Earn Destiny 2 competitive ranks by performing well in the skill-based PvP Competitive Division playlist in the Crucible. This playlist features the Survival game mode, which is a round-based, 3v3, elimination game where teams battle it out and respawn using their pool of limited lives until one team remains. You'll start off your Destiny 2 Competitive journey in the Untested rank but can progress up to Ascendant once you've completed your placement matches. Make sure you grab the introductory quest from Lord Shaxx to learn the basics and earn your first Rose Hand Cannon roll, but I've also laid out all the details on Destiny 2 competitive ranks, the Competitive playlist, and the rewards on offer right here.
Destiny 2 Competitive Ranks explained
The Competitive revamp for the Crucible that arrived in Season 19 introduced new Destiny 2 competitive ranks known as Competitive Divisions for its Competitive playlist featuring the Survival mode. Much like other competitive shooters, you must complete a series of placement matches to get put into a division appropriate to your skill level. Depending on your performance, you can then get promoted or demoted over the course of a season. Here are all the competitive ranks and sub-ranks available in the playlist, starting from the lowest:
- Untested - Unranked players who are still completing their placement matches
- Copper III – I
- Bronze III – I
- Silver III – I
- Gold III – I
- Platinum III – I
- Adept III – I
- Ascendant III – I
Destiny 2 Lightfall is the latest expansion for the game, adding Strand and new weapons
Once you’ve been placed into one of these Competitive Divisions, you’ll earn Division Points towards the next rank by winning matches, or you’ll lose points and risk demotion if you lose matches. You will need to complete a Promotion Series to get into a higher division and a Relegation Series to avoid getting booted into a lower rank too. The Competitive playlist also has matchmaking, so you won’t need to assemble a fireteam before queuing.
Be aware that performing well, being on the higher or lower end of play skill levels in a match, or being in a Competitive Division that’s higher or lower than your actual skill level will affect how large your point gains are from winning a match and your point losses from losing one. For example, winning a match where you performed very well will award a higher amount of Division Points, but losing a match where you were the lowest skill level will mitigate your points lost. If you’re ranked Gold III or higher, you’ll also need to play a few matches in the Competitive playlist each week to avoid rank decay and losing points that could potentially cause you to fall into a lower Competitive Division.
To learn more about changes to the Competitive playlist, Bungie has made this help article which may be able to answer a few extra questions.
Destiny 2 Competitive Ranks Crucible Rewards
As well as nice, new rank emblems for each Competitive Division, there are a few other rewards to chase in the Competitive playlist.
- New Ascendant emblem for players that reach Ascendant III or higher in the Competitive playlist.
- Destiny 2 Rose Hand Cannon rolls. Get Rose as a reward for completing the 'Dividing the Ladder' quest from Lord Shaxx. Completing the Competitive weekly challenge also gets you a Rose roll.
- Stacking bonus to Crucible Rank gains based on your Competitive Division. Copper and Bronze = 1x bonus while Ascendant = 1.5x bonus.
- 'Glorious' Seal and title. Some Triumphs needed to unlock and gold this Seal are exclusive to the Competitive playlist.
Looking ahead, the Competitive Division Crucible playlist will see some changes at the start of Season 21, mainly that there will be a new Ascendant emblem and that Rose will be replaced with a Sniper Rifle as the reward weapon. Bungie has explained in this Crucible blog post that new weapons for Destiny 2 Competitive Ranks will come every other season and that Rose will be available to obtain in the future. Finally, players that hit Silver III can get a Transmat Effect that changes its appearance to show off your current Competitive Division.
