As a casual gamer, I have little to no interest in how I rank among the world in any particular game. On 
occasion, my interest has been piqued enough to give it a try – which has ended up with me getting my ass spanked – but more often than not, it’s been met with a lot of frustration and time wasted either being booted out of games unexpectedly, staring at a never-ending ‘waiting to connect to server’ message, or simply falling asleep waiting for a lobby to fill up, only to have the host decide to quit when just one more person was needed to start. Once a ranked game has started amazingly enough, it has ended up being a spawn camping nightmare or a mad dash to grab a superior weapon (unless you’ve played the map a thousand times, you’re not getting it), or the worst: dealing with gamers whose only purpose seems to be to throw out insults nonstop to everybody, regardless if they are in the lead or not. They will then call you a n00b once the match is over, spouting off how badly they ‘pwned’ you while they stayed in one spot on the map the entire time, picking you off as you tried to venture out & find someone to shoot at.
Unranked matches aren’t really that much different from ranked, except you have a lot more people who think everyone should be taking the game as seriously and be as knowledgeable about the gametype and map as they are. Then, there’s the team-killers and glitch-prone nitwits who aren’t interested in actually playing the game, just on being the most annoying person you’ve ever come across on Xbox Live (after all, the score doesn’t matter; it’s not a ranked match!). Call them on it, and they become high-pitched screamers and call you a n00b just before they leave the game.
Opinions about the type of players themselves aside, ranked and unranked games do have their place, and every gamer should be aware of theirs. I’ve always thought of ranked games being a haven for those who take their gaming more serious than everyone else, with the whole point of competitive play being their priority. Unranked games, on the other hand, are more about having fun, not caring about winning or losing as much, and trying out different gametypes that aren’t always found in the ranked version of the game.
The problems come up when gamers who should be in ranked matches because they are way too serious join up in an unranked match and bitch incessantly about everyone else’s experience and abilities. On the flip side, if you’re a gamer who isn’t familiar with a gametype’s objective, or don’t use a mic, or don’t have the skills needed in your own opinion to “keep up” with the big boys – you shouldn’t be jumping right in to a ranked match.
example of a no skilled noob in a ranked match
In the end, it’s all just a game; but use some common sense… If you’re competitive, get pissed off because people don’t play the way you think they should, or think you’re badass enough – stick to ranked games. If you do play an unranked game, keep your elitist bullshit comments to yourself and remember that not everyone else in the game thinks you’re such a cool guy if you have to be making flippant comments every two seconds. Nobody cares about your damn rank. Likewise – if you’re new to a game, don’t have any skill, or can’t communicate when it comes to a team game – stick to unranked matches where it really doesn’t matter. Don’t drag everyone else down because you’re a tool. It’s all about knowing your place, and respecting it.
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