The Valorant client seems to be acting up for a lot of players today, as many in the community are encountering the VAL 19 error code, especially when they are trying to access online matches and other core features of the shooter.
Riot Games has mentioned that the problem is something that the North American servers are primarily facing, and it has something to do with the issues that the client has been facing as soon as the Night Market went live.
For those unaware, the Valorant Night Market for Episode 5 Act 1 went live a few hours ago, and since then, players have been complaining about the VAL 19 error code that has been popping up.
The main reason for the issue is the game's client, and Riot is yet to come up with a hotfix to solve the problem.
However, until the developers find a permanent solution to the problem, there are a few temporary fixes that players can try out to solve Valorant’s VAL 19 error.
How to possibly fix the VAL 19 error code in Valorant
After Episode 5 Act 1 Night Market dropped, thousands of Valorant community members took to Twitter to mention that they had been having problems accessing the game due to the VAL 19 error code.
The best solution to the error code would be to wait for Riot Games to come up with a fix. However, there are two temporary fixes to the problem that players can try out immediately to find a possible solution to VAL 19.
1) Restart the game client
The first solution is to restart the client, and this seems to have solved the issue for many players, albeit temporarily.
To restart the client, players will need to close the game from the Task Manager, since the client reportedly freezes every time the error message pops up.
Players will be required to go to the Task Manager, then navigate to “All Processes.” They will be required to locate the Riot Games client and click on “End Process.”
If the player is lucky, upon opening the client once again, the VAL 19 error will not appear. They can then access all the features in Valorant, including the Night Market and online play.
2) Re-install Valorant and the Riot Games client
The second method that many players have employed is to completely uninstall the shooter and the Riot Games client.
Fans will need to go to Windows Programs and Files, where they will find both the game as well as the client icons. They will be able to right-click on this to receive the “Uninstall” option that they will be required to click on.
After uninstalling both, players will be able to download them once again from Riot’s official website. It’s likely that completely installing both the game as well as the client from scratch will help fix the problem.