Riot reveals details on VALORANT map bans, gifting system, possibility of replay system, and more

A new Ask VALORANT blog post has given fans insight on the development and possibility of exciting features like a pick/ban system, replay system, gifting items, and attacker/defender skin loadouts. 

While players are curious about the growing map pool potentially leading to a pick/ban system, it is unlikely to appear in normal competitive matches. The blog post confirms this is not something the developers are planning for the regular competitive queue, but they do believe “a map pick/ban system is worth exploring” in specific environments where “complex team strategizing” is present. This includes the upcoming tournament mode and professional play, for example, since the post references players wanting to avoid “yay’s Chamber on Bind.” 

Players interested in sending gifts to friends will have to keep waiting. This feature is in the developer’s backlog while they prioritize other changes. There is currently no timeline for this feature, but it will likely be added to the game eventually. 

Another highly requested feature is an in-game replay system, allowing players to go over previous matches. There is currently no plan for a “player-facing version of a replay system, as of now,” according to game production member Steven Eldredge. But fans can look forward to receiving an in-game message when a player reported for AFK-ing in the feature gets punished since this process is in development. Right now, players only receive a notification if a player was punished for toxic text or voice comms. But eventually, players will receive a report anytime a reported player is penalized. 

VALORANT is full of multiple skins for each weapon and some players would prefer having a different set of skins on attack and defense. The developers are “already exploring the feasibility of an idea like this,” but they didn’t share a commitment to the idea in the blog post. The team must ensure a feature like this doesn’t negatively impact the game and they’re also considering the potential updates to the collections page for the feature to work. The team did share that there are other concepts already in progress that might “compete with this idea in some way.” 

Fans of Arcane won’t see a VALORANT equivalent anytime soon since the team will “remain hyper-focused on the game for quite some time,” according to creative director David Nottingham.