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Riot will now hardware ban toxic players in Valorant

Draugoth

Gold Member
image

Valorant, like any multiplayer game, has a toxicity problem. But the great news is that Riot Games is taking it seriously with the newly announced hardware ban.


In light of recent events, including Andrew Tate’s criticism for defending toxicity in Valorant, Riot has announced even more severe punishment for trolls and malicious actors. The short clip of a woman getting threats in the game triggered a whole discourse around “just muting” toxic players. However, Valorant studio head Anna Donlon doesn’t think it’s a solution.


“Muting is a tool, it’s not there to justify bad behaviors,”

Anna Donlon said.


The developer explained that the current system in Valorant, no matter how sturdy, is not enough. In response, Riot Games has launched a plan that includes stricter punishment for the “worst offenders.”

 
How much more sterile can online multiplayer get? Remember the good ole days of gen 7 with public chat? Ah, those were the days. Now we have silent matches if you're not in a private party. What's next, body-sized condoms that must be worn at all times?
 
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TheInfamousKira

Reseterror Resettler
Cool, great steps. I was hoping to see this change sooner rather than later. Gotta say though, doing a retinal scan and shutting off the game if you found a wrongthinker would be much more Chinese, and therefore, obviously better.
 

Miyazaki’s Slave

Gold Member
I think the message was delivered very VERY well.

I do not play Valorent, (or any FPS/competitive game), and I have no idea who this person is, but the message was succinct, authentic, and well crafted.

This doesn't impact me at all, but if I were a player who was heavily invested in the game I would appreciate how this was communicated.

While the content of the message, and the actions taken and soon to be taken, may be up for debate the delivery was spot on.
 
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kingwingin

Member
I don’t know anything about this game and didn’t know this was free to play. But after hearing this I’m definitely going to hop on a match and help them test the limits of this new toxic ban system.
 

Pop

Member
So whats considered "toxic"

And can't you just mute and block others that are acting a fool
 

CLW

Member
So whats considered "toxic"

And can't you just mute and block others that are acting a fool
No because names are like totally more VIOLENT than sticks and stones in 2024

This ban thing is going to be ABUSED. There is zero chance they can staff it to handle all complaints with a human getting any/all context.

You speak wrong think word you banned
 
I think the message was delivered very VERY well.

I do not play Valorent, (or any FPS/competitive game), and I have no idea who this person is, but the message was succinct, authentic, and well crafted.

This doesn't impact me at all, but if I were a player who was heavily invested in the game I would appreciate how this was communicated.

While the content of the message, and the actions taken and soon to be taken, may be up for debate the delivery was spot on.
Gay opinion. A lot of things sound good on the surface but just do not work in practice. Harrassment is part of online gaming, the hostility teaches people that growing a thick skin and ignoring negativity is required for success. If you give up right away then you are just a loser who cannot handle adversity of the real world. Also learning how to return banter is just as good a skill as hand-eye coordination. When girls come into the scene and start morality lecturing, everybody loses. Who wants to play valorant like a bunch of kindergartners forced to use good manners in a game featuring competitive violence. Are you going to overcome a would-be mugger or rapist with respect and kindness? Theres a time and place for different behaviors and if you dont like a particular one, maybe its not your job to start womansplaining it to them.
 

AzekZero

Member
How much more sterile can online multiplayer get? Remember the good ole days of gen 7 with public chat? Ah, those were the days. Now we have silent matches if you're not in a private party. What's next, body-sized condoms that must be worn at all times?
If everyone in the system's cool with the Riot thought police watching their every move past and present they get what they deserve.
 

Dorfdad

Gold Member
Once they took out prox chat in the lobby I lost interest. Some of the funniest shit i've ever heard was waiting for matches. It was a 4chan chat room.
Agree COD losty all its magic once they enabled private chats. Spent most of my twenties learning how to shit talk in 30 seconds between games. Actually found some great gamer friends by bashing each other and laughing on end!

This gen is so soft..
 

e0n

Member
Gay opinion. A lot of things sound good on the surface but just do not work in practice. Harrassment is part of online gaming, the hostility teaches people that growing a thick skin and ignoring negativity is required for success. If you give up right away then you are just a loser who cannot handle adversity of the real world. Also learning how to return banter is just as good a skill as hand-eye coordination. When girls come into the scene and start morality lecturing, everybody loses. Who wants to play valorant like a bunch of kindergartners forced to use good manners in a game featuring competitive violence. Are you going to overcome a would-be mugger or rapist with respect and kindness? Theres a time and place for different behaviors and if you dont like a particular one, maybe its not your job to start womansplaining it to them.
So, you think online strangers should be allowed to say they want to rape your SO during a video game?
 

Miyazaki’s Slave

Gold Member
Gay opinion. A lot of things sound good on the surface but just do not work in practice. Harrassment is part of online gaming, the hostility teaches people that growing a thick skin and ignoring negativity is required for success. If you give up right away then you are just a loser who cannot handle adversity of the real world. Also learning how to return banter is just as good a skill as hand-eye coordination. When girls come into the scene and start morality lecturing, everybody loses. Who wants to play valorant like a bunch of kindergartners forced to use good manners in a game featuring competitive violence. Are you going to overcome a would-be mugger or rapist with respect and kindness? Theres a time and place for different behaviors and if you dont like a particular one, maybe it’s not your job to start womansplaining it to them.
Sorry about what happened to you as a kid bud, I hope you can move past some of those things as you get older!

My opinion stands, regardless of the content, how it was delivered was top notch.

There are some folks with an upcoming event on June 6th that would benefit from watching that press release and do their best to delivery their message as well as she did.

Content aside of course!
 
hardware ban? how'd they gonna do that?
oh right, they have a rootkit disguised as an anticheat.


but the reality there is no way they will enforce this fairly so they'll just resort to an automated process which will inevitably lead to abuse and false bans.
 

Cyberpunkd

Member
Gay opinion. A lot of things sound good on the surface but just do not work in practice. Harrassment is part of online gaming, the hostility teaches people that growing a thick skin and ignoring negativity is required for success. If you give up right away then you are just a loser who cannot handle adversity of the real world. Also learning how to return banter is just as good a skill as hand-eye coordination. When girls come into the scene and start morality lecturing, everybody loses. Who wants to play valorant like a bunch of kindergartners forced to use good manners in a game featuring competitive violence. Are you going to overcome a would-be mugger or rapist with respect and kindness? Theres a time and place for different behaviors and if you dont like a particular one, maybe its not your job to start womansplaining it to them.
Man, I just love me all that thrash talking in professional sports. Oh wait, there’s very little of that and a lot of mutual self respect among athletes because they are fucking adults.
 
So, you think online strangers should be allowed to say they want to rape your SO during a video game?
I have seen his type of statement before, on GAF no less. I can guarantee you there's no sentence on earth you can say where he's not going to answer yes.

The inherent problem with his statement is that there is a rather large playerbase of women on Valorant, and most women do not think nor act like men, especially not the ones they deem as toxic. So making them endure constant barrages of insults doesn't build character for them. It just makes them mute everyone or leave the game entirely.
 

Spukc

always chasing the next thrill
Same toxic crowd now organizing and mass flagging people and getting them hardware banned.

Episode 3 Reaction GIF by BBC Three
 

Fabieter

Member
I think that it's awesome that Riot has joined Microsoft in total commitment to ensuring that the younger generations are being consistently showered with urgent messaging that the most important thing one can be in life is a massive, total, and unrepentant fucking pussy.

Peop disliking it are 100% part of the problem.
 

Soodanim

Member
I have seen his type of statement before, on GAF no less. I can guarantee you there's no sentence on earth you can say where he's not going to answer yes.

The inherent problem with his statement is that there is a rather large playerbase of women on Valorant, and most women do not think nor act like men, especially not the ones they deem as toxic. So making them endure constant barrages of insults doesn't build character for them. It just makes them mute everyone or leave the game entirely.
New plan: Respectful lobbies and unrestricted/18+ lobbies. A disclaimer on entry that it won't be for everyone.

It'll never happen, but it would undoubtedly make a lot of people happy. The blood on/off switch for a modern age.
 
I knew people would be triggered by my post. I wasnt all the way serious but decided to roll with it.

Man, I just love me all that thrash talking in professional sports. Oh wait, there’s very little of that and a lot of mutual self respect among athletes because they are fucking adults.
Please watch your language. You know what else professional athletes do? Separate their genders. Sure women can participate too, but can they have their own thing so as not to get in the way?

Sorry about what happened to you as a kid bud, I hope you can move past some of those things as you get older!

My opinion stands, regardless of the content, how it was delivered was top notch.

There are some folks with an upcoming event on June 6th that would benefit from watching that press release and do their best to delivery their message as well as she did.

Content aside of course!
I could reverse that accusation right back at you. What happened in your life that made you so sensitive to reality and need a censorious shield for you to be comfortable? Get bullied? Never had to learn anything the hard way, pampered and fragile? Do you get nervous with confrontation?

I have seen his type of statement before, on GAF no less. I can guarantee you there's no sentence on earth you can say where he's not going to answer yes.

The inherent problem with his statement is that there is a rather large playerbase of women on Valorant, and most women do not think nor act like men, especially not the ones they deem as toxic. So making them endure constant barrages of insults doesn't build character for them. It just makes them mute everyone or leave the game entirely.
I think a major part of the earlier internet is that it was anonymous and genderless, which is obviously gone by the wayside in modern times. It was just fascinating to actually interact with another human in a digital realm regardless of their physical location or who they were, which opened up possibilities for all sorts of experimentation. Naturally some people will use it for benevolence and others to stir chaos. It tended to sort itself out along with the advancement of the technology. Those exposed to toxicity learned it was a thing that exists, and either engaged with it or found something more interesting to them. You are right that men and women think differently in general, so being more curious and risky type, they had this figured out already.

That is all in the past however. Now gaming and social media is unavoidably ubiquitous and there is no ability to learn from the anonymous void of the internet without having a personal stake. In that sense I can understand why some decorum is needed to be enforced. But gaming as a hobby is a continuously invaded sphere and there should remain an open playground for toxic interaction if those players choose.

Despite all this, its a losing battle as tech grows and synthizes with culture, so that particular moment of internet history is gone forever. The battle still exists regarding freedom of speech, anonymity, control,.etc.
 
I think a major part of the earlier internet is that it was anonymous and genderless, which is obviously gone by the wayside in modern times. It was just fascinating to actually interact with another human in a digital realm regardless of their physical location or who they were, which opened up possibilities for all sorts of experimentation. Naturally some people will use it for benevolence and others to stir chaos. It tended to sort itself out along with the advancement of the technology. Those exposed to toxicity learned it was a thing that exists, and either engaged with it or found something more interesting to them. You are right that men and women think differently in general, so being more curious and risky type, they had this figured out already.
I’m still of the belief that this version of the internet was a mistake. People were creating, inventing, and innovating new ways of communication without considering the social ramifications. They didn’t make these systems, applications, and websites with the intent for everyone to devolve into edgelords.

That is all in the past however. Now gaming and social media is unavoidably ubiquitous and there is no ability to learn from the anonymous void of the internet without having a personal stake. In that sense I can understand why some decorum is needed to be enforced. But gaming as a hobby is a continuously invaded sphere and there should remain an open playground for toxic interaction if those players choose.
Again, this also was a mistake. Gaming was never meant to be a ‘club’ or ‘sphere’. Developers just wanted to make fun experiences back then and it was a big plus if they sold well. They wanted to take ideas from board games, books, and toys and bring them to life, digitally. When the online aspect was finally added, they again didn’t account for the rising amount of online edgelords to flock to all of the games with voice chat and let loose with slurs. Who would?

Despite all this, its a losing battle as tech grows and synthizes with culture, so that particular moment of internet history is gone forever. The battle still exists regarding freedom of speech, anonymity, control,.etc.
I think there is more nuance here and part of it lies with how people are so fast to lump the edgy/vile stuff together with the last sentence of your post, while ignoring everything else that comes with it.
 
Again, this also was a mistake. Gaming was never meant to be a ‘club’ or ‘sphere’. Developers just wanted to make fun experiences back then and it was a big plus if they sold well. They wanted to take ideas from board games, books, and toys and bring them to life, digitally. When the online aspect was finally added, they again didn’t account for the rising amount of online edgelords to flock to all of the games with voice chat and let loose with slurs. Who would?
Not trying to argue as I mostly agree, but I would hazard a decent bet that historically clubs, game groups, salons, teams, all had their own in group vernacular and unwritten rules about how they interacted amongst themselves. Opening them all up to the public ruins the bonds those members felt, all those toxic moments they used to share. Ive certainly been in the situation where I tried to be cool when encountering a new group and then get weird looks and a distant vibe. Anyway the point is, banter used to be a given when playing competitively and these HR types are coming in and sterilizing it because it makes them feel important and virtuous. Maybe its for the better in the long run, who fuckin knows what lies ahead in this crazy world!
 
Not trying to argue as I mostly agree, but I would hazard a decent bet that historically clubs, game groups, salons, teams, all had their own in group vernacular and unwritten rules about how they interacted amongst themselves. Opening them all up to the public ruins the bonds those members felt, all those toxic moments they used to share. Ive certainly been in the situation where I tried to be cool when encountering a new group and then get weird looks and a distant vibe. Anyway the point is, banter used to be a given when playing competitively and these HR types are coming in and sterilizing it because it makes them feel important and virtuous. Maybe its for the better in the long run, who fuckin knows what lies ahead in this crazy world!
This just goes hand in hand with one of your earlier points and the biggest point you’ve made: Times change 🤷‍♂️
 

Black_Stride

do not tempt fate do not contrain Wonder Woman's thighs do not do not
The wild wild west of X360 Halo/CoD lobbies will never be recaptured.

I think some of the newer generation of gamers take trash talking like way way too far to the point it does seem more like harassment.
Its not like the trash talk of yore that was to psych you out or just piss you off......this talk is straight up hateful.
 
Since even the most basic cursing is already considered toxic......well, go ahead and watch your playerbase dwindle.
The last time I played a Riot game I got a chat ban within 5 minutes of being in the game just for saying "fucking hell". I absolutely dont get how soft the current gen of developers is...it`s just baffling to me and I´ve never seen a person behave like that in real life.
 
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Facism

Member
Remembering the time my mate typed "we died like dogs" in apex and caught a ban 💀
 
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Laptop1991

Member
They will only do this until they have hardly any players left, if no one ends up playing the game in the end, watch how quickly they reverse it or stop enforcing it.
 
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