Valorant Cracks Down on Cheaters After Massive Ban Wave

Summary

• Valorant is combating cheaters with a new ranked rollback system. This reverses rank progress if a match is compromised by hackers.
• This aims to punish cheaters and ensure fair play for all Valorant players.
• Players on the same team as a hacker will retain their rank rating, preventing unfair penalties.

Valorant is implementing ranked rollbacks to combat a recent surge in hackers. Valorant's head of anti-cheat addressed the issue, warning cheaters of harsher penalties and detailing the new system.

Online games frequently struggle with cheaters seeking unfair advantages. While many companies employ various anti-cheat strategies, cheaters persistently find ways to disrupt fair play. Despite Valorant's generally strong anti-cheat reputation, a recent rise in hacking prompted Riot Games to take stronger action.

Riot Games' head of anti-cheat, Phillip Koskinas, publicly acknowledged the problem on Twitter, assuring players of ongoing efforts to address it. A key part of this strategy is the upcoming ranked rollback system, reversing rank changes in matches affected by cheaters. Koskinas shared data illustrating 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 partnered with hackers—Koskinas clarified that teammates of cheaters will retain their rank rating, while the opposing team will have their lost rating restored. Koskinas acknowledged potential inflationary effects but expressed confidence in this approach.

Valorant's Vanguard system, utilizing kernel-level security, has proven highly effective in detecting and banning cheaters. Other popular games, such as Call of Duty, have adopted similar systems. However, despite developers' efforts, cheaters consistently find new ways to circumvent these measures.

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 mitigating the recent wave of cheating is evident. The long-term effectiveness of the new ranked rollback system remains to be seen.