Riot discusses how it’s combating AFKers, throwers, and smurfs in VALORANT

Riot Games revealed some of the measures it’s taking to help with AFK players, smurfs, and throwers in VALORANT matches in the latest Ask VALORANT blog. 

AFK players can potentially ruin a match for an entire team. They leave their teammates at a disadvantage since they’ll have one less player to work with and are outnumbered. Some players intentionally throw matches to lower their rank or be a nuisance to their team for fun. Riot is working to eliminate these problems or at least make them less frequent. 

An update in 1.14 will change the requirement to unlock ranked mode from playing matches to winning matches. This will prevent players from rushing through games to get to ranked and will require them to contribute to their team. 

Riot is also working on detecting players intentionally losing and considering harsher punishments. This could include rank penalties, experience mitigations, longer queue time restrictions, and bans in severe cases. 

Players are recommended to report players with over 20 losses in a row since they’re likely intentionally losing. This can lead to chat and voice restrictions and bans for repeat offenders. 

Some players have also suggested an option that allows them to block players and never be queued with them again. There have been cases of players reporting a toxic player and getting stuck with them again in the next match. Riot is considering this option but must ensure it won’t impact queue times. 

Any update that helps VALORANT players avoid problematic players will make the overall experience better for everyone.