Tracking apps are ruining Valorant’s ranked experience

Statistic tracking applications and websites are ruining the Valorant ranked experience because players are deciding whether matches are lost in the pre-game lobby.

Apps and websites that track player statistics are nothing new in the world of multiplayer gaming. Players want to improve, and looking at their statistics during ranked matches is a good way to set a baseline for improvement.

However, the third-party applications have gotten out of hand in Valorant. I have noticed players are taking enemy statistics too seriously, or are dodging matches based on teammate or opponent numbers alone.

I first learned about the idea of dodging matches based on a teammate’s in-game numbers in Riot Games’ other multiplayer title, League of Legends. These applications are great at showcasing when a teammate is willfully tossing my ranked points in the trash by first-timing a champion or playing a role they are statistically terrible in.

These publicly available tools are also useful for scouting out the enemy team. I am guilty of looking up opponents’ accounts while loading into games to see whether they main the champion they are playing or if they are on a loss streak and tilted before we even hit Summoner’s Rift.

For players looking min-max their time in ranked play, and not be trapped in matches they have no chance of winning, these tools are a godsend.

However, in Valorant those instances are few and far between, as roles are more fluid and the cast of characters is far smaller. These scenarios are also not as frustrating as teammates leaving before the match starts because I am on a three-game losing streak.

Whether it has to do with the age of the player base or just the pervasiveness of these apps, unless Valorant players are paired with teammates on win streaks or who have incredible headshot accuracy they almost don’t seem to even want to win.

I understand this sentiment in more tactical games like MOBAs, where certain matchups are somewhat solved and individual player skill matters slightly less. But in FPS titles like Valorant, confidence trumps statistics.

A silver-ranked player can still one-shot the top-ranked player in the server as long as their aim is on point, which most of the time comes down to confidence.

In a recent Reddit thread about the pervasiveness of these apps, many in the Valorant community shared the same sentiment about how they are ruining the game and how to fix it: Deleting the apps.

Whether that will become the norm remains to be seen. But one thing is for sure, players who wait to get the perfect team or opponent by using these tracking tools will not rank up as fast as those who aren’t afraid to 1 vs. 1 the diamond peak-ranked Reyna slumming it in a gold lobby.