Should Valorant introduce phone verification for competitive queue to tackle smurfing?

Valorant competitive matchmaking with phone verification (Image via Sportskeeda)

Valorant has two flip sides - it's a fun shooter game that anyone can play, but it is also highly competitive. The presence of a ranked mode in any online competitive title creates the presence of smurfs. Smurfing has recently become a huge issue in Riot’s first-person shooter as the skill-based ranking system can be evaded.

The ranks are allotted to each player based on their performance and skill level. A Valorant player and Redditor shared a post advising the use of phone number linking to reduce smurfing. Many experienced players prefer to play in the lower ranks where they can perform better. This creates a massive disparity in the skill-based matchmaking system and interferes with players of that rank.

Let's look at the phone number method that could be used in Valorant.

Valorant’s smurfing problem needs a stronger deterrent

Various aspects of Valorant cannot be controlled, and smurfing is one of them. However, the player base has a few ideas that could reduce smurfing. Riot Games recently updated their matchmaking system to counter smurfing by ranking up lower-ranked accounts faster based on their superior performance.

The Redditor cites his opinion about providing a phone number linking system in Valorant to battle against a large number of smurfs. This method is used in other online titles to secure and manage unique accounts.

Phone number Riot account link

Phone number linking does not seem to be an implementation challenge. It is a simple route that can uniquely identify player accounts and prevent the same number from being reused.

The player suggests that this method should be introduced only for competitive matchmaking. The account will remain eligible for other game modes without phone number verification but cannot queue up in competitive mode.

The underlying issue with such a direct solution is that many players do not own their personal phones and numbers. This would lock out all players whose phone plans do not apply to Riot’s linking method.

The primary issue does not end only with smurfs. The existence of multiple smurf accounts for an individual enables them to throw matches or play carelessly since it does not affect their main accounts. Even if one of the accounts is reported and faces a competitive ban, they can still use an alternate account.

The player base cited their opinions and stated that this would be a half-measure as people could still buy accounts and use other phone numbers to link them. Nevertheless, there cannot be a complete solution to such an issue, and this method can only act as a deterrent.

Two-factor verification of accounts via text messages on the registered phone number is another viable method. Using this to verify the account for a certain time limit when queuing for ranked matches can also reduce the number of smurfs.

There is a lot of debate surrounding the current state of Valorant and Riot’s efforts to discourage players from smurfing. At the time of writing, Riot Games has not officially addressed the issue, and no further details were provided on the future update roadmap. Follow Sportskeeda for the latest updates and gameplay guides.