieve this balance.

These changes apply only to Resurgence Ranked Play, while Battle Royale Ranked Play has not received any SR adjustments this season.

This article provides detailed information about the recent SR updates and the new restriction introduced in Warzone Season 5 Ranked Play.

All SR adjustments for Warzone Ranked Play in Season 5

The SR adjustments implemented in Season 5 are exclusive to Warzone Resurgence Ranked Play and do not impact Battle Royale Ranked Play.

Here’s the list of SR adjustments implemented in Resurgence Ranked Play:

SR cap for eliminations increased to 150 (up from 100).
Placement SR for 1st place reduced to 125 (down from 150).
Placement SR for 2nd and 3rd place increased to 100 (up from 75).

The complete SR breakdown has been detailed below.

Placement	Top 15	Top 13	Top 10	Top 8	Top 6	Top 4	2nd & 3rd	1st
Placement SR	0	10	20	30	50	75	100	125

According to the developers, these SR adjustments are aimed at helping players in the top ranks, such as high Iridescent and Top 250, who often need to win matches just to gain SR. With the elimination SR cap now increased to 150, placing 2nd or 3rd can offer meaningful progression. This makes it slightly less stressful to earn SR, even in higher-skill lobbies.

The developers also mentioned that they want to create more opportunities for players who consistently make it deep into matches but struggle to secure wins. Thanks to the improved SR rewards for 2nd- and 3rd-place finishes, such individuals can now continue progressing through the ranks more effectively.

Also read: Black Ops 7 to reportedly feature 32-player final multiplayer campaign mission on Avalon

Warzone Ranked Play restriction in Season 5

This time, Ranked Play won’t feature any major restrictions. Only a single item, the new Skull Splitter Barrel for the 9mm Daemon PM pistol, has been restricted.

The 9mm Daemon PM Skullsplitter Barrel is now restricted.

As a newly introduced attachment, the developers want to observe how it performs in casual matches and whether it maintains balanced gunplay. If everything goes well, the attachment may be unrestricted in a future update.

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About the author

Animesh has been a Call of Duty writer at Sportskeeda for close to two years. A fervent enthusiast of the iconic Mario Bros. franchise and several first-person shooter games, his love for gaming pushed him to merge his passion and profession, and eventually land a writing job in the genre. When creating content, he prioritizes quality and accuracy over speed, verifying multiple official sources. This has helped his meticulous first-person shooter guides garner over two million reads.

Although Animesh holds a Master’s degree in Commerce, he would willingly go back to school; just as long as the school is Hogwarts, so he can jump into the world of spell-casting and fly on broomsticks. He admires gamers Shroud and Beaulo, and would recommend story-driven games like Red Dead Redemption, Skyrim, and Far Cry 3 for their captivating narratives and deep player engagement.

Animesh also enjoys multiplayer games such as Valorant, Apex Legends, and Warzone. When he keeps his controller aside, he plays football and badminton, reads books, and cooks.

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Edited by Animesh Talukdar