Riot Games confirms it is working on deathmatch mode for ‘Valorant’

The developer also commented on the possibility of a pick and ban system

Riot Games has revealed that a deathmatch mode will be headed to Valorant sometime in the future.

Riot Games confirmed the upcoming mode during the second Ask Valorant blog series, where the developer also answered questions about cross-region play as well as a pick and ban system.

According to Valorant lead game modes producer Jared Berbach, “deathmatch is absolutely a mode that is coming to Valorant in the future”. However, he noted that the team does not have a launch window for the mode yet as “we’re actively working on the underlying technology as well as designing, iterating, prototyping and playtesting right now”.

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On a pick and ban system for agents, senior game designer Trevor Romleski said the company has considered including a draft phase, but have ruled out bans. “We expect teams to have set plays and strategies that will require very specific agents. Banning an agent would invalidate that entire strategy, and we don’t want to discourage practice,” he explained.

Romleski added that “bans often remove a players’ star agent and we want players who are exceptional at certain agents to be able to play them and show off their skills with them”. He also noted that because Valorant doesn’t have “hard counters in the form of agents”, the game would be “healthier if we’re held accountable to ensuring no agent or agent-facilitated strategy becomes so oppressive or unsolvable that a ban is the only choice”.

Lastly, Riot also said that it’s going to keep “an eye on demand” for cross-region play, but for now, all Valorant games must be “hosted on a single game server” in the same physical location. “Players in the game will have to play with someone with a bad connection – and they didn’t sign up for that. […] For a game as precise and demanding as Valorant, we have to focus on keeping all matches fair,” noted technical director Dave Heironymus.

Last month, Riot unveiled future plans for more agents and maps for Valorant. Details were revealed in a Dev Diary update, where executive producer Anna Donlon talked about how Valorant will roll out new content.

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