Riot issues Valorant ban wave to combat smurfs

Fariha Bhatti Published 05/11/2021

Players should observe a change in their ranked games. Riot Games has wiped out tons of smurfs in a new ban wave.

Players have long complained about smurfs in Valorant, and Riot Games has finally decided to tackle the problem. In a recent tweet, the developer revealed that smurfs had been wiped out from its first-person shooter. According to the tweet, the developer targeted compromised accounts that violated the game’s Terms of Service.

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Valorant players struggle with smurf accounts

Riot Games has proactively dealt with community complaints regarding its FPS games. Cheaters are often the root of all problems in FPS games, but things are different in Valorant. While the developer has proactively banned cheaters, it has struggled to overcome the smurfing problem. Valorant ranked queues have been plagued with shady accounts, and players aren’t having any of it.

Serious players observed a hike in suspicious accounts in lower-ranked games. Some players would be insanely skilled in gold-bronze ranks, leading them to believe that they’re smurfing in order to help their friends climb ranks. While most of these smurfs have a motive due to Valorant’s rank restriction, some do it just out of habit. All types of smurfs ruin the competitive experience for serious players trying to escape lower ranks.

It seems the developer has listened. A recent tweet promises that Riot Games has initiated a ban wave to rid the game of bad actors. A list of “terms of services” includes breaches that may get players banned. Playing on another person’s account or otherwise engaging in activity intended to “boost” an account’s status or rank will get players banned.

Other activities like trolling, impersonating, harassment, using third-party programs, including mods, hacks, cheats, scripts, bots, trainers, are also against Riot Games’ terms of services for Valorant. Players may forever lose their accounts for breaching any of the rules mentioned in the TOS.

The new ban wave will positively impact the ranked experience, which has been painful to play for many players. Valorant’s smurfing problem will likely be reduced after Riot’s recent initiative.

Fariha Bhatti

About Fariha Bhatti

Fariha Bhatti is a long-time gaming writer who loves competitive FPS games and slots with particularly fun themes. She got her start playing classic games developed by SNK, from legendary fighting game series The King of Fighters to challenging platform franchise Metal Slug. She now spends most of her time playing Valorant and Counter-Strike 2 while working her way through new slot releases to find her next favorite. Fariha has been published at PCGamesN, TalkEsport and ONE Esports.

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