Valorant has become one of the world’s top competitive esports games within months of its launch.
Valorant assigns a rank to every player, based on their performance in Ranked Mode matches. These ranks range from Iron 1 to Radiant. There are a total of 22 ranks to climb through.
Toxicity in-game is the dark side of Valorant. Some players act toxic towards both their teammates and opponents through gameplay and in-game communication. Riot games have implemented a reporting system in Valorant and take regular action against players with multiple reports of toxic behavior.
Some valorant players feel like the in-game rank display might be aiding the toxic behavior of some players.
The rank disparity in Valorant
Valorant players are assigned a rank based on their performance in a ranked match. A player’s rank is used to team them up with, and match them up against, players of similar skill levels. A player’s rank changes based on their performance in recent Ranked mode gameplay.
Valorant displays the rank of all the players in a team on the scoreboard during a match. Some players feel that displaying rank aids in toxic behavior. Redditor u/hey_im_banana recently wrote:
“It just encourages egoistic players to be more toxic and unhelpful to teammates. ”
Even though Valorant teams up and matches players against other players of similar rank, there might sometimes be a difference of 2-3 ranks in a team. Toxic players may call out and insult someone with a lower rank, even if the difference is of 1 rank, just because that person has a lower rank.
Having a higher rank than a toxic player might not help. A toxic player expects to be carried and won’t help out the teammates. Whenever the higher ranking player fails to carry, the toxic player becomes abusive.
Toxicity in-game should never be encouraged. Considering Riot Games’ supportive open communication with the community and player base, they should look into the matter soon and take appropriate action.