Valorant Behavior Detection Updates Will Target AFK Players

Riot Games’ Valorant has several patches in the works to address long-standing issues with the competitive shooter. Patch 2.04 will take aim at AFK players and offer “improved detection” for this kind of behavior. The developer acknowledged previous loopholes and noted that these will be patched. Said detection will also be broadened to “encompass other types of disruptive behavior and non-participatory play.”

Though it didn’t outline the exact ways that AFK behavior would be detected (which is a given), the developer noted that a player’s account will be tracked overtime. This is to prevent penalties on players who face technical issues like internet trouble. Essentially, if you’re a repeat offender, then penalties will include the following:

• Warnings
• XP denial for the games in which you were AFK’d (see ya later, AFK farmers!)
• Small deductions from your ranked rating for pre-game dodges
• Deductions from your ranked rating for in-game AFKing (Patch 2.03)
• Increased queue restrictions
• Barred entry from ranked games
• Valorant game bans (but only if you’re really, really persistent)

Patch 2.04 will also work on chat-based offenses. Comms bans for all players will be going away while the penalty system for offensive chat has also been changed. This can include the usual warnings, followed by comms bans, extended comms bans, bans from the Ranked queue, game bans and extended game bans. Riot also reiterated that, “There is no room for violence, threats, or targeted harassment in Valorant – those behaviors will not be tolerated. Certain offenses (like those listed above) are categorized as ‘zero tolerance,’ and they warrant a game ban, full stop.”

Of course, it also noted that because its text evaluation can’t look at who began to “rage war”, even responding to offensive chats in an offensive way will flag you. “If we see you saying awful things, you’ll get flagged, no matter who threw it down first. If someone is verbally harassing you, do not harass them back or repeat what they have said. Report them, and trust that our systems will take care of it. (You also have the option of muting their text chat, voice chat, and pings). We don’t want you getting punished for someone else’s wrongdoing.”

This update, along with patch 2.05 which will let players know when their reports have been acted on, doesn’t have a release date just yet. Stay tuned for more details on when it eventually goes live.