Dealing with cheating, toxicity, and disruptive behavior is a never-ending battle in the world of online multiplayer games. While completely wiping out these issues might be a tall order, some games are certainly handling it better than others. Riot Games has ramped up its efforts to crack down on unruly behavior in Valorant over the past year. In their latest developer diary, they announced they’ve issued manual warnings to over half a million players solely for disruptive conduct.
Anna Donlon, Riot’s executive producer for Valorant, acknowledged in May 2024 that the company must improve its approach to combating harassment and toxicity in the game. This prompted a slew of new systems and stricter penalties throughout the year. One critical aspect of this strategy has been to increase the frequency of manual reviews and to distribute warning messages to offenders much sooner. According to Stephen Kraman, the product lead for Valorant’s competitive systems, these efforts are making a difference.
“We dispatched warnings to over half a million repeat disruptors,” Kraman stated. “For those who continued to misbehave, harsher penalties were enforced than before.”
Kraman mentioned these warnings alone led to a 25% reduction in repeat disruptions, without having to resort to player bans or temporary lockouts. The quick and decisive nature of these warnings seems to have been quite effective.
Kraman also admits that there’s more work ahead, mentioning a new manual system aimed at curbing negative behaviors is in the pipeline. He provided an update on the game’s voice communication evaluation technology – English language detection has been implemented worldwide, except in Korea. Spanish detection is in the advanced stages of development, with other languages also being worked on.
In the same dev diary, Riot shared exciting news that two new agents are set to be introduced this year, following the release of Tejo in the Season 2025 Act 1 update. Additionally, map rotations will now occur once per Act. With six Acts planned for this year, players can expect fresh map changes approximately every two months.
Before jumping into your next match, don’t forget to check our guides for optimal Valorant crosshairs and the competitive ranks you’ll be aiming for.
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