Hey Madden Fans,

Last week we told you that Season 1 of Draft Champions Ranked was coming to a close and detailed what the Season-ending rewards structure looked like. But now let’s take a deeper dive into what is changing with Season 2 because it’s much more than incrementing the Season number by a single digit!

Placement Matches

Let’s start with Placement Matches. For anyone who has yet to play 5 games of Draft Champions Ranked, you’ll start Season 2 by competing in Placement Matches. These games will allow us to understand your level of play in Madden NFL 16 and matchmaker you more accurately once you get out of this phase. Better matchmaking will produce more competitive games which is something we’re always striving to achieve.

Ranking Thresholds

When taking a look at the data from Season 1, we noticed that users were not progressing as quickly as we intended, even when the user’s games played and overall record should suggest otherwise. So we’ve adjusted the ranking thresholds to allow users to advance at a more optimal rate.

Converting Season 2 Rank

As you begin playing Season 2, you’ll most likely notice that your rank has changed and there’s a couple of reasons why. For starters, just as we’re doing in Placement Matches, we want to alter your rank based on how you did in Season 1 to group you with other players with the same skill level in order to allow for better matchmaking. Also, keeping in mind with what we mentioned before about update the ranking thresholds, some users may notice that they actually rank forward from Season 1. In the case of some of our more elite users from Season 1, you’ll notice that your rank has gone down and while you will have a bit of head start on the competition, you’ll have to prove yourself once again if you want to make it back to the Elite tier.

New Season, New Tournament

Season 1 of Draft Champions Ranked let us identify the top Madden players and qualify them for the Madden Challenge. The Madden Challenge Online Playoffs was a fierce and fun weekend that produced a lot of excitement and showed off our community broadcasters. While we aren’t ready to launch another live tournament series … yet … Season 2 will culminate with an online tournament. The full details of this tournament will be discussed further in a future blog but it’s important to know that playing and winning games as soon as Season 2 drops will be counting towards your progress. Rewards for the tournament will also be expressed in a future blog but they will include some spectacular in-game content. Competitors who advance beyond the Season 2 ladder and place high in the online tournament will be considered for future Madden Invitationals during the 2016 calendar year.

Stay locked in. It’s always #MaddenSeason.