Valorant players calling for harsher abandon punishments

Olivia Richman Published 13/11/2020

Valorant players are calling on Riot to punish players who abandon matches early.

Players leaving matches is a pretty big problem in ranked games, since losing a teammate will almost certainly result in defeat and a decline in rank for those left behind. The frequency of players abandoning has left many feeling unmotivated when it comes to grinding to higher ranks. One player said they were tempted to stop playing altogether until something is done about it, due to the number of players leaving halfway through their matches in silver and gold. In bronze, one player stated that 50% of their games were impacted by AFKs and smurfs.

On Reddit, one frustrated player said that three of their ranked games in one afternoon had a player abandon the game by round four. “These players have no business being allowed to play ranked without showing they can complete five to 10 unranked matches without quitting,” they said.

The issue seems to be that Riot doesn’t give harsh enough punishments to people who leave matches. Soft punishments for abandoning ultimately makes it so players have no reason to stick around if they sense a game is starting to slip away.

Riot recently introduced a remake feature for ranked matches. The update came in patch 1.07, allowing players to replace teammates who disconnect at the start of a match or during the first round. Since this leaves them at a disadvantage, the team can unanimously agree to remake the game, which starts the match fresh.

But what happens when players ditch mid-match? Right now, Riot doesn’t have any severe consequences for players that continuously do this. Fans had a number of different solutions to this, ranging from a separate matchmaking pool for chronic abandon abusers to a weighting system that doesn’t punish players as harshly for losing while shorthanded.

Valorant players noticing increase in toxicity

Valorant players have been complaining about toxicity in-game for a while now. Since Riot’s tactical shooter is free to play, cheating and trolls can sometimes run rampant. Players have noticed a lot of frustrating behavior over the past few months, ranging from purposely making their team lose to screaming and being distracting or offensive.

As stories piled up, Riot game producer Sara “Necrotix” Dadafshar told players that she’s noticed a growing number of these similar stories. She stated that the issue is a top priority for the Valorant development team. Necrotix noted that they are also creating a new team just to combat behavior issues in the game.

Since that statement at the end of October, there has not been a lot of updates regarding Riot’s handling of toxic Valorant players. This includes players who continuously leave matches.

Olivia Richman

About Olivia Richman

Olivia has worked in media ever since graduating from college, with her coverage ranging from traditional newspaper reporting to digital coverage of all things gaming, online betting, and nerd culture. She has traveled around the world pursuing that coverage, from the far coasts of the United States to the busy downtown core of Tokyo, Japan. Olivia’s favorite games include Overwatch and Super Smash Smash Bros, and she has been published at Esports Illustrated, Inven Global, EsportsInsider, Upcomer, and elsewhere.

View full profile