Riot Games Increases Penalties for AFK Players in VALORANT
Riot Games has announced that it will be implementing stricter penalties for players who go AFK (Away From Keyboard) during matches in VALORANT.
The experience of ranked and unranked matches in the VALORANT beta has been marred by players going AFK or idle, effectively ruining the game for their teammates who are left to play at a disadvantage.
In a recent tweet, Riot Games stated, “We’re shipping a change that increases penalties for AFKs, which include longer queue restrictions for folks to AFK for multiple rounds. We’ll keep an eye on these restrictions when there’s service instability, but please commit to the games you queue up for.”
This change to implement steeper punishments for AFK players is a welcome one, especially considering how common this issue seems to be during the beta phase. With a few months remaining before the game’s scheduled release, it is the ideal time to make changes like this.
Currently, Riot’s website lists the punishment for AFK players as a time penalty that increases in severity with each instance of going AFK. Players will see a countdown timer and are advised not to leave the game once they have returned.
Although the full extent of the new punishments for AFK players is not yet known, longer queue restrictions are a step in the right direction. There is a possibility of additional consequences, such as matchmaking timeouts or a reduction in a player’s rank, but these have not been confirmed.
VALORANT is scheduled for release this summer, but the beta version is still ongoing with regular updates being rolled out.
Riot Games, AFK players, VALORANT, penalties, stricter punishments, queue restrictions, ranked matches, unranked matches, beta phase, release.