급·단 시스템

The Ladder

Ranks follow the traditional amateur scale. You begin at 30 Kyu and count down; the numbers shrink as you grow. After 1 Kyu comes 1 Dan, the master threshold, where the ladder currently ends. Only Ranked games against KataGo affect your rank; Casual vs-AI and pass-and-play games never touch your rank.

Earning Points

Each rank holds an internal progress bar from 0 to 100 points. A win adds points, a loss removes the same amount, and stronger opponents are worth more. The stakes scale with the KataGo level you choose:

Points never go below 0 and a loss can never skip you straight past a demotion: the bar floors at zero first, and only a loss at zero puts your rank itself at stake.

Promotion & the Overkill Bonus

Reach 100 points and you are promoted one rank. Your bar resets to 0 and you receive 2 rank shields. But the points you earned past 100 are not wasted: every 15 points of overflow buys one bonus shield, up to a maximum of 4 shields in total. Winning big right before a promotion pays off.

The purple-tinged segment past the 100 marker is your overflow. It is converted into shields at the moment of promotion and then discarded; the new rank always starts at 0 points.

Rank Shields

Shields are your safety net. As long as you hold at least one, a loss at 0 points cannot demote you: the shield shatters instead and your rank stays exactly where it is. Shields are only granted on promotion and never regenerate on their own.

If you are demoted, you land at 50 points in the rank below, not at zero, so one bad evening never spirals into a losing streak of demotions. And 30급 is the floor: you can never fall off the ladder entirely.

Epic Promotions

After Every Ranked Game

This is the complete decision path the game follows the moment a ranked match ends. There are exactly four outcomes for a loss and two for a win; nothing else can happen to your rank.

Every finished game is counted exactly once, even if you reload the page or reopen a saved game later. Draws (impossible under 6.5 komi, but the engine checks anyway) leave your rank untouched.