The ranking system in Halo 5: Guardians looks confusing at first. There were also changes since beta, so there is some confusion about what the actual ranks are and how the initial rank placement works.
Halo 5 uses CSR (Competitive Skill Ranking) to determine your rank, based on winning and losing. I’ll help explain how this works for initial rank placement as well as going up in the ranks. Check out my Beginner Tips and Tricks for general help with the game.
This guide will go over the ranking system in Halo 5 including:
- Halo 5 Ranks – All of the ranks in Halo 5, the tiers, and how to increase your rank.
- Halo 5 Rank Placement – How the initial rank placement works.
- Onyx and Champion – How the last 2 ranks differ from the previous ranks and how to increase it.
Halo 5 Ranks
Ranks only apply to arena games. There are 7 ranks in Halo 5:
- Bronze
- Silver
- Gold
- Platinum
- Diamond
- Onyx
- Champion
Each of these ranks has a number rank from 1-6. When you win enough games, your tier goes up. If you win enough games at rank 6, you move up to the next tier.
If you lose games your rank goes down, but you cannot go down a tier. For example, if your rank is Gold 5, you can go all the way down to Gold 1 and never back to Silver.
These ranks are only based on winning and losing. It doesn’t matter how many kills you get, how many flags you capture, or how well you do in a game.
Halo 5 Rank Placement
Each playlist has its own rank and you must finish 10 games in a playlist to get your initial rank placement.
Your placement depends on winning and losing against other ranked players. If you win against Gold players and lose against Diamond, you’ll most likely be placed in Platinum. The system is not perfect, but this is an example of how they place you at first.
Onyx and Champion
The last 2 ranks work differently than the others. When you leave Diamond and enter Onyx, you no longer have tiers. You get the number rating that shows your CSR. As you win and lose, this number rating goes up and down.
If you reach the top 200 in the playlist, you get Champion rank. So Onyx is the last rank everyone can get, and Champion is reserved for the best players. You can drop from Champion to Onyx if you are not in the top 200 anymore.
There will also be seasons coming later. These reset your rank in certain playlists and lets you do match placement again. The ranks reset each month and you have the ability to earn cosmetic rewards if you do well enough.
I hope this clears up how the ranks work in Halo 5: Guardians. If you want more information on the other multiplayer options, check out my Warzone Guide and REQ Tips. Let me know if you have any questions!
