VALORANT players are speaking out about the ongoing problem of smurfing and throwing, with many agreeing that Riot Games needs to make one simple change to address the issue.

Play enough VALORANT and you’ll come across smurfs who hit you with a tap before you have a chance to react, or players who intentionally sabotage your team and throw rounds. Both types of players are frustrating to play with, and it’s a problem that never seems to go away. In a Reddit thread from May 2, players discussed why they think smurfing and throwing remain such a big problem and what Riot could do to minimize it.

According to players, bad behavior like smurfing and throwing equates to an “I don’t care” mentality when playing on alternate VALORANT accounts. For various reasons, some gamers have additional accounts outside of their “main” profiles, where they often take the games seriously and play by the rules. Because these alternate accounts typically don’t have sentimental or financial value through hours of playtime or paid skins, they can be used to break the rules without facing consequences.

"You can report them all you want. But it doesn't matter," one player said. Because if their alt account gets reported, they can always go back to their main account or create another alt to continue causing trouble for others. I've come across players who proudly display bad behavior by using insulting swear words or sabotaging their own team after reporting that their previous account was banned. It feels like these types of players continue to break the rules by creating new accounts when they get banned. That's why it's so common to come across at least one player in your match who should be reported.