Gameplay

Celeste Ranked in its core is a 1v1. Two players race on same randomly generated sequence of rooms (check out the original randomizer mod), drawn from vanilla Celeste and a pool of approved custom maps. First to finish wins.

Celeste Ranked is quite different from normal ranked based systems in games in the sense that it is not an equal playing field. The game and content itself changes based on your ELO. A player at lower ELO is playing rooms that require fundamentally different mechanics than a player at a higher ELO. Not just harder execution of the same skills, but entirely different movement tech that lower ranked players haven't learned yet and physically cannot execute competitively.

This is by design. Unlike a game like mcsr ranked or chess, where a 600 ELO player and a 2500 ELO player are both playing the same game, like moving the same pieces under the same rules, celeste's skill ceiling is extreme enough that the same room pool simply doesn't function as competition across all skill levels. Ranked room pools are calibrated to your ELO bracket so that every rank, there is a genuine race between two players who can compete on that content.

This is more similar to a system like Osu! Ranked, where maps are picked as per your level, but more heavily enforced in celeste ranked.

• How matches work: queueing, generation, finishing
• Ranks and Elo: tiers, placements, rating
• Lobbies: playing with a specific person
• Replays: recording and watching runs