Minecraft speedrunning, or MCSR, is something that has been on the rise in popularity recently. It’s been around almost as long as the game has, but it became big in 2020 when the Nether update and COVID allowed new strategies that pushed the game further and further. Recently, runners in the community have decided that they wanted to make a way for this to be competitive and head-to-head gameplay. Thus was born, MCSR Ranked. Ranked is a speedrunning mod that allows two players to play against each other on the exact same world. Everything is the same from the RNG, standing for random number generator, or how video games determine random events, to every block in the world.
If you don’t know what speedrunning is, I’d highly recommend watching the YouTube channel “The Weekly Thing.” They give analyses of top runs and explain what the current routes are. However, is Ranked a good mod? Could it be the next big thing for Minecraft?
First, let’s talk about the beginnings of Ranked and how its growth has impacted the community. Ranked began as nothing but a simple project where players were able to go head-to-head to sharpen their skills and work to become the best. It was of a debatable quality at first, but quickly evolved into something outstanding with tournaments being hosted every few months called “playoffs.” This allowed the people outside the community to watch and become excited for something that had been rather small before.
The topic of what Ranked could become is actually debated by top runners, with some thinking that it’s Minecraft’s version of e-sports and others thinking it’ll stay as something small. Undoubtedly Ranked is a very good mod; it’s well made and managed and has created one of the most welcoming and wholesome communities in the entirety of the game. Ranked is definitely something that is going to make an impact on the game as popular creators are starting to become a part of it, all thanks to the creation of the mod. It’s something that doesn’t seem to be going away anytime soon. Be sure to watch their tournaments with the Midseason Showdown happening Nov. 8, and playoffs, the bigger tournament, happening Jan. 10.
