Harassment in voice chat is ruining Valorant for some players

This problem is nothing new, regardless of the game being played, voice comms are so often a hive of toxicity. Harassment can take many forms, from unnecessary jokes and comments, to the use of outright discriminatory language.

In a competitive shooter like Valorant, communicating with teammates is incredibly important if you want to win. Muting chat means missing out on valuable call outs and no one should have to make this sacrifice just to avoid being harassed.

Gross, this is creepy as hell. This is why I can't solo. I'm so sorry. We're absolutely looking into long-term solutions for making it safe to play VALORANT - even solo queue!

— Anna Donlon (@RiotSuperCakes) April 24, 2020

When League of Legends and Teamfight Tactics UX Designer @Evergreenily shared a clip of herself being harassed on Valorant solo queue, it prompted a response from the game’s Executive Producer, Anna Donlon.

Donlon explained that this sort of behaviour is why she herself can’t play solo. She also added that “We’re absolutely looking into long-term solutions for making it safe to play VALORANT”.

More recently, Twitch and YouTube superstar Imane “Pokimane” Anys took to Twitter for a similar reason. Pokimane suggested adding an anonymous mode as a way to partly combat the issue. Whilst this would help people who weren’t using their mic, it only solves half the problem.

It’s good to know that Riot are actively working on improving the situation, but other than further iterating on their in-game reporting system, there’s only so much they can do. The Valorant community as a whole need to look out for each other, and help to make this game a safer place for everyone.