VALORANT Rank Gun Buddy 2026 V26A3 & V26A6 Guide
See which rank counts, why nine wins matter, when each Season 2026 buddy arrives and how to find or recover a missing Competitive reward.
Season 2026 has two separate rank-buddy windows: V26A3 for Acts 1-3 and V26A6 for Acts 4-6.
Complete an Act Rank in the relevant window—Riot’s published system uses nine Competitive wins in an Act—and the buddy tier follows the highest eligible rank recorded across those three Acts, not your final rank. Patch 13.00 started Act 4 on June 23, so eligible V26A3 rewards should already be available. The second window is now active; V26A6 is due after Act 6, but Riot has not announced its exact delivery patch.
Where the Season 2026 rank rewards stand now
Riot changed the old Episode language into a six-Act annual Season structure and demonstrated the reward cadence in Season 2025: one buddy after the first three Acts and another for the last three. Patch 13.00 confirms that Season 2026 Act 4 began on June 23, 2026.
Acts 1-3 determine the first Season 2026 buddy.
Under Riot’s documented cadence, it became due when Act 4 started.
Your second-half peak starts with Acts 4-6.
Riot has not yet posted the V26A6 delivery date.
How to earn a VALORANT rank gun buddy
Three conditions matter. Treat them separately: the window says which buddy is being earned, Act Rank says whether the account qualifies and the peak decides the cosmetic tier.
V26A3 uses Acts 1-3. V26A6 uses Acts 4-6. Peaks do not carry between the two windows.
Complete the published nine-win Act Rank requirement in at least one Act of that window.
The highest eligible rank Riot records across the three Acts determines the buddy.
What you do not need
- You do not need to play all three Acts in the window.
- You do not need nine wins at the highest rank itself.
- You do not need to finish Act 3 or Act 6 at your peak rank.
- You do not need to buy the Battlepass or spend VP.
V26A3 and V26A6 are two independent rewards
Riot’s Season 2025 notes explicitly separate the first three Acts from the last three. That distinction matters: a high peak in January-June can earn the first buddy, but it does not automatically set the tier for the second half of the year.
Highest eligible rank across the first half of Season 2026. This window closed when Act 4 began.
Fresh highest-rank calculation for the second half. Act 4 is active as of this review.
Immortal in Act 2, Diamond in Acts 4-6
The first half can produce an Immortal V26A3 buddy. If Diamond is the second-half peak, V26A6 is Diamond.
Gold in Acts 1-3, Ascendant in Act 5
The first reward remains Gold. A qualifying Ascendant peak in the second window upgrades only V26A6.
For Act dates and the broader current-season content, use the dedicated VALORANT Act 4 guide. This page stays focused on reward qualification.
All nine VALORANT rank buddy variants
The buddy uses the broad rank tier, not the numbered division. Gold 1, Gold 2 and Gold 3 all map to the Gold variant; Immortal 1-3 map to Immortal.
| Peak tier | Buddy variant | Subtiers combined | What matters |
|---|---|---|---|
| Iron | V26A3/A6: Iron | Iron 1-3 | Highest eligible tier does not exceed Iron. |
| Bronze | V26A3/A6: Bronze | Bronze 1-3 | Any recorded Bronze division maps here. |
| Silver | V26A3/A6: Silver | Silver 1-3 | Final division inside Silver does not change the model. |
| Gold | V26A3/A6: Gold | Gold 1-3 | A later derank below Gold does not erase the peak. |
| Platinum | V26A3/A6: Platinum | Platinum 1-3 | One broad cosmetic tier covers all three divisions. |
| Diamond | V26A3/A6: Diamond | Diamond 1-3 | Must be recorded inside the relevant three-Act window. |
| Ascendant | V26A3/A6: Ascendant | Ascendant 1-3 | Separate from Immortal even if your MMR is close. |
| Immortal | V26A3/A6: Immortal | Immortal 1-3 | Leaderboard placement does not create an Immortal subtype. |
| Radiant | V26A3/A6: Radiant | No numbered divisions | Radiant must be the highest eligible recorded tier. |
Your highest eligible rank beats your final rank
The reward is designed to preserve the best recorded achievement inside the window. A loss streak after the peak does not rewrite that history, and the rank shown on the final day is not an average.
Peak Diamond, finish Platinum
Diamond remains the highest eligible tier recorded in the window.
Nine wins in Act 1, skip Acts 2-3
The completed Act Rank can qualify the window; later Acts are extra opportunities, not mandatory attendance.
Gold Act 1, Platinum Act 2, Diamond Act 3
Riot compares the eligible high point across the three Acts rather than averaging them.
Reach Platinum but stop before qualification
A visible promotion alone is not the safest evidence of reward eligibility. Confirm the completed Act Rank in Career.
What the nine wins actually qualify
Riot introduced Act Ranks to show Competitive wins and proven skill. Its published rule uses the ninth best ranked win to establish the Act Rank, which is why the common reward threshold is described as nine wins in an Act.
Eligibility and reward tier are separate
The nine wins complete the qualifying Act Rank. They do not all need to occur at your highest tier. Riot’s current reward wording then looks to the highest rank achieved through the relevant three Acts.
- Open Career and select the current or past Act Rank.
- Confirm the win triangle/border is complete enough to show the earned Act Rank.
- Check that the desired peak appears in one of the three Acts.
How to find and equip your rank gun buddy
Choose the weapon that should display the reward.
Select the buddy slot, filter to Owned and search for V26A3, V26A6 or the rank name.
Choose the matching tier and apply it to the weapon. Repeat on a second weapon if a second copy is available.
Riot originally described ranked rewards as a pair of Gun Buddies, allowing the same reward on two weapons. Equipping one copy does not delete the reward; it only assigns that inventory copy to a weapon.
Why your V26A3 rank buddy is missing
Rank buddies use three-Act windows, not one reward after Act 1 or Act 2.Check: V26A3 follows Act 3; V26A6 follows Act 6.
A missing notification does not prove missing inventory.Check: update, restart, open Collection and filter Gun Buddies to Owned.
A promotion and an earned Act Rank are not identical eligibility evidence.Check: Career → Act Rank for a completed qualifying record.
Rewards are account-bound and do not move between Riot accounts or regions.Check: Riot ID, tagline and region before opening Collection.
Riot documented a V25A3 buddy temporarily displaying as V25A6 and fixed it in Patch 12.00.Check: inspect the buddy appearance and neighboring V26 labels, then update the client.
The system uses the highest eligible rank in the window, not necessarily the final-day rank.Check: compare all three Act Rank histories, not only the current badge.
PC and console Competitive ladders can have platform-specific progression context even on one Riot account.Check: submit the platform and Act Rank screenshots relevant to the earned reward.
The reward may need manual investigation after the rollout window.Action: submit a VALORANT Player Support ticket with non-sensitive evidence.
Include this evidence in the ticket
- Your Riot ID and tagline, region and platform—never your password or backup codes.
- Screenshots of Career → Act Rank for each relevant Act in the window.
- A screenshot of Collection filtered to Owned Gun Buddies.
- The approximate date the qualifying ninth win and peak rank were recorded.
Rank Buddy, Riot Buddy, Premier Buddy and Battlepass Buddy are different
Earned through ranked windows
Shows the highest eligible Competitive tier from Acts 1-3 or Acts 4-6.
Community recognition
The Fist Bump Buddy is distributed by eligible Riot employees and is not a rank reward.
Team competition reward
Premier winners can earn division/stage rewards under separate roster and participation rules.
Progression or event cosmetic
These come from pass tiers, events, codes or other promotions rather than Competitive peak rank.
For the special community item, use the existing VALORANT Riot Gun Buddy guide. For Act 4 pass cosmetics, use the V26 Act 4 Battlepass rewards guide.
Lock in the V26A6 reward without last-day confusion
- Play enough Competitive in one of Acts 4-6 to complete an earned Act Rank.
- Check Career after the ninth win instead of relying on a third-party tracker.
- Screenshot the completed Act Rank and highest tier before each Act ends.
- Keep playing later Acts only if you want to raise the second-half peak.
- Watch official patch notes near the end of Act 6 for the exact V26A6 delivery patch.
- After rollout, update the client and search Owned Gun Buddies before contacting support.
If the actual goal is climbing rather than reward eligibility, move to the dedicated rank-up guide or the complete VALORANT Ranked guide.
Official Riot evidence behind this guide
The 2026 status combines Riot’s published reward cadence with the currently active Act. Where Riot has not stated an exact future date, the article says so instead of inventing one.
- VALORANT Patch Notes 10.08 — first-three-Acts reward, highest rank and distribution at Act 4 start.
- VALORANT Patch Notes 11.11 — V25A3/V25A6 separation and earned-Act-Rank condition for the last three Acts.
- VALORANT Patch Notes 13.00 — Season 2026 Act 4 start on June 23, 2026.
- Act II Ranks and Competitive Changes — Riot’s nine-win Act Rank and win-triangle system.
- Episode 2 Act I Competitive Changes — rank reward based on the highest Act Rank achieved.
- VALORANT Patch Notes 2.0 — rank reward delivered as a pair of Gun Buddies.
- VALORANT Patch Notes 12.00 — fix for the V25A3/V25A6 collection-label issue.
VALORANT Rank Gun Buddy FAQ
How do you get a VALORANT rank gun buddy in 2026?
Earn an Act Rank during the relevant three-Act reward window and reach the highest rank tier you want recorded. Riot’s published Act Rank system uses nine Competitive wins to complete an Act Rank. The first Season 2026 window covered Acts 1-3 for V26A3; the second covers Acts 4-6 for V26A6.
When did the V26A3 rank gun buddy release?
Patch 13.00 started Season 2026 Act 4 on June 23, 2026. Under Riot’s documented three-Act cadence, the V26A3 reward became due at the start of Act 4. Eligible accounts should therefore have the buddy by July 17, 2026; a missing reward should be checked in Collection and then reported to Player Support.
When will the V26A6 rank gun buddy be delivered?
The V26A6 buddy belongs to the second Season 2026 window, Acts 4-6, and should be distributed after Act 6 under Riot’s current cadence. Riot has not published the exact delivery patch or date as of July 17, 2026.
Do I need nine wins at my highest rank to get that buddy?
No. The nine-win threshold qualifies an Act Rank; it is not nine wins at the peak tier. Riot describes the reward tier as the highest rank achieved across the relevant three Acts. The safest check is that Career shows a completed Act Rank and the desired peak is recorded in that window.
Is the VALORANT rank buddy based on peak rank or final rank?
It is based on the highest eligible rank achieved during the three-Act reward window, not the rank displayed when the window ends. Deranking after a recorded peak does not normally lower that window’s buddy tier.
If I derank after reaching Immortal, do I still get the Immortal buddy?
Yes, provided Immortal is recorded as your highest eligible rank in that three-Act window and you completed the Act Rank qualification. Ending the window in Ascendant does not replace a recorded Immortal peak with an Ascendant buddy.
Can I qualify for a rank gun buddy by playing only one Act?
Yes. You do not have to play all three Acts. Completing an Act Rank in one Act can qualify you for that window, and Riot uses the highest eligible rank recorded across any of the three Acts. Playing later Acts only gives you more time to improve the tier.
Why is my V26A3 rank gun buddy missing?
Update and restart VALORANT, open Collection, filter Gun Buddies to Owned and search for V26A3 or the rank name. Confirm that you earned an Act Rank in Acts 1-3 and that you are checking the correct Riot account. If it remains missing after the rollout, submit a Player Support ticket with Act Rank screenshots.
Can you buy, gift or trade a VALORANT rank gun buddy?
No. Competitive Rank Gun Buddies are automatically granted account-bound rewards. They are not Store items, cannot be gifted or traded and cannot be transferred between Riot accounts.
Is the VALORANT rank gun buddy the same as the Riot Gun Buddy?
No. Rank Gun Buddies represent Competitive achievement and are granted through ranked reward windows. The Riot Gun Buddy, commonly called the Fist Bump Buddy, is a separate community recognition item distributed by eligible Riot employees and cannot be earned by ranking up.
