VALORANT Updates Behavior Systems to Reduce AFKs and Queue Dodging

The VALORANT Competitive Systems team has been refining behavior systems to better address disruptive patterns, starting with AFKs and queue dodging. These behaviors were chosen due to their high frequency and impact on match quality.

Key Adjustments

• Previous systems did not sufficiently address small groups of players who repeatedly engaged in disruptive actions.

• Patch 11.00 tuned systems to issue firmer penalties against frequent AFKs and similar behaviors.

• Patch 11.05 adjusted penalties for Competitive AFK remakes and queue dodging, scaling more quickly for players with repeated offenses.

Results Observed

• Competitive: AFKs and related behaviors decreased by 20%.

• Swiftplay: AFKs and similar behaviors decreased by 6%.

How the System Works

Behavior is tracked through ratings that decrease when disruptive actions occur and recover through clean play. Severity matters, so short AFKs impact ratings differently than extended ones.

The system aims to identify consistent behavior patterns and apply appropriate penalties rather than only punishing isolated incidents.

Why Changes Were Needed

Analysis revealed that some players avoided proper penalties by spreading out smaller disruptive behaviors or by playing high volumes of matches despite frequent AFKs.

Although these cohorts represented less than 1% of active players, they caused 13% of all AFKs across Competitive, Swiftplay, and Unrated.

Ongoing Improvements

The changes already lowered AFK rates, but additional tuning is underway for remakes in higher ranks where abuse is more common.

Updated penalties should not affect the vast majority of players but should improve match quality by reducing disruption.

Looking Ahead

Further monitoring will ensure penalties remain effective. Future updates will also target disruptive patterns in voice and text comms to reduce toxicity and improve the overall experience across VALORANT.