The ranking system is similar to anything else Microsoft "squirts" out of Redmond: superfluously complicated, opaque to the end-user and so off the mark it's almost laughable. Why can't I know exactly how it works? People afraid of "gaming" it? That's a good one. The anecdotes of people running 5 or 6 consecutive games and not being up-ranked and then losing a game, only to be down-ranked are why this post is (now) 24 pages long. The ranking system's arbitrary, unexplained nature SIGNIFICANTLY detracts from the quality of career mode. It flat-out SUCKS. Hopefully, with Bungie and MS's parting, we won't have to have this pathetic excuse for a ranking system inflicted on us again. [Edited on 12.16.2007 9:34 AM PST]