Summary
- Valorant is combating cheaters with a new ranked rollback system. This reverses rank or progress if a match is compromised by hackers.
- The goal is to punish cheaters and ensure fair play for all Valorant players.
- Players teamed with hackers will retain their rank, preventing unfair penalties.
Valorant is implementing ranked rollbacks to tackle a recent surge in cheaters. Valorant's head of anti-cheat recently addressed the issue, warning cheaters of harsher penalties and detailing the new system.
Online games frequently battle the problem of cheaters seeking unfair advantages. While many companies employ various anti-cheat strategies, cheaters persistently find ways to disrupt fair play. Despite Valorant's reputation for a robust anti-cheat system, a recent increase in hackers has negatively impacted player experience. This prompted Riot Games to implement stricter measures.
Riot Games' head of anti-cheat, Phillip Koskinas, acknowledged the problem on Twitter, assuring players of ongoing efforts to resolve it. A key part of this strategy is the upcoming implementation of ranked rollbacks. This means players' rank or progress will be reversed if their match was negatively affected by cheaters. Koskinas shared data showing the number of cheaters banned by Riot's Vanguard system in January, highlighting a peak on January 13th.
Riot Games' Future Valorant Bans Will Include Ranked Rollbacks
Addressing concerns about players winning matches with cheaters on their team—a situation unfair to both the opposing team and those playing alongside the hacker—Koskinas clarified that players on the same team as a hacker will keep their rank rating, while the opposing team will have their lost rating restored. Koskinas acknowledged potential inflationary effects but expressed confidence in the strategy.
Valorant's Vanguard system, utilizing kernel-level security on PCs, has proven highly effective in detecting and banning cheaters. Other popular games, such as Call of Duty, have adopted similar systems. However, despite successful efforts to curb cheating, cheaters consistently find new ways to infiltrate.
Valorant has already banned thousands of players, offering hope to those frustrated by hackers in ranked matches. Riot Games' commitment to resolving this issue and reducing the recent wave of cheating is clear. The long-term effectiveness of the new ranked rollback technique remains to be seen.
