Everything you've been told about grinding ranked is wrong.
At least, that's what one Immortal coach is claiming. And honestly? The receipts are hard to argue with.
The Anti-Grind Philosophy
A Valorant coach dropped a bomb on the subreddit that has the community split. His claim: reaching Immortal consistently while playing fewer than 100 games per act. Not per week. Per act.
For context, most hardstuck players spam 5-10 games daily, tilting their way through loss streaks and wondering why they're not climbing. Meanwhile, this guy's hitting Immortal playing 2-3 games on a good day.
The kicker? He's an ex-pro League player who picked up Valorant as his first FPS. No aim training grind for 8 hours. No Kovaak's playlist worship. Just focused, intentional play.
Why Less Is Actually More
Here's the uncomfortable truth most ranked grinders don't want to hear: after game 3, you're probably playing worse than when you started.
Mental fatigue is real. Your reaction time dips. Your decision-making gets sloppy. That comms call you'd make in game 1? By game 7, you're ego-peeking dry instead.
The coach breaks it down simply:
- Games 1-2: Peak performance. Full focus. Best decision-making.
- Game 3: Still solid, but the edge is dulling.
- Games 4+: You're running on autopilot. Bad habits creep in. Tilt is lurking.
Think about your own sessions. How many times have you turned a +2 day into a -3 disaster because you "just wanted one more win"?
Quality Over Quantity Isn't Cope
The grind mentality comes from a good place. More reps equals improvement, right? In raw aim mechanics, sure. But Valorant isn't just about clicking heads.
Game sense. Positioning. Util timing. Reading enemy patterns. These skills don't develop by autopiloting through 10 games where you're checked out by the 5th.
What actually builds these skills:
- Reviewing your deaths after each game (yes, every single one)
- Identifying ONE thing to improve per session
- Actually implementing it with full focus
- Stopping before your brain turns to mush
Three focused games with proper review beats seven tilted ones every time.
The Pro Background Asterisk
Let's address the elephant in the room. "Easy for an ex-pro to say," right?
Fair point. His fundamentals from competitive League—game sense, cooldown tracking, mental discipline—transferred hard. He wasn't starting from zero even if his crosshair placement was.
But here's the thing: his advice isn't "be an ex-pro." It's "stop playing like a degenerate and actually think about what you're doing."
The average hardstuck player isn't hardstuck because they lack talent. They're hardstuck because they:
- Autopilot 80% of their games
- Never review their gameplay
- Play through tilt instead of stepping away
- Blame teammates instead of analyzing their own impact
You don't need pro experience to fix these things. You need discipline.
What This Means For Your Climb
Let's get practical. If you're hardstuck Plat or below, here's the uncomfortable adjustment:
Stop the 5-game minimum mentality. Seriously. If you're not feeling it after 2 games, you're not "warming up." You're forcing it.
Set a hard cap. 3 games max on weekdays. Maybe 4-5 on weekends when you're fresh. Non-negotiable.
Actually review. Watch your deaths. Not the cool clips. The embarrassing ones. Figure out why you died and what the better play was.
Focus on one thing. This session is about checking minimap every 5 seconds. Next session is about pre-aiming angles. Don't try to fix everything at once.
Real talk: if you're putting in the focused work and still feel stuck, sometimes the fastest path forward isn't more games—it's getting a fresh perspective. Playing with higher-ranked players through duo queue boosting can show you patterns and habits you'd never notice solo queuing into the same ranks forever.
The Tilt Equation Nobody Talks About
Here's some quick math that'll ruin your day:
Let's say you're a 52% winrate player. Solid. You should climb over time.
But that 52% assumes you're playing your best. When you're tilted? When you're on autopilot? When you're forcing games after a loss streak?
Your winrate tanks. Maybe you're a 52% player in games 1-3, but a 45% player in games 6-10. You're literally giving back your gains by not knowing when to stop.
The coach's under-100-games approach isn't about playing less for the sake of it. It's about never playing at a disadvantage. Every game is a fresh, focused attempt to improve and win.
But What About Mechanics?
"If I don't grind, my aim will get worse!"
Look, aim training has its place. But here's what most players miss: you can maintain mechanics without ranked games.
- 15 minutes of deathmatch to warm up
- Aim trainer if you're really about that life
- Custom games for specific practice
None of that requires risking RR. Save the ranked games for when you're actually ready to perform.
The best aimers in your rank aren't the ones who grind ranked for hours. They're the ones who practice deliberately and apply it efficiently.
The Mental Game Is The Game
Here's the real takeaway that gets lost in the "games per day" debate:
Mental discipline is the biggest gap between stuck players and climbing players.
The ability to:
- Recognize when you're tilted before it costs you games
- Stop playing when you're not at your best
- Learn from losses instead of malding about teammates
- Stay focused for entire games instead of checking out
These skills don't come from grinding more games. They come from treating ranked like something that matters, not just content to fill time.
The Verdict
Is 2-3 games per day the magic formula? Not exactly. Everyone's different. Some people can stay locked in for 5+ games. Most can't, and most won't admit it.
The real message here isn't about a specific number. It's about being honest with yourself about when you're actually performing versus when you're just going through the motions.
An Immortal player playing 100 games per act is climbing faster than a hardstuck playing 500, because every game counts.
Stop counting hours. Start counting quality reps.
Your RR will thank you.