> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://countertrade.gitbook.io/docs/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://countertrade.gitbook.io/docs/ratings-and-competition/provisional-rating.md).

# Provisional rating

How provisional rating works for new players and when it ends

When you're new, your rating is provisional: it moves faster than usual while the system places you, and you're treated as unranked until you finish your first several ranked battles. Until then, you may not show up in the public standings.

## How it works

A ranked battle updates your rating based mainly on where you place, adjusted by your ROI and the strength of the field. For a new player, each update carries a 1.5x multiplier — so a few battles are enough to move your rating toward one that reflects how you actually play.

You stay provisional for your first five ranked battles. Only finalized ranked battles count toward those five; cancelled and private battles don't. Once you've finished five, the multiplier drops to the normal rate and your rating settles.

While provisional, you don't appear on the global **Leaderboard**. Your rating still moves after every ranked battle, and your trader profile marks you `PROVISIONAL` with how many of the five rated battles you've finished. Once you've finished five, you join the board at the rating you've reached.

## Example

Say a battle would move a settled player's rating by +20 points. Because you're provisional, that same result moves yours by +30 — the 1.5x multiplier applied. It works the same against you: a battle that would cost a settled player −20 costs you −30. A single battle can't move your rating by more than 50 points either way, provisional or not.

New players start at a baseline rating of 1,000. With the faster provisional movement, your first handful of battles can carry you well above or below that before the multiplier settles to normal.

Provisional is a placement period, not a penalty. It exists so a strong or weak start shows up in your rating quickly instead of taking dozens of battles — which keeps the first ranked positions fairer for everyone.

Two things change once you leave it. Your rating starts moving at the normal rate, so it's steadier from battle to battle. And you stop being marked provisional, so you appear on the Leaderboard alongside everyone else.

## Related

* [Rating](/docs/ratings-and-competition/rating.md)