Valorant addresses anti-cheat in winter update - Upcomer
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Valorant anti-cheat update

Valorant addresses anti-cheat in winter update

Valorant has addressed the various forms of cheating in their winter update article. Matt “K3o” Paoletti, a member of the Valorant Anti-Cheat team, provides the update on anti-cheat in Episode 2. The competitive system got a complete overhaul in Episode 2 to combat boosters and associated cheaters. Valorant will be addressing these boosters inside competitive while also keeping up with the possible cheaters in esports.

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First Strike was Valorant’s first major tournament across all regions that currently support the game. According to K3o, they were able to perform an “in-depth review of every participating account in every region.” This account monitoring happened before First Strike and sometime after to ensure they were not cheating after the tournament. Valorant’s anti-cheating system “Vanguard” was able to take this high volume of players and apply it to queues throughout the game.

Valorant has also been facing several cheating issues in the competitive queue across all ranks. These cheaters are usually banned if their cheats are obvious, but the system can’t get everything. In addition to these cheaters, Valorant is trying to combat boosting associated with these cheats. Some players have chosen to play with cheaters to boost their own rating, knowing they won’t get banned. Both are being addressed by Riot Games.

Valorant’s upcoming solutions to cheating

K3o revealed three main points that Valorant is implementing to prevent cheating. There will be a 90-day penalty for “bussing” which refers to players who queue with cheaters. This will revert the rating for those who have used cheaters to get to their rank.

In addition to these penalties, players who have lost due to cheaters will have their rating re-calibrated. It is unclear whether this will apply to future games or change for previous matches as well. They are addressing account boosting in all forms, including buying/sharing accounts. These account purchases were first addressed back in April during the beta.

Lastly, Valorant will be continuing to make changes to the competitive system to prevent cheaters from climbing. They first did this by putting a cap on the highest rank you could reach in placements. They have also reduced the speed at which players can reach Radiant. This makes the highest elo more prestigious and harder to obtain.

For more Valorant anti-cheat coverage, stay tuned to Daily Esports.

Author
Image of Danny Appleford
Danny Appleford
Danny Appleford is an esports journalist for Upcomer that started writing for Daily Esports in 2020. He now specializes in articles surrounding League of Legends, Call of Duty, VALORANT and Halo.