Should Valorant improve the penalty system for disruptive behavior in chat and voice comms?

Riot Games has a strict policy of banning reported players for 72 hours from using in-game communications in Valorant's unrated mode.

Some argue that this policy against disruptive behavior in Valorant is lenient and could use some mending. Players found abusing the in-game comms feature on the unrated mode in Valorant are handed a 72-hour ban.

Merely taking away a player's ability to abuse the communication features for 72 hours is not a severe enough punishment, as after the respective period has passed, the player can resume with their disruptive measures.

Nevertheless, with an improved penalty system in Valorant to tackle reports against unruly players, the game might become a much better experience for those who are merely trying to have some fun in the unrated mode.

Here's everything to know about the current penalty system in Valorant, and how it could be improved to offer players a better in-game experience.

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Penalty system for disruptive behaviour in Valorant

The present penalty system available against players who tend to abuse the in-game comms, can be perceived as lenient. Nevertheless, the developers at Riot Games have previously shown their stern approach against disruptive behavior in the game, and that leads everyone to believe that their could soon be upgrades to the penalty system in Valorant.

im only posting these two clips because everything else is tos that they have said but man this ruined my whole game experience :( pic.twitter.com/VsAsfeuz6D

— lilly ☃️ #PrydeLilly ???? (@soslilly) December 14, 2020

At the moment, a single match of Valorant in unrated can turn out be a bitter experience for some. However, given that Valorant had its fair share of malfunctioning regarding bans in the past, the developers at Riot have come a long way, and are still working to improve the existing penalty system in the game.

@PlayVALORANT Chat bans have to be the worst way to ban someone in Valorant. Just ban them, other players suffer because you banned someone from using coms.

— Replace Valorant Directors / Producers (@DirectorMake) November 8, 2020

The main reason as to why the 72 hour ban is extremely lenient was described in detail by u/pixel_6 on the r/Valorant subreddit. The user explained how they were matched in an unrated lobby with a troll, who kept revealing their information to the enemy:

u/pixel_6's thread on the r/Valorant subreddit

U/pixel_6 went on to report that upon warning the troll about receiving a ban, the troll responded that they had previously done the same multiple times and the maximum punishment comes in the form of a 72 hour ban from using the in-game communication features.

This reveals how far some malicious players have come to disregard the 72 hour chat-ban in Valorant. Given that a chat-ban in Valorant is no longer efficient in stopping players from engaging in disruptive behavious, it is probably time for Riot Games to come forward with a strict penalty system for players found abusing the in-game communication features.