As we have noted in recent announcements and on the Discord, staff has been working on giving the Rank Requirements system a bit of an update. We have asked for user input along the way (you can see some of that here) and after long discussion, we hope you'll be satisfied with the changes that we've made! Without further ado:

Check out the Ranks System thread!

But suma, isn't that what staff updated last month? You may recall that previously the Ranks System's Ranking Requirements section looked a little something like "Kit -> Apprentice; 1 week active since creation approval + rank requirements", which was not overly helpful. The Ranking Requirements section is now being properly utilized.

That being said, even the Ranks section of the thread got a little modification. It can be overwhelming, so here is a breakdown of everything that changed:

• Rogue Ranks upon joining Clans has been clarified. A Rogue may become an apprentice or a Tier 1 Warrior. A Skilled Rogue/Experienced Rogue may either immediately become a Tier 1 Warrior or go through Apprentice training and then rank immediately up to Tier 2/Tier 3 respectively upon receiving their full name.
  
• Elder retirement has been clarified. If you retire before the final Tier of your rank, you will retire at your current stats and not receive elder stats. This is to prevent apprentices from retiring and going from 20/80 to 80/100 and other similar situations.
  
• All the Rank Requirements are now listed within the Ranking Requirements section. This was suggested here and greatly supported. It also made sense so we've now made sure every rank that has requirements now has them clearly listed.
  
• Almost all ranks have received "development topic" requirements. These are further explained at the bottom of this announcement.
  
• Apprentices now only need to wait for 2 weeks before they can rank up to Warrior (Tier 1). Members who know the system will be able to rank up a little more quickly and not be as time-locked.
  
• Tier 1 Warriors' "Have gone one at least one patrol" requirement has been clarified. It now states that the patrol must include either the hunting or battle system, left to the roleplayer's choice.
  
• Tier 2 Warriors' time requirement has been reduced and requirements adjusted. Instead of having to be a Tier 2 Warrior for 3 months before you can rank up, you now only have to wait 1 month. You used to have to do two hunting patrols but now are only required to do one.
  
• Tier 3 Warriors' requirements have been adjusted. You used to have to do two hunting patrols but now are only required to do one.
  
• Tier 4 Warriors' requirements have been adjusted. You used to have to do three battles but now are only required to do two.
  
• Medicine Cats' rank requirements are now also listed. None of them have changed.
  
• Rogues' requirements have been adjusted. You used to have to fight five Apprentices but now you are only required to fight two. However, they have received two development requirements of "meet 5 Clan cats" and "learn something from a Clan cat".
  
• Skilled Rogues' requirements have been adjusted. You used to have to fight and defeat three Tier 3 Warriors but now you are only required to fight and defeat thee Warriors of any Tier. They have received the development requirement of "hunt on Clan territory".
  
• "A single topic can fulfill both the hunting and battle requirements so long as it uses both the Hunting and Battle systems in separate posts."
  
• Hunting topic requirements have been clarified. They must use the hunting system with at least one dice roll, but the prey does not need to be successfully caught.
  
• Battle topic requirements have been further clarified. Fights may be fought against either an enemy cat or a predator unless otherwise specified. A predator may be rolled or forced into an encounter. Sparring does not count (since it is not battle with the same intensity as a true fight).
  
• "Have trained an apprentice" has been specified for both Warriors and Medicine Cats. The apprentice doesn't need to have been trained within that tier, but within the entirety of the fully-named rank.
  

And now, for the biggest change: Development Topics

After the discussion on the announcement listed above, as well as the suggestion which helped inspire this change, many of you noted that development threads had no bearing whatsoever on ranks. We decided to put a bit more weight on in-character development. Since most of the prompts we chose happen through natural life progression we think they should be easy for anyone to accomplish. 

Essentially, each rank has a different number of development topic requirements that they must fulfill before they can rank up. There is a list of prompts to choose from but you, the roleplayer, get to choose which to roleplay! It is fairly self-explanatory, so I have copy-pasted the section from the Ranks System below:

Possible Development Topics wrote:

You may only fill one development requirement per thread (e.g. you can't use the same thread to fulfill the interact with a Clanmate and spar with a Clanmate prompts). You may not fulfill the same type of development topic multiple times in the same Tier.
You may fulfill a development requirement in the same thread as a non-development requirement (e.g. you may interact with a cat from another Clan at a Gathering and fulfill both).

- share tongues/interact with a Clanmate of any rank
- interact with a cat from another Clan (cannot be in battle)
- interact with the same cat on 3 separate occasions
- spar with a Clanmate
- use a Clan Move
- assist in a training session (cannot be your own apprentice)
- help with a herb gathering patrol
- receive healing from a Medicine Cat (or MCA)
- help a cat in need
- visit another Clan's territory
- complete a role in a plot
- complete a solo topic

---

What does this mean for current requirements and ranks in progress?

Until July 15th, you may continue using the previous ranking requirements. After that point, you will have to switch to the new requirements system.

While you won't lose any progress after the transition (all Gatherings, battles, and hunts still count) you will, at that point, be required to do the development threads as well, and any extra hunts or battles from adjusted numbers won't count anymore. You will not be allowed to backtrack to find threads which would have counted in the new requirements system. Additionally, once you complete a rank during this time you will have to automatically switch to the new requirements system.

Additionally, you must post ranks of all of your fully-named characters in their Clan's official ranking thread by July 15th. These can be found in the Clan Information boards. After this time, if you have not posted to have your rank officially confirmed by your leader then your character will be considered Tier 1 by staff and labeled as such on the official rank thread. You only need to post if you are a fully-named Warrior or Medicine Cat! You are only required to post your most recent rank's requirements.

[As a helpful tip: Tier 1 was a Newly Named Warrior, Tier 2 was a Young Warrior, Tier 3 was a Warrior, Tier 4 was an Experienced Warrior, and Tier 5 was a Senior Warrior.]

We will be editing all threads which reference these requirements accordingly. If we miss anything, let us know!


-phew- Okay, guys, I think that's it! As always, please post here or in the Discord with questions, comments, concerns, and clarifications. We hope that you guys like the new changes. Let us know what you think! :)