Valorant player discovers great way to combat smurfs from throwing

While many players strive to ascend the ranks, those in lower elo often have a different objective in mind. The Iron gun buddy, a rare and highly sought-after item in Valorant, can only be acquired if the player finishes the ranked season in Iron. 

Achieving the lowest rank in Valorant may seem trivial, but intentionally throwing matches without risking a ban isn’t as easy as it seems.

“Not the first time I’ve heard of this. Plenty of my friends do it on their main accounts, too. Lucky for me, I started in Iron, so I already own it,” revealed one commenter.

Some commenters even fueled the narrative, saying that they, too, wanted to get an Iron gun buddy as a form of “flex” to others. To avoid potential throwers and give everyone equal rewards, one player suggested that Riot Games distribute gun buddies based on the final rank and all ranks below it,

Riot Games

“People throwing matches to get the Iron gun buddy is a big problem. The Iron gun buddy is rarer than the Diamond gun buddy since such a small number of people are at an Iron skill level,” explained the Reddit user.

They continued, “I propose that all gun buddies are unlocked for an account that is under the highest gun buddy earned. For example, if you have earned the Silver gun buddy, your account would have the Iron, Bronze, and Silver gun buddies unlocked.”

This concept isn’t new to games with ranked modes. Fortnite has a similar reward system, especially with their back blings and rank-exclusive skins. While the highest achieved rank appears on the rewards, players can display a lower rank from their progression.

“This seems like a total no-brainer. It’s pretty weird that you’re locked out of lower ranked gun buddy if you’re better.” agreed another Reddit user. 

Sharing a similar sentiment, players argued that there shouldn’t be rank restrictions for other gun buddies. Some even expressed surprise at the high demand for Iron-tier gun buddies.