As various insider sources revealed, Riot Games is working on an entirely new ‘bot’ system that can serve as a substitute for players who go AFK in the midst of Valorant games. It seems that the game developer is finally taking a different approach in addressing the problem of player misconduct that has long been an issue in its tactical shooter game.
The proposed system remedies one of the biggest complaints of the Valorant community. The hindering effects of an AFK teammate. As continued analysis of Riot’s own systems has shown, an AFK player undermines the matchplay experience of the other four players, deeming it unfair. The newly proposed bot replacement policy reflects a bold approach that may turn the entire model of handling AFK disconnections upside down.
According to insider information from Turkish sources, Riot has been examining a few ways of implementing this plan. One of the easiest ways to implement it would involve the automatic deployment of bots that would take control of an AFK player’s character once they joined an ongoing game. Another plan the company has been considering would entail players willingly being part of a queue system that would see them play along with bot players.
The crucial question still being unknown is the intelligence of these robots and their ability to cope with the skills of players and a constantly changing scenario of a match. The degree of the system’s success will depend on its ability to assist its human partners meaningfully instead of becoming an added burden for them.
It also comes at a time when Riot has been giving extra attention to the behavioral systems. Patch cycle after patch cycle has doled out harsher punishments, such as when competitive matches saw a 20% reduction in AFKs thanks to the stricter enforcement that came about in recent patches.
The studio conventionally tracked AFK behavior through advanced detection systems that tracked behavioral patterns across all matches and moved progressively through a series of penalties, starting with warnings, then ranked rating deductions, and finally to outright game bans for repeat offenders. However, these punitive measures have proven insufficient to fully eliminate the problem.
Realized, this bot-replacement system would place Valorant ahead in competition integrity. It’s supposed to maintain match balance and avoid those terrible, demoralizing 4v5 situations that have driven frustration throughout the player base.