Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel seemingly makes a silent but major change to Ranked Duels

Ever since the game’s launch in February 2022, Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel’s Ranked Duel mode has operated essentially the same way: players matchmake with other players of the same Rank and continue to duel until they reach the max Rank.

Now, according to a prominent Yu-Gi-Oh! news outlet, the way Ranked Duels work has been slightly tweaked. The Twitter account Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel Guide, which has a fairly accurate history, tweeted that players will now only be matched with other players of the exact same Rank and Tier.

This means that, for example, if you’re Rank Silver Tier 3, you can only be matched with other players who are Rank Silver Tier 3. Previously, you could be matched with anybody within your specific Rank, regardless of their Tier, which could make for some unfair duels at times.

UNCONFIRMED: Hearing reports that Konami silently changed matchmaking in Ranked Duels.

You should now face opponents of equal tier to you, rather than any tier in your rank.

ie. Plat 3 v Plat 3
not Plat 3 v Plat 1#MasterDuel #YuGiOh #YuGiOhMasterDuel #遊戯王マスターデュエル pic.twitter.com/0hKwRhL3Yc

— Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel Guide (@MasterDuelSite) April 28, 2022

This change has yet to be officially announced by Konami, however, after testing it a few times ourselves, it seems to be accurate and we have yet to matchmake with somebody of a different Tier. Of course, given the fact that this hasn’t been officially announced, it may end up being a bug or glitch, however, until it gets reverted or confirmed, players may want to hop into matches and take advantage of it while they can.