OpenFront Ranked

Ranked OpenFront is two queues, not one vibe. Ranked 1v1 has been an Elo ladder since v29. Ranked 2v2 arrived in v33 with its own leaderboard tab. Mixing the habits will throw games: 1v1 compact maps are rarer; 2v2 wants you next to a partner. Patch context: v33 notes. Team roles: Team Games.

The browser client at openfront.io already runs both. Steam Early Access on 17 September 2026 does not invent a third ladder. You still need an account for ratings to stick. Guests can play public FFA; they cannot farm Elo.

Ranked 1v1

This is an individual board. Clan tags were removed from the 1v1 leaderboard so a tag is not a rank. Compact maps appear about 20% of the time (down from 50%). Winner-vote in 1v1 needs a strict majority. If a lobby does not fill or fully spawn, ranked cancels instead of starting a broken duel.

Play 1v1 like a small FFA with one human:

• Spawn plains plus a coast if the map allows. Getting Started still applies.
• City first unless the board is pure water. Buildings.
• Do not plan a five-minute alliance. There is one opponent. Alliances is for FFA and teams.
• Overtime may appear in other queues; ranked 1v1 has its own end. Do not wait for minute 30 unless the HUD says so. Overtime is the public-FFA falling bar.

What Happens When the #1 and #3 Ranked OpenFront players FIGHT?

Ranked 2v2

v33 rules that actually change the click:

• Separate 2v2 ladder tab.
• Matchmaking prefers clanmates as teammates when it can.
• 1 minute of PvP spawn immunity.
• Compact maps about 50% of the time.
• A match can end early when a full team is dead or disconnected.
• Queues that do not fill or fully spawn cancel.
• Live queue size is shown while you wait.

Spawn on the flashing teammate ring. A 2v2 that splits continents is two 1v1s you both lose. Assign jobs in the immunity minute: who takes the coast and Port, who takes the inland City and later Factory. Trains if the map is a continent. Naval if it is water.

Doomsday Clock, when the specials card uses it, still judges combined team land. Doomsday Clock is the wave table. Compact 2v2 plus Doomsday is how people die at 12 minutes with pretty rails and no share.

What ranked does not change

City still +250k cap per level. Port and Factory still share n. Defense Posts still 50k–250k, 30 tiles, destroyed on capture. SAM still 1.5M then 3M. First Atom plan still 1.75M. Gold costs and building tiers are the same sheet. Ranked is a queue and a ladder, not a new combat formula.

Cheating and smurfs get louder as Steam’s 17 September 2026 date approaches. The developers have said so in public. This wiki is not an anti-cheat vendor. Report in Discord, play the rating, and do not throw a 2v2 because the other pair queued from the same voice chat — clanmate pairing exists on purpose.

Maps still matter. File the roll on map archetypes. Sol is a distance exam. Gibraltar is a compact exam. United States is an impassable-terrain exam. Ranked will throw all three at you.

How to queue without wasting a night

1. Account on, name claimed if you care about the verified badge.
2. 1v1 when you want a clean duel and can stomach compact 20% of the time.
3. 2v2 when you have a clanmate or will accept a random partner on your ring.
4. Warm up one public FFA or a bot lobby if your hands are cold. Controls.
5. After a loss, open the one guide that names the death: spawn, buildings, nukes, or the Clock — not this page again.

The Guides Hub is the tutorial index. Ranked is the rated door into those same rules.