"Valorant" is planning to launch major changes to their systems. They said "harsher punishments" will be implemented to fix the toxicity in their game.
"Valorant" is one of the most popular, free-to-play, first-person shooter games available today. Unfortunately, its massive popularity also means it has a few toxic gamers to deal with.
As a general rule, toxic attitude is referred to as "unwanted behavior over in-game voice and chat communication," per Riot Games. This includes words or comments that contain insults, harassment, threats, or other types of offensive language.
Our series on VALORANT Game Systems Health continues with a look at voice and chat toxicity. Social & Player Dynamics team members @npcSara and @_bchangalang breakdown our progress so far and what work is left to do. https://t.co/yAvflyb4BH pic.twitter.com/HIAu8hjq8H
— VALORANT (@VALORANT) February 10, 2022
'Valorant' Update: New Rules Against Toxic Gamers
Developers said they are currently working on new system changes for the game. They proposed four big projects that should help regulate the toxic community.
First, developers proposed "harsher punishments for existing systems." This refers to their ban punishments which could range from a few days to one year. Developers said they are feeling a bit more confident in detecting toxic activity, so they will start gradually increasing the severity of penalties when a player is flagged.
Second, developers proposed "more immediate, real-time text moderation." This refers to toxic activities which typically happen during the match. Instead of punishing a player after the game ends, they are planning to add consequences to toxic activities the moment it is detected. Not many details are available on this so-called punishment yet.
Third, developers proposed "improvements to existing voice moderation." This refers to toxic activity done by voice chat. Note that toxic activity done by voice call is significantly harder to detect than text. However, developers promised they are making "incremental steps" to improve it.
Lastly, developers proposed a "regional test pilot program." This is an idea that is recently implemented on their Turkey branch. Developers said that a local pilot program would be better equipped in detecting toxicity in their region. The program is still in progress, but developers have high hopes for its potential.
How to Stop 'Valorant' Toxic Players
Near the end of the announcement, developers asked the players for their help. Developers said they are taking data from player feedback, so they encourage players to continue to use features like mute words and system reports for bad behavior.
Developers emphasized that player feedback can help them better identify toxic behavior, especially from gamers who try to work their way around the existing system.
Sources from Comicbook pointed out that this recent announcement detailed many other new policies and harsher punishments coming to the system. Players are encouraged to read the whole post to get an idea of their concerns and how to better conduct themselves.
Unfortunately, Valorant did not elaborate on when these changes would be implemented in the system. Note that this might drop in one big patch, or in a bunch of small patches spread throughout the year.
For now, fans are recommended to wait for more updates.
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