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Valorant's Episode 2 Developer Livestream saw the devs confirm their intentions of tackling the AFK and smurfing situations in the game.
The Valorant community has long been complaining about the growing toxicity in the game. The developers had previously admitted that handling the AFK and smurfs situation in Valorant was prioritized over upgrading the surrender system.
However, with the release of Episode 2 and a bunch of new features, they are now focusing on disruptive incidents in the game.
The smurfing problem in Valorant has witnessed a monumental rise since the game's release. With additional changes being made to the competitive structure, the developers are wholly focused on a better system to detect and punish AFKs and smurfs.
Here's everything to know about what the devs said about these issues in Episode 2.
Developers talk about improving AFK and smurf detection in Valorant
According to the Ask Valorant release on December 24th, the developers admitted that "AFKs, smurfs, etc., are hoarding" the top spot on their to-do list. However, with the release of Episode 2, it seems like they are finally getting to sort out this prolonged issue.
Smurfing or AFKing in a game of Valorant can be an extremely bitter experience for everyone else. Be it a scenario where a team has to play with a numerical disadvantage or a random high-skilled played joining a lower-ranked lobby to stomp on everyone else, the end result can be outright trauma-inducing for some.
Nevertheless, the developers promising a focused approach to tackling these issues in Valorant is a massive relief for the community. Suffering from bad experiences at the hands of smurfs or losing due to a malicious AFK could soon become a thing of the past.
With multiple changes lined up for the competitive structure of Valorant, it is entirely up to Riot Games to ensure a smurf and AFK-free experience for players. Additionally, gamers caught smurfing or being AFK could be handed strict punishments to discourage similar behavior from others.
With the developers only dropping slight hints about their next focus, it remains to be seen what changes are made to Valorant's detection system. Until there's an official reveal from Riot, it is tough to speculate the upcoming changes.
