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In a decisive move to uphold competitive integrity, Riot Games has implemented a stringent new Valorant Anti-Carry Rule aimed at mitigating the rampant boosting in Valorant. This rule is Riot’s latest response to the widespread phenomenon of higher-ranked players assisting lower-ranked peers, often called “noobs,” ascending through the game’s competitive ranks. The practice has been especially prevalent in Valorant, leading to a surge in unearned high ranks and skewing the true representation of players’ skills. This initiative by Riot Games seeks to recalibrate the balance and fairness in Valorant, ensuring that players attain ranks truly reflective of their abilities and gameplay prowess.
Acknowledging the rampant boosting that is likely more common in Valorant than in any other FPS game, Riot Games has taken significant measures to rectify this. Often, skilled players reach Radiant and restart their journey on a new account, inadvertently boosting their teammates.
No More Queueing with Low ELO Friends
Previously, Riot Games had eradicated all rank restrictions, allowing any players to be in a five-stack. This change, however, came with strict RR limits, insufficient to curtail boosting lobbies. This lax rule led to its exploitation and resulted in a surge of players in higher ELO who didn’t deserve to be there.
To reset this chaotic situation, Riot Games has imposed a new restriction. “There has been a wave of competitive rank boosting with bots and real players. In an effort to protect against this abuse, we have introduced restrictions,” declared Riot in a recent blog post.
Starting from patch 7.06, Ascendants and players with higher ranks cannot invite low ELO players to their lobby. Only players with ranks higher than Platinum can join the lobbies of their Ascendant+, Immortal, and Radiant friends.
Riot had introduced an RR penalty for playing with low ELO friends before, but players largely ignored it. Losing a small amount of RR didn’t matter to those continuously queuing with Radiants. Now, Riot has isolated the higher ranks where the stakes are more significant.
Players below Diamond can still form stacks without any rank restrictions, but RR penalties will continue to apply. The enforcement of this latest rule is expected to inhibit players from being undeservedly carried in high ELO Valorant lobbies and to uphold the integrity and competitive nature of Valorant gaming.
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