What is ELO?

ELO is a way to calculate the relative skill levels of players in zero-sum games like chess and ofcourse Town of Salem. By playing a series of games (Placement games) an ELO number can be determined based on a players wins/losses which rises as they win, and falls as they lose. The more they win, the less ELO points they acrue, and the more they lose the steeper the drop becomes.

By creating an ELO leaderboard, tiers can be formed to keep things fair by grouping similar skilled players together. As they improve and win more games, they 'rank up' and get promoted to the next tier. This is sort of how Town Of Salem works.

Side note - ELO is named after its creator Arpad ELO

What tiers exist in Town of Salem?

There are currently 6 tiers in Town of Salem:

Bronze ELO (0-999)	Silver ELO (1000-1399)	Gold ELO (1400-1599)
Platinum ELO (1600-1799)	Diamond ELO (1800-1999)	Master ELO (2000+)

I've played with players in other tiers, why?

Ranked isnt the most played mode in Town of Salem, so when there are fewer players, the server picks players in the queue for match making vs queued players with ELO requirements (note - this is is our guess).

Ranked requirements

Great! You've decided to try Ranked, good choice! The requirements are as follows:

• At least 50 games completed (win or loss) in a standard mode (like classic - non ELO)
• At least 10 games completed (win or loss) in Ranked Practice (non ELO)
• 10 games completed (win or loss) in Ranked placement (ELO calculating)

Once the above is complete, you will unlock your ELO number and starter tier (usually silver), this can be seen in your 'Ranked Profile' area when not in a game, lobby or party (home screen).

ELO penalties

If you leave a game before dying, you will recieve a 30 ELO loss penalty. This typically gets applied to your profile after around 12 hours. This includes server disconnects, internet outages, rage quits and so on. So dont play in a thunderstorm!

Ranking up (promotion)

You will get promoted to the next tier at the end of a match where you've hit the ELO points to enter the next tier (which comes with a funky animation!)

Ranking down (relegation)

At the time of writing this article (Season 6), You do not get tier relegated even after losing enough ELO to be in the next tier down.

Ranked Seasons

Seasons last typically around a year for Town of Salem with prizes awarded at the end of the season (usually cosmetic upgrades in game or lobby icons).

We are currently in Season 6 which started in November 2020

Season changes

Blank Media Games announces incremental season changes at the start of the season. These are changes to roles within the game vs fundamental changes (for example, serial killers were removed at the end of Season 5)