Valorant Updates Anti-Cheat After Major Ban Wave

Summary

• Valorant is implementing ranked rollbacks to reverse progress or rank if a match is affected by cheaters, aiming to penalize hackers and promote fair play.
• Players on the same team as hackers will retain their rank rating, ensuring no unfair losses.
• Riot Games' head of anti-cheat, Phillip Koskinas, emphasized the studio's commitment to combating cheating.

Valorant is taking a strong stand against the recent surge in hackers by introducing ranked rollbacks. This new measure aims to reverse any progress or rank changes if a match is compromised by cheating, ensuring that the integrity of the game remains intact. Valorant’s head of anti-cheat, Phillip Koskinas, has publicly addressed the issue, warning cheaters that Riot Games can now take more severe actions and detailing the implications of these changes.

Cheating and hacking are persistent challenges in online gaming, with many studios constantly developing new strategies to combat them. Despite Valorant boasting one of the most robust anti-cheat systems in the industry, it has recently faced an increase in hackers disrupting player experiences. In response, Riot Games is implementing stricter measures to penalize those who cheat.

Phillip Koskinas took to Twitter to acknowledge the cheating problem in Valorant and reassure the community that Riot is actively working on solutions. The introduction of ranked rollbacks is a key part of this strategy, where a player's rank or progress will be reversed if their match loss is due to cheaters. Koskinas shared a chart illustrating the effectiveness of Riot's Vanguard system, which banned a significant number of cheaters in January, with the peak on January 13.

Riot Games' Future Valorant Bans Will Include Ranked Rollbacks

A concerned player inquired about the fairness of winning a match with a cheater on their team, highlighting the injustice to both the opposing team and teammates of the hacker. Koskinas clarified that players on the same team as hackers will keep their rank rating, while the opposing team will have their rank restored. He acknowledged that this approach might lead to some inflation in rankings but expressed confidence in moving forward with this strategy.

Valorant’s Vanguard system, known for its kernel-level security on PCs, has been highly effective in detecting and banning cheaters. Its success has even influenced other games like Call of Duty to adopt similar anti-cheat measures. Despite ongoing efforts to eliminate cheaters, they continue to find new ways to infiltrate games.

Valorant has already banned thousands of players in its fight against cheating, offering hope to those affected by hackers in ranked matches. Riot Games is clearly dedicated to resolving this issue and curbing the latest wave of hackers. The effectiveness of the new ranked rollback system will be closely watched by the community.