How to play ranked with friends in The Finals
Last updated 6 October 2026
Any ranks can play ranked together in The Finals, as long as there are three of you. Since March 2026, a duo more than 10,000 Rank Score (RS) apart can't queue at all, and whatever its size, a party plays at its best player's rank.
This guide is for a player who plays ranked with a friend or two, or wants to stop solo queueing. It covers who can queue together, how the game matches a party, how placement and Rank Score work when you play with friends, why solo queue is hard in this format, how to find a steady trio, and where a trio can go from ranked. For other games, see every game's team format.
In short
- Ranked is played in teams of three. You can queue alone, as a duo or as a trio, and the game fills the empty places.
- A duo more than 10,000 RS apart, a whole league, can't queue together. A trio can, at any ranks.
- A party is matched by its highest-ranked player, so a Gold player queueing with a Diamond friend plays Diamond lobbies.
- Placement starts each player from their own past seasons, so two friends who place together can come out leagues apart.
- A steady trio is the way out of solo queue. Recruit a third within reach of your RS, on your region's servers, for the class your duo is missing.
Who can queue ranked together
Anyone, in a party of up to three, unless they're a duo too far apart. Ranked Cashout, The Finals' ranked mode, is played in teams of three: queue alone, as a duo or as a trio, and the game fills the rest of the team.
- A duo must be within 10,000 RS. Embark's notes for the season that began in March 2026 say "parties of two cannot queue for Ranked together if they are more than 10,000 RS apart". Embark made the rule to protect the solo player stuck with a lopsided duo, and expects it to affect about 5% of duo rounds.
- 10,000 RS is a whole league, four divisions. A Gold 4 player at 20,000 RS can queue with a partner at up to 30,000, the bottom of Platinum 4, and no higher.
- Trios and placements are exempt. The limit doesn't apply to a party of three, or to placement matches.
- Platform doesn't matter while crossplay is on. By Embark's page on playing across platforms, PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S players can party together when both have crossplay turned on, under Settings, then Gameplay, then Network. It's on by default. Friends are added by Embark ID, written as Name#1234, from the Social menu.
How a party is matched
By its highest-ranked player. Embark's page on Ranked Cashout puts it in one line: "When playing in a party, matchmaking is based on the highest-ranked player in your group." That holds for a duo and for a trio.
So a Gold player who queues with a Diamond friend plays Diamond lobbies, and so does the third player who joins them. A duo kept apart by the duo limit can still queue once they find a third, but the gap doesn't go away: it moves from the queue to the lobby.
Rank Score moves with the company you keep, too. By Embark's page on Rank Score, what you gain or lose "depends on your placement, your teammates' and opponents' ranks, and overall match outcome", and Embark's notes on the tournament format add that it depends on where the team finishes compared with how it was seeded.
Solo players and trios are kept apart where possible. Embark's notes for the March 2026 season separate full trios from teams of solo players "more often when possible", and admit they "can't always fully separate them, especially during quieter times of day". A solo player who queues late at night, or in a quiet region, meets more trios.
For a party, that means playing with friends near your RS, or accepting that the lower-ranked players face lobbies above their own.
Placement, Rank Score and the leagues
Four placement rounds set your starting RS each season, by Embark's page on Ranked Cashout, and from then on your RS rises and falls with every tournament. It decides your league:
| League | Rank Score |
|---|---|
| Bronze | 0–9,999 |
| Silver | 10,000–19,999 |
| Gold | 20,000–29,999 |
| Platinum | 30,000–39,999 |
| Diamond | 40,000 and up |
| Ruby | The top 500 players |
Each league but Ruby has four divisions, 2,500 RS apart, numbered from 4 at the bottom to 1 at the top. Platinum 4 starts at 30,000 and Platinum 1 at 37,500, so 35,000 RS is Platinum 2.
Why friends place apart. Placement starts from each player's own history. Embark's notes for the March 2026 season say it uses "previous seasons' skill ratings" to seed each player's new rating, and can place a player as high as Platinum. Two friends who play their placements together bring different histories to them, so they can come out leagues apart, and players report exactly that. Placement matches are exempt from the duo limit, so a duo can always place together, and meets the limit only once placed.
Playing well counts even in a loss. Embark's notes for the July 2026 season added a performance bonus: "even when you lose a Match, a strong performance still earns you something". The bonus is "much more impactful at lower ranking tiers and very small at higher ranking tiers".
No decay. By Embark's page on Rank Score, RS doesn't decay while you're away. Dropping below a division's floor demotes you, and the season's rewards go by the highest rank you reached.
Ruby is the top 500 players. A player has to be among them when the season ends to earn its rewards.
Why solo queue is hard in this format
A ranked tournament leaves little room for a teammate who isn't playing with you. Embark's notes on the format make each one a tournament of eight teams of three. In the game, it opens with two matches of four teams, and the top two of each go through to a match of the last four. The top two of that meet in a final, where each cashout is worth $25,000 and the first team to $50,000 wins.
Finishing third in your first match ends the tournament for all three of you. One teammate playing off on their own can cost you that, and a solo player has no say in who that teammate is.
Voice. By Embark's page on communication, voice chat is on by default, with push-to-talk on PC and voice activation on console. A solo player can't make a teammate use it. A trio settles that before it queues, in the game or on Discord.
Classes. A team fills its three places from Light, Medium and Heavy. A duo knows which one it lacks, and can recruit for it rather than take whoever the game sends.
Finding a steady trio
Recruit for the one place you're missing: a player within reach of your RS, on your region's servers and on crossplay or your platform, who plays the class your duo lacks, at the hours you play.
RS first. Stay within 10,000 RS if you'll ever queue as a duo, and close enough that the highest player's lobbies suit everyone. Players write their RS short, as 35k for 35,000, and the table above turns it into a division.
Region and hours. A third who plays your region's servers at your hours is worth more than a better player who doesn't. In Oceania, where ranked queues are thin, players weigh North American against Asian servers, so say which you play.
Keep the good ones. After a good tournament with a random teammate, add them by Embark ID from the Social menu.
Clubs. A club is The Finals' own group of players. By Embark's page on Clubs, it holds up to 100 of them, anyone can join one, and it takes 20 matches to start one. The club list filters by region, language, playstyle, game mode and rank. A public club takes you at once, a request-only club once someone in it approves you, and a private club only by invitation. Many listed clubs are quiet, so look for one whose members are online, or start one for your trio.
The official Discord. The official THE FINALS Discord has ranked and casual LFG channels for Europe, North America, Asia, Oceania and South America.
Agree before you queue: voice, the evenings you play, and staying to the final round. How to make an esports team covers tryouts and keeping a team together.
Post on TeamTavern. Put up a player post with your rank, class and platform, tick "Ranked" under "Looking for", and add your Embark ID as a contact. A duo looking for a third puts up a group post the same way, and says which class it's missing. Then filter the posts by rank and class and message the ones that fit.
The Finals players and groups on TeamTavern
From ranked to tournaments
A steady trio is also a tournament team. Embark's own competitive season takes teams of three, with an optional sub, and asks for no rank.
- The Online Series is Embark's open online season leading to the Grand Major. By Embark's announcement of the 2026 Online Series, it ran in four cycles in the Americas, EMEA and APAC, entered on FACEIT, and "anyone can compete". Each cycle opened with a Swiss stage of up to 256 teams.
- The Grand Major is the yearly LAN final, in 2026 on 27–29 November at DreamHack Stockholm, for 16 teams. By Embark's qualifier announcement, the top of the Online Series leaderboard was invited, and the open qualifiers took any three players, with a sub if they wanted one.
- Community cups run through the year on Discord servers and tournament sites, and give a trio matches between Embark's events.
Embark hasn't announced its 2027 season yet. The guide to joining a team covers The Finals among every game's team formats.
Frequently asked questions
What ranks can play together in The Finals?
Any ranks, as a trio. A duo can't queue for ranked if the two players are more than 10,000 RS apart, which is a whole league. Placement matches are exempt.
How does matchmaking work for a party in ranked?
By the party's highest-ranked player, whatever its size. A lower-ranked friend plays that player's lobbies, and the RS everyone gains or loses depends on their teammates' and opponents' ranks.
Why did my friend place higher than me?
Placement seeds each player's new rating from their own past seasons, so friends who play their placements together can come out leagues apart.
Can you play The Finals ranked solo?
Yes. Queue alone and the game fills your team. Embark keeps teams of solo players apart from full trios when it can, but not always, and least at quiet times of day.
Is The Finals ranked crossplay?
Yes. PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S players can queue together if both have crossplay on, which it is by default.
Find your third
- Keep a duo within 10,000 RS.
- Expect the lobbies of your party's best player.
- Place together if you like, but expect different results.
- Recruit a third for the class your duo is missing, on your region's servers and at your hours.
Post as a player with your rank, class and platform, and tick "Ranked" under "Looking for", or post as a duo looking for a third: The Finals players and groups on TeamTavern. The official THE FINALS Discord has LFG channels for each region too.