Riot Games acknowledge coaches need for team-specific spectator option

Riot Games have gradually improved their custom lobby and spectating features since VALORANT executive Anna “SuperCakes” Donlon promised to continuously add them back in June. However, even with the latest changes introduced in update 1.12, there is still no team-specific spectating option for coaches to use. The feature is widely requested from coaches of all tiers in the VALORANT competitive scene, even understanding the situation if Riot Games doesn’t want it used in tournaments.

Don "SyykoNT" Muir, the current XSET coach, brought up the question on Twitter. He received a reply from VALORANT Principal Software Engineer, Riot Nu, confirming the studio acknowledges the need for a coach spectating slot. However, he didn’t have any details to share right now, which means we won’t likely see it any time soon.

The spectator mode and custom lobbies currently present in VALORANT still leave a lot to be desired, but have definitely come a long way since its release. Even if Riot Games decided to disable this feature during competitive matches, it is still a great tool for teams who wish to have their coach spectate them during scrims to guide them and set up strategies.

What other tools do you think coaches would benefit from? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below!