Rank manipulation finally to be punished in VALORANT

Boosting, trolling, and match-fixing have been a major issue in VALORANT ranked for a long time, essentially since the game’s release. That said, the problem does not come from VALORANT itself, as every game with a ranked system struggles with this kind of behavior.

The developers’ biggest challenge is, of course, finding ways to limit this damaging behavior, which ruins the experience for players who are trying to win and perform at their best.

Riot has finally listened: rank manipulation will now be punished.

To fight boosting, Riot has decided to implement penalties for players who attempt to manipulate ranks. The punishments reportedly include:

• Account bans
• Rank reversion
• Ranked rewards reversion

This issue is especially common in the higher ranks. In Immortal and Ascendant lobbies, it is not unusual to find players who are visibly not where they should be. Many of these cases involve external boosting services used to reach ranks they did not earn.

Banning those accounts is certainly the most extreme and direct solution, but in my opinion, it should not be the first step. It should be the final stage. If a player first has their rewards reverted, then their rank, and still continues to use boosting services, then a ban becomes inevitable.

Younger players may also be tempted to try these services because they want to play at a higher level and believe they deserve it, often blaming their teammates instead. But the harsh reality is simple: if you are good enough, you will win.

Everyone deserves a second chance, and an instant ban may be too harsh in some cases. A step by step system could be a better solution.

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