VALORANT is a fun FPS game but sometimes you may need to dodge matches for various reasons like unstable internet or getting the map you hate.
Thankfully, VALORANT allows you to dodge matches by just pressing a few keys on your keyboard simultaneously but there are a few caveats as well. So, without any further delay, here’s everything you need to know about dodging VALORANT matches along with the key points that you should bear in mind before you make the decision.
VALORANT – How to dodge matches
Image credits: Riot Games
Before we dive into the details, we want to explain a bit about what dodging means in VALORANT, especially for those who are just getting started. In simple terms, dodging is a situation when you quit the game during the agent selection menu and return back to the lobby.
In VALORANT, players mostly dodge their games when they get a map they dislike. For instance, we are not good at the Abyss map since it’s recently launched, so we might try to avoid it by using the dodging feature.
To dodge VALORANT matches, you must press the ALT+F4 keys on your keyboard when you’re on the agent selection menu. As a result, you and your party members will return to the lobby and the match will be abandoned without any MMR points loss.
Alternatively, you can also dodge matches by not selecting an agent at all. We recommend using the alternative way if you’ve VALORANT installed on a hard drive as it’ll save you a lot of time.
What is the penalty for dodging?
However, as mentioned earlier, there are a few consequences that you must face when you dodge matches in VALORANT. Since it ruins the experience of other players, Riot Games punishes you with a short cooldown period when you dodge a game for the first time. During this time frame, you won’t be able to queue for any matches.
As you dodge matches repeatedly, the game will issue longer ban times. Riot has also confirmed that queue dodging has been the most common offense that affects gameplay participation.
Ranked queue dodging and normal queue dodging account for 21.72% and 15.34% of all participation incidents respectively, totaling 37.07% of all participation incidents since the beginning of the year.
Therefore, the game developers don’t encourage you to dodge your matches and are imposing more restrictions with every new update to counter this issue.