VALORANT developers discuss ranked decay, penalties for character select dodging, and more

Riot Games have time and time again proven their commitment to listening to the VALORANT community’s feedback in shaping the game’s experience. The latest developers’ AMA on Reddit answered numerous questions on MMR, ranked ladder decay, AFK and character select screen dodging penalties, and much more.

The surrender option was introduced back in patch 1.02, however, each team can only call a vote once per half. This often causes issues as players can be AFK before it and come to vote no or even disappear right after hitting no on the vote, ruining the experience for their teammates trying to climb the ranked ladder. Software Engineer Eric Fink replied to players’ concerns on the changes the development team is considering, and hinted even towards character select dodging penalties.

“With the new Rank Rating system we're going to be issuing AFK Rank Rating penalties at the end of a match to dissuade folks from bailing in the middle of a game. We've also modified our system since launch so that players who do stick around and play out matches will be affected less by a match outcome when a player was AFK. We'll also be issuing penalties for character select dodging,” commented Eric.

A known mechanic in the highest ranks of Riot Games’ League of Legends is ranked decay. Players who achieve Diamond, Master, Grand Master, and Challenger tier have to keep playing to maintain their rank. Designer Jon Walker was there to address the possibility of seeing a similar introduction to VALORANT, considering the number of maps and agents being added to the game and the importance of high ranked players maintaining their skill level.

“Decay is hard because you have to start thinking of how much decay, what is a fair amount of time, how long it takes to decay out of X rank, etc. We have a decay style system in place, but it's more on the confidence in your MMR so it kind of does this already.(we don't decay your rank at all, just to clarify)”

“I believe there is also something to the perception and excitement of a new season. In game design players will just leave if they don't have goals; I don't like this answer as a reason why you should drop players even if psychologically it makes sense. I do not like letting players ride their rank, because it gives them a sense that they are entitled to their rank just for getting it once and riding it out,” replied Jon.

What changes or additional features do you want to see come to VALORANT? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!