RIOT is making multi-factor authentication compulsory for high-ranking players, and is offering rewards to those who activate it regardless of rank.
As of October, VALORANT has made it mandatory for players ranked ascendant and above to have multi-factor authentication activated for their accounts to make it harder for players to breach gameplay integrity for lower-ranked players.
Riot has increasingly focused on maintaining competitive integrity within Valorant’s ranked system since the game’s launch in 2020. The developer has previously introduced anti-cheat systems, ranking adjustments and matchmaking updates aimed at creating a fair competitive environment for players across all skill levels.
The change is designed to combat a long-standing issue in competitive online games known as “smurfing.” Smurfing occurs when experienced or high-ranked players create new accounts with artificially low skill ratings to play against less experienced opponents. This practice can significantly disrupt matchmaking systems and create frustrating gameplay experiences for newer or lower-ranked players.
Competitive gameplay has become increasingly popular for gamers, and inevitably, players have found methods of manipulating the systems and impacting gameplay experience for other players. Many players in lower ranks have welcomed the change and introduction of MFA, expressing concerns with higher rank players being able to play in their games due to using new accounts that have a lower linked skill level.
Moreover, following the recent increase in popularity of competitive e-sports, where players participate in video game competitions for prizes and rewards, the importance of maintaining gameplay integrity has only grown more pertinent. With high-ranking competitive play being the gateway to being a professional player, preventing others from breaching this is a highly requested feature. MFA acts as a barrier to prevent high-ranking lobbies from being manipulated and being unfair. As most games do not have a rank refund system in place for smurfing or rank manipulation, prevention is the only solution.
Matthew Haynes, a former semi-pro Fortnite player who played for money prizes in tournaments, says he witnessed ‘smurfs’ in his games, “all the time,” and, “it’s not fun.” However, before video games enforced multi-factor authentication, Matthew Haynes says he, “used to create multiple emails to make multiple accounts to play with friends and also smurf.”
Although MFA will only be mandatory for the highest competitive tiers, Riot is also encouraging all players to enable the security feature by offering an in-game reward. Players who activate MFA will receive a cosmetic item known as the “Keep it Safer” gun buddy, a golden lock charm that can be attached to weapons and displayed during matches.
By requiring high-rank players to verify their accounts with a unique phone number, Riot aims to make it more difficult for individuals to maintain multiple active accounts. Linking an account to a phone number effectively limits the number of accounts that can be created and used by a single player, reducing opportunities for rank manipulation.
Other gaming companies have implemented similar reward systems to encourage players to adopt stronger security measures. For example, players who enable MFA in Fortnite, developed by Epic Games, receive a free in-game emote called “Boogie Down.” These incentives are designed to promote wider adoption of account security features while also helping developers reduce account theft and cheating.
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