The online gaming community has long grappled with issues of toxicity and racism, and Valorant is no exception. The popular first-person shooter by Riot Games has been under scrutiny again due to increasing reports of racism and toxic behavior within its community.
A recent post on the game’s subreddit showed the experiences of an Asian player encountering racism on American servers. While this isn’t exclusive to one server, the toxicity has left many players contemplating quitting the game.
Valorant’s Toxicity Problem is a Recurring One
One Reddit user shared their experience of moving to the US and facing racist comments on Valorant‘s American servers. They noted that the toxicity was especially severe in certain servers where players often mock their accent and make derogatory remarks.
Why are the American servers so racist?
byu/hielll inVALORANT
Many players shared similar experiences saying that the toxicity is not confined to lower ranks. One user noted that while toxicity decreases in higher ranks like Diamond, the problem never fully disappears. Another pointed out that despite being an American, they frequently argue with players who use offensive slurs without provocation.
Riot Games has attempted to address this issue by introducing severe penalties for toxic behavior. The company recently announced the implementation of hardware bans, the harshest form of punishment yet.
A message from @RiotSuperCakes about the current state of player behavior and upcoming changes to make our community a better place pic.twitter.com/eiwoGsB930
— VALORANT (@VALORANT) May 30, 2024
According to Riot’s Studio Head, Anna Donlon, these bans will target the worst offenders and aim to eliminate extremely harmful behavior from the game. However, the effectiveness of these measures remains to be seen, as many players continue to report frequent instances of racism and bigotry.
Riot Needs to Step It up Because the Toxicity Is Just Getting Worse
Despite these efforts, players continue to report high levels of toxicity, especially in casual game modes like Spike Rush and Unranked. Many players find that competitive modes, though not free from toxic behavior, are relatively more civil.
We also rolled out a few improvements to our player behavior systems in patch 8.10:
— VALORANT (@VALORANT) May 31, 2024
👉🏽bystander feedback – if anyone in your match is actioned on, you'll receive a notice when they are penalized, even if you didn't report them yourself
👉🏽text filtering – when zero tolerance text…
This is why it’s useful to know how to report Valorant players. To report toxic players in-game, players can press the Escape key during a game to access the report option next to the offending player’s name.
Reports can also be filed post-match or during the agent selection screen.
Riot’s commitment was highlighted in a recent statement by Donlon. She acknowledged the presence of harmful behavior in the game and reiterated Riot’s dedication to updating its policies to issue faster and more severe Valorant bans for hate speech and threats.
While the game continues to be one of the top first-person shooters, the persistent issues of racism and toxicity make it hard to enjoy sometimes. Players are encouraged to report any toxic behavior to help make Valorant a better place for everyone.
Have you been facing toxicity in your games? Regardless of which server? Let us know in the comments!
