Valorant has become one of the biggest hero shooters and eSports in recent times, but playing online can result in you getting kicked or banned from games. So how do you get unbanned or reduce your ban length in Valorant?
Getting unbanned will start from lodging a ticket with the developer Riot Games and getting them to look at your account. Some bans can’t be removed and are permanent, some will timeout, and others will only last for a few minutes.
Let’s look at how the ban system works, what will get you banned and how to avoid getting banned. At the very least, there are some things you can do to reduce your ban time or chances of getting banned, so let’s get right into it!
How to Get Unbanned From Valorant?
It is going to matter what an account got banned for when considering how to get unbanned.
First, it is important to note that certain actions will result in a permanent ban, meaning you cannot get unbanned no matter what you do. No amount of replying to Riot Twitter posts, sending in tickets, or complaining in game will get permanent bans undone.
- The process of submitting a Valorant unban appeal is quite simple, and it takes place entirely on Riot’s official website, via a support ticket.
- Go to their website and then tap on the hamburger menu to pull up the Submit a Ticket and then select Discuss Personal Suspension or Restriction. You’ll be prompted to sign in so log in to your Valorant account.
- Fill in the form including the subject and description field, making sure to put a Valorant ban appeal in there somewhere.
- Select Discuss Game Bans for the Inquiry field, and then select the ban period according to the communication you got from Riot.
- Select the appropriate reason from ‘Do you know why your account was suspended?’.
From here, depending on the circumstances of the ban you will need to do specific things, so look out for communication from Riot or Valorant.
For example, if your account was banned because someone compromised it and then cheated using it, once you prove your ownership of the account, Riot will be able to tell that the account was being used by a different IP, location or computer and so wasn’t you.
In most situations involving compromised bans, they will lift the ban and let you know.
Otherwise if they won’t remove a ban because they determine it was valid, you’re just going to hit a brick wall and get the same refusals from support.
How Long Do Valorant Bans Last?
Bans can range from warnings that don’t carry any suspension period, to permanent bans that cannot be reversed.
If you engage in queue dodging or are AFK (‘away from keyboard’), that is you don’t play a match that you queued up for, you will get a warning. If you keep doing this, you may get temporary bans lasting for an hour, a day or longer.
This can range from three minutes to 14 days.
This may also result in your matchmaking ranking getting reduced.
If you did something that constitutes bad behavior, a violation of guidelines or other similar conduct, you may be denied any experience gained in that match.
If you’re caught cheating, such as by using software to give you vision through walls or aim assist, this is going to be a permanent ban that you cannot reverse.
Glitches or bugs in the game that give you an advantage are referred to as exploiting, and may result in a temporary ban or permanent ban, depending on how it is used by the exploiter.
Given that the game is free to play, account sharing will result in a permanent ban, including when shopping or selling accounts.
In-game toxicity or abuse can very easily net you a permanent ban, and Riot is infamous for not entertaining appeals of such bans.
Sometimes you’ll get a hardware ban, preventing your computer from playing Valorant, as your motherboard, CPU and other hardware is scanned and profiled, so if that exact hardware attempts to play Vanguard, Riot’s software, will kick you off again.
How to Reduce Ban Time in Valorant?
If you’re going to engage in an activity that can get you a temporary ban, then it is best not to do a lot of it in a row. If Riot notices a consistent theme or pattern of behavior, they’re going to punish you much more harshly.
A clean record on your Riot account will mean if you do engage in occasional toxic or other bannable behavior, you may only get a warning.
Going AFK should be avoided as much as possible, as if you stack up some AFK time and then something out of your control happens, such as a power outage, then this can result in Riot believing you are just doing queue dodging again, resulting in a long ban.
The system is based upon a heat system, so the more you do in a shorter amount of time, the harsher the penalty is. That means if you can play a full few games, then your chances of getting a long ban are quite low as the time between infractions has lowered.
Reasons Why Valorant Can Ban You
The reasons for getting banned in Valorant are going to get you banned across most online games.
This includes cheating and is regardless of reason, software, method or excuse. Any gaining of unfair advantage over other players through glitches, bugs and other in-game unintended outcomes may not get you banned permanently but it will depend on how it is used.
Toxicity includes any in-game behavior such as griefing, harassing, bullying, insulting or using slurs. Griefing is where you do things such as intentionally teamkilling, not playing properly or other activity which basically makes the game unfun for everyone.
Sharing your account again is, regardless of reason, likely going to result in an irreversible ban, which includes buying or selling accounts.
