How to surrender in Valorant

Guide on how to surrender in Valorant. (Image via Sportskeeda)
A guide on how to surrender in Valorant (Image via Sportskeeda)

Valorant is Riot Games' character-based tactical shooter. There are many modes that you can play in the game, of which the full-length objective-oriented formats, Unrated and Competitive, are the most popular.

Both Unrated and Competitive follow the same structure, where you get a maximum of 12 rounds on both attack and defense. The first team to win 13 of these 24 rounds wins the game. If the score is 12-12 at the end of the 24th round, the match goes to Overtime, where the first side to win two consecutive rounds wins the game.

However, there are certain situations in which you might not want to play out the match in its entirety. There is a provision present, Surrender, that allows you to do that.

There are certain steps you need to follow in order to forfeit a match using this mechanic. This article will tell you how to surrender in Valorant.


A guide on how to forfeit games in Valorant

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The surrender function in a game of Valorant lets your team forfeit the game to the opponents at whatever point you want. There are certain things you need to know about using the function in the game.

You can only forfeit a game after the first four rounds have been played, whether you are on attack or defense. You can queue a Surrender vote anytime after the fourth round has started, for it to turn up at the beginning of the next round. Alternatively, you can opt to give up during the Buy Phase from the fifth MATCH onwards, allowing for the Surrender vote to pop up immediately.

To start a vote, you must type /surrender, /ff, or /concede in the chat or click the Surrender button in the in-game menu. To access the chat, simply press Enter and start typing. The menu can be reached by pressing the Esc key, and the Surrender button will be present +at the bottom of the menu.

Once a vote is started, your team will get to decide if they want to go through with the decision or not. You have to press F5 or type /yes in the chat to accept the vote, or press F6 or type /no in the chat to reject it.

In an Unrated game, a surrender vote passes when 80% of the team votes yes, but in Competitive Valorant games, it needs to be passed unanimously, or with 100% people voting yes.

If a surrender vote fails during one half, you will not be able to queue another one until the next half starts. Make sure to communicate with your team beforehand so as not to waste the opportunity if the need arises.


When should you surrender a game in Valorant?

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Giving up is never the first choice for any player. However, in certain circumstances, the game just feels out of hand and unwinnable. Such situations can arise due to many reasons, such as:

  • One or more teammates go AFK during the game, leaving you to play 4v5, or worse, 3v5.
  • You are teamed up with someone who is intentionally throwing the game.
  • You have someone on your team who is being toxic and uncooperative.
  • You and your teammates suspect the presence of a smurf on the opponent team, and feel completely out-gunned.

In such a case, you can always vote to forfeit the match. There are concerns that you lose more Ranked Rating (RR) when you surrender. However, with the recent changes in how it is awarded and deducted, the round difference matters less than individual performance. As such, you will not lose too much because you chose to surrender.


Although forfeiting in Valorant is not going to be the ideal choice, it is the best thing you can do to preserve your mental peace at times. Keep these things in mind, the next time you face extremely unfavorable circumstances so you can surrender and queue up for your next game with a positive mindset.

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